Tyler Kennedy
| Tyler Kennedy | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | July 15, 1986 Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) |
| Position | Centre/right wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| NHL Draft | 99th overall, 2004 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2007–present |
Tyler Kennedy (born July 15, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, currently with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.
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[edit] Playing career
Kennedy was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round, 99th overall of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Kennedy played two seasons with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. He began playing for the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in AHL. He played his first game in the NHL on October 27, 2007, in a match versus the Montreal Canadiens. He scored his first NHL goal on November 3, 2007 against the New York Islanders. Kennedy is most commonly known among Penguin fans for his energy on the ice, making hits and going hard along the boards. He is also known for scoring at sharp and inopportune angles. His mentor was Gary Roberts.[citation needed]
Kennedy was named to the NHL's YoungStars Team in 2008 along with fellow teammate, Kris Letang. Kennedy was unable to compete in the game because of mononucleosis. In September 2008, the Penguins signed an agreement with Kennedy through the 2010–11 season.[1]
In the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, Kennedy had a goal in Game 4, and added a game-winning goal in Game 6. The Penguins would go on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games to win the Stanley Cup.
Although to this point Kennedy has had a low profile in terms of hockey fame, he attracted some notoriety when Pittsburgh fans and ultimately the public address announcer at Mellon Arena would chant his name in the style of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Mr. Kennedy (Ken Anderson).[2] During the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, the arena played a video made by "Mr. Kennedy" mimicking his WWE persona in which he announced Kennedy's goals by shouting "That's a goal by Tylerrrrrrrrrr Kennedyyyyyyyyyyy!" then briefly disappearing from camera view before reappearing and growling "Kennedyyyyyyyy!" as the camera zoomed in.[3] A signed Tyler Kennedy jersey can also be seen in a series of Internet skits produced by Anderson in 2009.[4]
Tyler Kennedy scored the first Pittsburgh Penguins goal at the Consol Energy Center in a 3-2 loss to cross-state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers. Kennedy was re-signed by the Penguins in the 2011 offseason, although his signing caused some controversy when it was reported that Pittsburgh may have deterred Penguin legend Jaromir Jagr by signing Kennedy.[5] Jagr later signed with the Flyers.
Early in the 2011-2012 season Kennedy was sidelined by a concussion.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 61 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 63 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 61 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 64 | 22 | 48 | 70 | 60 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 40 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 55 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 35 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 | ||
| 2008–09 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 67 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 30 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 64 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 31 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 80 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 37 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 266 | 59 | 65 | 124 | 133 | 61 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 21 | ||||
| AHL totals | 50 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| OHL totals | 249 | 64 | 120 | 184 | 158 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ "Penguins Re-Sign Forward Tyler Kennedy". PittsburghPenguins.com. 2008-09-26. http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=383518. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ Rossi, Rob (2008-03-17). "Pens' 'Mr. Kennedy' enjoys attention from fans". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_557601.html. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2Tyiyr25Q
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6pPbGlHNw0
- ^ Apparently Tyler Kennedy Prevented Jagrs return to Pittsburgh
