Duncan Keith

Duncan Keith
Born	(1983-07-16) July 16, 1983 Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team	Chicago Blackhawks
NHL draft	54th overall, 2002 Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career	2003–present

Duncan Keith (born July 16, 1983 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian ice hockey player who plays for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. Keith was drafted 54th overall by Chicago in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He is a defenceman and spent 2 season with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League before getting his chance with the Blackhawks.

Playing career

Minor hockey

Although Keith was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he began playing youth hockey with his dad David Keith as coach in Fort Frances, Ontario. His family later moved to Penticton, British Columbia where he leveraged his success in youth hockey to earn a spot on the local Tier II Junior A team, the Penticton Panthers as a 16 year old.

Junior and College hockey

Keith played 3 years for the Penticton Panthers from 1999–00 through 2000–01 playing 163 games scoring 78 goals and 148 assists for 226 points. He was recruited by Michigan State and played there for 2 years as a 19 and 20 year old playing scoring 6 goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 56 games. A highlight of his Collegiate career was scoring a goal in his first game, against Michigan in front of a record-breaking crowd in the Cold War. After completing his first season for the Spartans the Chicago Blackhawks took a flyer on him drafting him in the second round. After his second season, he chose to leave Michigan State to return to British Columbia to play Major Junior Hockey for the Kelowna Rockets. In his single season there he amassed 46 points in just 37 regular season games scoring 11 goals and 35 assists. He had an astonishing plus/minus of +32.

Professional

Duncan Keith was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2nd round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft as the 54th overall selection. Keith signed a contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2003–04 season and spent his first two season tuning up his game at their AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals logging heavy minutes and scoring 51 points in 154 games. He got his first call up to the NHL on October 5th, 2005 against the Anaheim Ducks. Following 2 seasons in the AHL, he made the Blackhawk squad out of the 2006 training camp He made an immediate impact on the club by averaging over 23 minutes of ice time in 81 games that season. At the conclusion of the 2005–06 season he was rewarded for his stellar play by the Blackhawks who signed him to a five year extension of his contract. For the 2006–07 season he would play in all 82 games for the Blackhawks and once again lead the time in minutes played averaging over 23 minutes a game again. He had 31 points with 29 assists and 2 goals, plus he led the team in blocked shots with 148. For the 2007–08 season, Keith would see even more ice time after injuries wracked the Blackhawk defensive core. By mid January, he was averaging 24:31 ice time per game and had a team leading plus/minus of +14. He was rewarded for this effort by a selection to the 2008 NHL All Star Game.

International play

Played for Canada in:

• 2008 World Championships (silver medal)

International statistics

Year	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-		SOG	M/G
2008	WC		9	0	2	2	6	+9		10	17:40
Senior Int'l Totals			9	0	2	2	6	+9		10	17:40

External links

• Duncan Keith career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Official Chicago Blackhawks profile