Colton Gillies

Colton Gillies (born February 12, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He spent time playing for both the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL. Gillies spent the last five years of his professional career playing overseas, most notably spending time in the KHL playing for Dinamo Riga. He is the nephew of NHL hockey player Clark Gillies.

Colton Gillies
Gillies with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2015
Born (1989-02-12) February 12, 1989
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Minnesota Wild
Columbus Blue Jackets
HC '05 Banská Bystrica
Dinamo Riga
NHL Draft 16th overall, 2007
Minnesota Wild
Playing career 2008–2021

Playing career

Gillies was the second overall pick by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2004 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft.[1] Gillies spent parts of four seasons with the Blades, but the team struggled and consequently Gillies played in only 10 playoff games during his major junior career. Still, he gained attention with his strong physical and two-way play, and was selected to represent Canada at the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships in Finland, where Canada finished 4th overall.

Gillies during his tenure with the Rochester Americans.

That summer he was selected in the first round of the NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild, who traded up three spots in the draft in order to pick Gillies 16th overall.[2] Gillies was named captain of the Blades during the 2007-08 season and again represented his country at the 2008 World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic where he helped Canada to its fourth consecutive gold medal at the tournament.[1]

Late in the 2007-08 season Gillies made his professional debut with the Wild's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros. He managed 8 points in 11 games with the team. That fall he cracked the Wild roster out of training camp and went on to play 45 games for the team during the 2008-09 season. Gillies recorded his first career point, an assist, on October 11, 2008 against the Boston Bruins,[3] and his first career goal on December 19, 2008 against the New York Islanders.[4]

Gillies spent the entirety of the 2009-10 season developing his game with the Aeros. Though he would remain with the Aeros for the majority of the 2010-11 season, Gillies was re-called by the Wild on April 3, 2011. He played the final 7 games of the season with Minnesota, contributing a goal in the last game of the season, a 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars that ended the Stars' bid for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.[5]

On July 6, 2011, Gillies signed a two-year contract extension with the Wild.[6] In the 2011–12 season, Gillies struggled to establish a role with the Wild, assisting on only 2 goals in 37 games before on January 13, 2012, he was placed on waivers. The following day he was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.[7]

A free agent approaching the 2013-14 season, Gillies accepted an invite to attend the Buffalo Sabres training camp.[8] Unable to secure a contract with the Sabres he was reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans training camp, on September 21, 2013. He was then signed to a one-year AHL deal with the Americans on September 25, 2013.[9]

As a free agent again in the off-season, Gillies participated in his second consecutive training camp on a try-out with the New York Islanders. Gillies was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on a professional try-out to begin the 2014–15 season, before signing a one-year AHL deal on December 12, 2014.[10]

Gillies played for HC Banska Bystrica in Slovakia during 2015-2016. After this, Gillies joined Dinamo Riga in the KHL for four seasons.[11] Gillies retired from professional hockey in 2021[12] and accepted a coaching position with the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL.[13]

Personal

Gillies is also a firefighter, working in Penticton, British Columbia.[14] He and his partner had their first child, a boy, in late 2021.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 North Delta Flyers PIJHL 44 9 17 26 6 2 1 3
2004–05 Surrey Eagles BCHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2004–05 Saskatoon Blades WHL 9 1 1 2 10 2 0 0 0 0
2005–06 Saskatoon Blades WHL 63 6 6 12 57 8 0 0 0 4
2006–07 Saskatoon Blades WHL 65 13 17 30 148 — — — — —
2007–08 Saskatoon Blades WHL 58 24 23 47 97 — — — — —
2007–08 Houston Aeros AHL 11 1 7 8 4 5 0 0 0 2
2008–09 Minnesota Wild NHL 45 2 5 7 18 — — — — —
2009–10 Houston Aeros AHL 72 7 13 20 73 — — — — —
2010–11 Houston Aeros AHL 64 11 15 26 82 24 7 5 12 32
2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 7 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 37 0 2 2 10 — — — — —
2011–12 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 38 2 4 6 25 — — — — —
2012–13 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 27 1 1 2 17 — — — — —
2013–14 Rochester Americans AHL 65 9 14 23 49 5 1 1 2 11
2014–15 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 70 5 8 13 72 — — — — —
2015–16 HC ’05 iClinic Banská Bystrica Slovak 28 6 5 11 113 17 3 3 6 28
2016–17 Dinamo Riga KHL 43 8 6 14 71 — — — — —
2017–18 Dinamo Riga KHL 6 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2018–19 Dinamo Riga KHL 35 1 4 5 17 — — — — —
2019–20 Dinamo Riga KHL 52 0 1 1 52 — — — — —
NHL totals 154 6 12 18 72 — — — — —
KHL totals 136 9 11 20 144 — — — — —
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2008 Czech Republic

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Canada Pacific U17 4th 6 2 4 6 10
2006 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 1 0 1 18
2007 Canada U18 4th 621310
2008 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 71016
Junior totals 23651144

References
  1. "Colton Gillies". WHL. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  2. "Wild Draft Notes and Trades". NHL.com. June 11, 2010. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  3. James MacDonald (October 11, 2008). "Wild 4, Bruins 3". NHL.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  4. "Wild 4, Islanders 1". NHL.com. December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  5. Joe Yerdon (April 11, 2011). "Goal of the night: Colton Gillies whirling backhander crushes Dallas". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  6. "Wild Signs Gillies to two-year contract". TSN. July 6, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  7. "Columbus Blue Jackets claim Colton Gillies off waivers from Wild". National Hockey League. January 14, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  8. "Sabres 2013 training camp roster" (PDF). Buffalo Sabres. September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  9. "Amerks sign Colton Gillies to AHL contract". Rochester Americans. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  10. "Sound Tigers sign Gillies". Bridgeport Sound Tigers. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  11. "Colton Gillies at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  12. "Around The Horn Hockey - NEWS: Former Minnesota Wild C Colton Gillies has announced his retirement from professional hockey. Gillies played 154 games with Minnesota and Columbus in his career, notching six goals and 18 points, in addition to 293 hits, from 2008 to 2013. The 16th-overall pick in the 2007 Entry Draft played in Slovakia and Russia from 2015 to 2020. Gillies played in the 2007 CHL Top Prospects Game. Internationally, Gillies represented Canada in the 2008 World Juniors, winning the Gold Medal, and in the 2007 U-18 World Championship. Gillies has been hired by Surrey (BCHL) as an Assistant Coach. | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  13. "NHL vet Gillies returns to help coach 'the new game' to Surrey Eagles players". Cloverdale Reporter. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  14. "Colton Gillies Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  15. "Colton Gillies Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
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