Jalen Chatfield
Jalen Chatfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 15, 1996 Ypsilanti, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenseman |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Known for | Playing for the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL; former member of the Vancouver Canucks |
Jalen Chatfield (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also been a member of the Vancouver Canucks during his career.
Originating from Michigan, Chatfield started his competitive hockey journey with the Compuware Triple-A Under-13 squad. He then advanced to play two seasons with the Belle Tire Midget Major U18 team before committing to the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League. He played a key role in the Spitfires' triumph at the 2017 Memorial Cup.
Early life
Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Chatfield is the son of Scott and Tomara. He is biracial, with a white father and black mother. While his family was engaged in basketball and soccer, Chatfield initially explored biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, and baseball before dedicating himself to hockey. During his youth, he was a fan of the Detroit Red Wings and looked up to defenseman Nicklas Lidström.
Amateur
Growing up in Michigan, Chatfield began his competitive ice hockey career with the Compuware Triple-A Under-13 team. Following that, he spent two seasons competing with the Belle Tire Midget Major U18 squad before signing with the Madison Capitols for their inaugural season in the United States Hockey League. In his first year with Belle Tire, he notched three goals and 18 assists across 40 games, improving to 11 goals and 15 assists in his second season. His performance earned recognition as an "elite skating defenseman with good puck skills." Despite his commitment to Madison, he chose to join the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League prior to the 2014–15 campaign.
During the 2014–15 season, Chatfield completed a full year with Windsor, scoring his initial OHL goal in his 53rd appearance and receiving the Most Improved Player accolade from his team. Although not known for high scoring numbers, he was invited to participate in the Detroit Red Wings Development camp during the offseason. After attending this camp, he returned for the 2015–16 season, quickly doubling his previous goal tally within just four games. In November 2015, Chatfield earned Player of the Week honors after contributing two goals and four assists over three contests. By midseason, he had accumulated eight goals and 33 points. That offseason, he took part in the San Jose Sharks rookie camp and was invited to their training camp but was ultimately reassigned to Windsor before final roster selections.
The 2016–17 season marked Chatfield's final junior hockey year. He finished third among Spitfire defensemen with 28 points and eight goals and ranked second in assists with 20. Additionally, he gained recognition as one of the premier penalty killers in the Western Conference. On March 1, 2017, he was appointed co-captain of Windsor alongside Jeremiah Addison. Shortly thereafter, Chatfield signed an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, officially beginning his professional career.
Professional
Chatfield launched his professional tenure during the 2017–18 season with Vancouver's AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. Paired defensively with Patrick Wiercioch and contributing on special teams like the penalty kill, he recorded his first professional point on November 18, 2017, followed by his first AHL goal on March 31, 2018. Those two goals remained his sole scoring tallies for Utica that season.
Prior to the 2018–19 season, after attending Canucks training camp, Chatfield was assigned back to Utica. He appeared in seven games before being recalled by Vancouver on November 1, 2018; however, he did not make his NHL debut at that time and soon returned to Utica. A foot injury in November caused him to miss 27 games; upon recovery, he added six assists during that period.
On December 9, 2020, Chatfield agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with Vancouver. He made his NHL debut on January 20, 2021, facing off against the Montreal Canadiens, and registered his first NHL point—a secondary assist—on April 18, 2021, versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As a group 6 unrestricted free agent, Chatfield inked a one-year two-way deal with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 29, 2021. He later secured a two-year contract extension in January 2022 that will keep him under contract through the end of the 2023–24 season. On December 22, 2022, Chatfield scored his inaugural NHL goal during a 4–3 overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 2012–13 | Belle Tire | T1EHL | 40 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2013–14 | Belle Tire | T1EHL | 37 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2014–15 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 60 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2015–16 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 68 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 45 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2016–17 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 61 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 56 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| 2017–18 | Utica Comets | AHL | 60 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Utica Comets | AHL | 34 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 15 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2019–20 AHL season | Utica Comets | AHL | 48 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2020–21 NHL season | Vancouver Canucks | National Hockey League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2021–22 AHL season | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 44 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 33 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | |||||
| 2021–22 NHL season | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2022–23 NHL season | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 78 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4
│ 14 |- │ 2023–24 NHL season │ Carolina Hurricanes │ NHL │ 72 │ 8 │ 14 │ 22 │ 24 │ 11 │ 0 │ 2 │ 2 │ 12 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" │2024–25 NHL season │Carolina Hurricanes │NHL │79 │7 │11 │18 │54 │9 │1 │0 │1 │6 │- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |
} Awards and honorsMemorial Cup (Windsor Spitfires) || 2017 || Secured the championship with the Windsor Spitfires squad. Calder Cup (Chicago Wolves) || 2022 || Played a role in Chicago Wolves' Calder Cup championship run.
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