Steve Kelly

Steve Kelly
Born	(1976-10-26) October 26, 1976 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey player (retired), police officer
Years active	1996–2010
Known for	Professional ice hockey centre in the NHL for Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild; Stanley Cup champion (2000)

Steve Kelly (born October 26, 1976) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey center who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) representing the Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, and Minnesota Wild.

Playing career

Kelly developed his skills playing junior hockey with the Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League (WHL), amassing 254 points over 268 games. During the 1995–96 season, he achieved 101 points and accumulated 203 penalty minutes, contributing to the Raiders’ 47 victories and securing second place in the WHL Eastern Division. The Edmonton Oilers selected him sixth overall in the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

Although drafted highly, Kelly never exceeded 43 NHL games in a single season and totaled only 21 points across 147 NHL appearances. He played 27 games for Edmonton over two seasons before a February 1998 trade sent him, along with Bryan Marchment and Jason Bonsignore, to Tampa Bay in exchange for Roman Hamrlík and Paul Comrie.

Following two seasons and 58 games with Tampa Bay, Kelly was traded to the New Jersey Devils ahead of the 1999–2000 season. Most of that season was spent with their AHL affiliate Albany River Rats, where he tallied 57 points but made just one appearance for New Jersey. Due to injuries during New Jersey’s playoff run, Kelly participated in 10 games as part of their Stanley Cup-winning team. In February 2001, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Bob Corkum. While playing for L.A.’s AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, he recorded his best professional statistics—133 points in 113 games from 2002 through 2004—and was selected to represent Canada at the 2004 AHL All-Star Classic.

After the 2003–04 season concluded, Kelly signed with Adler Mannheim of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). In November 2005, he transferred to another DEL team, the Frankfurt Lions, where he scored 20 points in 22 contests. In 2007, Kelly joined the Minnesota Wild but spent most of that year with their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros before receiving a late-season call-up to the NHL. After signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets and playing for their AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch, Kelly returned to European hockey in 2009 by joining HDD Olimpija Ljubljana of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. An early-season injury led to his contract termination and subsequent retirement as he returned to Canada.

Despite early promise, Kelly is frequently regarded as a draft disappointment given his high selection at sixth overall. Many believed Edmonton would have chosen Shane Doan or Jarome Iginla instead—both players who became key figures for their franchises—underscoring a significant missed opportunity for the Oilers.

Personal life

Following his retirement from professional hockey, Kelly pursued a career as a police officer with the Calgary Police Service.

Career statistics

  1999–2000 AHL season     Albany River Rats     AHL     76     21     36     57    131     3    1    1    2         1999–2000 NHL season         New Jersey Devils         NHL         1         0         0         0         0        10        0        0        0                4           |-     2000–01 NHL seasonNew Jersey Devils NHL 24 2 2 4 21 — — — — — 2000–01 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 1 0 1 4 8 0 0 0 2 2001–02 AHL seasonManchester Monarchs AHL 49 10 21 31 88 5 1 8 9 4 2001–02 NHL season Los Angeles Kings NHL 8 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2002–03 AHL season Manchester Monarchs AHL 54 19 44 63 144 3 0 1 1 0 2002–03 NHL season Los Angeles Kings NHL 15 2 3 5 0 — — — — — 2003–04 AHL season Manchester Monarchs AHL 59 21 49 70 117 1 0 0 0 2 2003–04 NHL season Los Angeles Kings NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2004–05 DEL seasonAdler Mannheim DEL 46 11 22 33 210 12 1 4 5 72 2005–06 DEL season Adler Mannheim DEL 19 4 17 21 44 — — — — — 2005–06 Frankfurt Lions DEL 22 6 14 20 119 — — — — — 2006–07 DEL season Frankfurt Lions DEL 47 9 29 38 209 8 2 8 10 30 2007–08 AHL seasonHouston Aeros AHL 48 10 18 28 81 3 

External links

• Image displaying Steve Kelly's name on the 2000 Stanley Cup Plaque

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		65	11	9	20	75		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		65	19	42	61	106		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		68	31	41	72	153		15	7	9	16	35
1995–96	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		70	27	74	101	203		18	13	18	31	47
1996–97	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		48	9	29	38	111		11	3	3	6	24
1996–97	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		8	1	0	1	6		6	0	0	0	2
1997–98 IHL season	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		5	0	1	1	6
1997–98 AHL season	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		11	2	8	10	18
1997–98 NHL season	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		19	0	2	2	8
1997–98	Cleveland Lumberjacks	IHL		5	1	1	2	29		1	0	1	1	0
1997–98	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		24	2	1	3	15
1998–99 IHL season	Cleveland Lumberjacks	IHL		18	6	7	13	36
1998–99 NHL season	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		34	1	3	4	27
1999–00 IHL season	Detroit Vipers	IHL		1	0   |  0    |   0   |   4   |   |   |   |   |