Chris Thorburn

Chris Thorburn (born June 3, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played over 800 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Thorburn was known for his physical play and capabilities as a fighter.
==Early life==
Thorburn was born on June 3, 1983, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada to parents Linda and Mark Thorburn. He grew up in Ontario with two brothers and two sisters, along with numerous cousins from both sides of the family. His first cousin Chrissy Colizza plays for the McGill Martlets ice hockey, a school which three of his uncles attended.
==Playing career==
Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Thorburn played most of his minor ice hockey in the Sault Major Hockey Association (NOHA). He played in the 1997 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Sault Ste. Marie. He later played for the Soo Thunder Minor Bantam club before making the jump to Tier II Jr.A. hockey with the Elliot Lake Vikings of the NOJHL. After an impressive season as a 15-year-old in the NOJHL, Thorburn was selected in the first round (6th overall) as an underage by the North Bay Centennials in the 1999 OHL Priority Selection. By 2019, he was the last North Bay Centennials player to be an active player in the NHL.
He was drafted 50th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. However, after returning to the OHL for the 2001–2002 season, the Centennials were sold to Saginaw and he split his season between the Saginaw Spirit and the Plymouth Whalers. On December 2, 2005, Thorburn made his NHL debut in 5-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks and recorded his first career NHL point the following game against the Colorado Avalanche. He was returned to American Hockey League on December 7, after playing in two games.
On October 3, 2006, Thorburn was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He recorded his first career NHL goal on November 6, 2006, in a 3–2 overtime loss against the Anaheim Ducks. After one season with the Penguins, Thorburn was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for a third-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Enjoying a career year during the 2010–11 season and in his fourth year with the Thrashers, Thorburn was signed to a three-year contract extension on February 26, 2011. On June 30, 2014, the Winnipeg Jets re-signed Thorburn to a three-year, $3.6 million contract extension.
On June 21, 2017, as an impending free agent from the Jets, he was left exposed and claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. For selecting Thorburn the Jets traded their first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Columbus' first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft which was previously acquired by the Golden Knights. Although being selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, Thorburn would become a free agent. On July 1, 2017, he signed a two-year, $1.8 million deal with the St. Louis Blues.
In the 2018–19 season, Thorburn made one appearance with the Blues before he was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, for the majority of the campaign. Thorburn was later recalled by the Blues, and despite not playing he was a part of the extended roster in the playoffs as the Blues claimed their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Thorburn announced his retirement on June 22, 2020 via a written statement released by the NHLPA. In an NHL career that spanned from 2006 to 2019, Thorburn scored 134 points in 801 career NHL games.
==Personal life==
Thorburn is married to Sara Thorburn and they have two children together. After their oldest child was diagnosed with autism, the couple began organizing fundraisers to raise money towards special education programs at schools. In 2018, they raised $20,000 towards their sons local special needs teacher at Flynn Park Elementary School.
==Career statistics==
 	 	 		Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1997–98 	Soo Thunder AAA 	Bantam 		42 	50 	56 	106 	40 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1998–99 	Elliot Lake Ice 	NOJHL 		40 	20 	11 	31 	30 		10 	4 	2 	6 	14
1999–00 	North Bay Centennials 	OHL 		56 	12 	8 	20 	33 		6 	0 	2 	2 	0
2000–01 	North Bay Centennials 	OHL 		66 	22 	32 	54 	64 		4 	0 	1 	1 	9
2001–02 	North Bay Centennials 	OHL 		67 	15 	43 	58 	112 		5 	1 	2 	3 	8
2002–03 	Saginaw Spirit 	OHL 		37 	19 	19 	38 	68 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2002–03 	Plymouth Whalers 	OHL 		27 	11 	22 	33 	56 		18 	11 	9 	20 	10
2003–04 	Rochester Americans 	AHL 		58 	6 	16 	22 	77 		16 	3 	2 	5 	18
2004–05 	Rochester Americans 	AHL 		73 	12 	17 	29 	185 		4 	0 	1 	1 	12
2005–06 	Buffalo Sabres 	NHL 		2 	0 	1 	1 	7 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2005–06 	Rochester Americans 	AHL 		77 	23 	27 	50 	134 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2006–07 	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL 		3 	0 	1 	1 	2 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2006–07 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	NHL 		39 	3 	2 	5 	69 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2007–08 	Atlanta Thrashers 	NHL 		73 	5 	13 	18 	92 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2008–09 	Atlanta Thrashers 	NHL 		82 	7 	8 	15 	104 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2009–10 	Atlanta Thrashers 	NHL 		76 	4 	9 	13 	89 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2010–11 	Atlanta Thrashers 	NHL 		82 	9 	10 	19 	77 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2011–12 	Winnipeg Jets 	NHL 		72 	4 	7 	11 	83 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2012–13 	Winnipeg Jets 	NHL 		42 	2 	2 	4 	70 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2013–14 	Winnipeg Jets 	NHL 		55 	2 	9 	11 	65 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2014–15 	Winnipeg Jets 	NHL 		81 	7 	7 	14 	76 		4 	0 	0 	0 	0
2015–16 	Winnipeg Jets 	NHL 		82 	6 	6 	12 	81 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2016–17 	Winnipeg Jets 	NHL 		64 	3 	1 	4 	95 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2017–18 	St. Louis Blues 	NHL 		50 	1 	6 	7 	60 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2018–19 	St. Louis Blues 	NHL 		1 	0 	0 	0 	0 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
2018–19 	San Antonio Rampage 	AHL 		40 	2 	5 	7 	45 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals		801 	53 	81 	134 	968 		4 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
==References==
==External links==
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Category:1983 births
Category:Atlanta Thrashers players
Category:Buffalo Sabres draft picks
Category:Buffalo Sabres players
Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Category:North Bay Centennials players
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players
Category:Plymouth Whalers players
Category:Rochester Americans players
Category:Saginaw Spirit players
Category:St. Louis Blues players
Category:Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players
Category:Winnipeg Jets players