Paul Kariya

Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was named Hockey East's Rookie and Player of the Year, becoming the second player to receive both awards in the same year after Brian Leetch did so with Boston College in 1987.

Kariya also received Hockey East first All-Star team honours alongside teammates Jim Montgomery, Chris Imes and Mike Dunham.

Kariya played two seasons of Junior A with the Penticton Panthers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL), beginning in 1990–91.

Recording 45 goals and 112 points over 54 games in his first season, he was awarded the Vern Dye and Bruce Allison Memorial Trophies as the Interior Conference's most valuable player (MVP) and rookie of the year, respectively.

The following season, he improved to 46 goals and 132 points over 40 games and was awarded the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy for a second consecutive year; he was also further distinguished as the Canadian Junior A player of the year.

During his second BCJHL season, in November 1991, he verbally committed to joining the Maine Black Bears of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA)'s Hockey East conference for the 1992–93 campaign.

Before deciding to join the University of Maine, Kariya also visited and received offers from Boston University and Harvard University for their respective programs, while entertaining offers from several other NCAA teams.

He also turned down major junior teams from the Western Hockey League (WHL).

His WHL rights originally belonged to the Victoria Cougars before they were traded to the Tri-City Americans in October 1991.

In his first year with the Black Bears, Kariya scored 100 points (25 goals and 75 assists) in 39 games.

After a two-year career with the Penticton Panthers, in which he was named Canadian Junior A Player of the Year in 1992, Kariya joined the University of Maine's Black Bears men's ice hockey team.

In his freshman year, he received the Hobey Baker Award, while he and fellow Hobey Baker Award finalist Jim Montgomery teamed to lead the Black Bears to the 1993 NCAA title.

Selected fourth overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Mighty Ducks, he joined the team in 1995 and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

He won gold at the 1993 World Junior Championships, his second appearance at the tournament.

He made his first appearance at the Winter Olympics in 1994 as an amateur, winning silver.

Eight years later, he helped Canada win gold at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

In between Olympic appearances, he won gold and silver at the 1994 and 1996 World Championships, respectively.

Known as a skilled and fast-skating offensive player, he played in the NHL for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues between 1995 and 2010.

Not an aggressive player, he won back-to-back Lady Byng trophies in 1996 and 1997 as the League's most gentlemanly player.

During his nine-year tenure with Anaheim, Kariya formed an effective duo with fellow winger Teemu Selänne that helped him to three NHL first All-Star team distinctions, while also finishing as the runner-up for the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1997.

Tetsuhiko died from a heart attack suffered on December 27, 2002.

Kariya's mother, a Scottish-Canadian, was also a teacher.

Coming from an athletic family, his father played rugby with the Canadian national team.

Kariya is one of four siblings who play professional sports.

Brothers Steve and Martin are also hockey players.

His sister, Noriko, played hockey as well, before turning to boxing.

As a teenager, Kariya worked for a summer in construction.

At age 16, he left home to play Junior A hockey in Penticton, British Columbia, where he also worked at a clothing store that belonged to the team's coach and general manager.

Two years later, he enrolled at the University of Maine to join the school's hockey team and was a dean's list student.

Serving as a captain for seven seasons, he led the Mighty Ducks to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the New Jersey Devils in seven games.

After a single-season stint with the Avalanche, reuniting with Selänne, who had previously been traded away from Anaheim, Kariya signed with the Predators in August 2005.

He played two seasons in Nashville, setting a team record for points scored in a single-season in 2005–06 (since broken).

Kariya then finished his career playing three seasons with the Blues.

Internationally, Kariya represented Canada on numerous stages and at different levels.

Throughout his NHL career, Kariya struggled with concussions, which eventually forced his retirement in June 2011 after sitting out the 2010–11 season because of post-concussion syndrome.

In June 2017, Kariya was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

His number, 9, was retired by the Ducks on October 21, 2018.

Kariya was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to parents Sharon and Tetsuhiko (T.K.) Kariya.

His father, a Japanese-Canadian born in a World War II internment camp at Greenwood, British Columbia, worked as a math teacher.