Chad Billins

Chad Billins (born May 26, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently under contract with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). An undrafted player, Billins played four seasons of college hockey with the Ferris State Bulldogs that culminated in his serving as co-captain of the team that reached the first Frozen Four appearance in school history in 2012. He turned professional in 2012 with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL) and was a member of their Calder Cup championship team. Billins made his NHL debut in 2013 as a member of the Calgary Flames.

Chad Billins
Born (1989-05-26) May 26, 1989
Marysville, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams		 HV71
Calgary Flames
CSKA Moscow
Luleå HF
Linköpings HC
Adler Mannheim
Brynäs IF
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career

Billins played two seasons of junior hockey, first in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Alpena IceDiggers in 2006–07, then the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He then moved to the college ranks, joining the Ferris State Bulldogs of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Billins played four seasons with Ferris State, culminating with his senior year in 2011–12 when he co-captained the Bulldogs to the first appearance in the Frozen Four in school history.[1]

An undrafted player, Billins turned professional in 2012 and signed an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins for the 2012–13 season.[2] He appeared in 76 games with the Griffins, and his 10 goals were three more than the highest single-season total he reached with Ferris State.[3] He was selected to play for the Western Conference AHL All-Star Team at the 2013 AHL All-Star Game.[4] He appeared in an additional 24 playoff games as the Griffins won the Calder Cup championship.[2]

Billins hoisting the Calder Cup in 2013.

His play with the Griffins earned Billins an NHL contract with the Calgary Flames as the team signed him to a two-way deal.[5] He was assigned to Calgary's AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat to start the season. Billins was leading the Heat with five goals when he earned his first NHL recall on November 1, 2013.[6] He made his NHL debut on November 5, and scored his first point by assisting on a Jiří Hudler goal in a 5–1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.[7]

On June 30, 2014, it was announced that Billins had signed a contract with Russian club, CSKA Moscow for the following 2014–15 season. Despite his signing he was tendered a qualifying offer by the Flames to retain his NHL rights.[8] Billins played in just 21 games with CSKA for 6 points before opting to move to the Swedish Hockey League for the remainder of the season with Luleå HF on December 20, 2014.

Billins joined his third club in under a year, in signing a two-year contract with fellow SHL club, Linköpings HC on June 12, 2015.

As a free agent on July 1, 2016, Billins returned to the NHL, in securing a one-year, two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks.[9] In the 2016–17 season, Billins was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets for the duration of the campaign. Unable to make a return to the NHL, Billins appeared in 72 games compiling 3 goals and 20 points.

As an impending free agent, Billins opted to resume his European career, returning to former club, Linköpings HC of the SHL, on a two-year contract on April 19, 2017.[10]

At the conclusion of his contract in Sweden, Billins continued his European career in Germany, agreeing to a two-year deal with reigning Champions, Adler Mannheim of the DEL, on May 3, 2019.[11]

After one season with Adler Mannheim, Billins opted to end his contract and return to Sweden in agreeing to a one-year deal with Brynäs IF of the SHL on December 22, 2020.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Little Caesars 18U AAA MWEHL 22 1 4 5 18 — — — — —
2005–06 Alpena IceDiggers NAHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2006–07 Alpena IceDiggers NAHL 61 7 18 25 98 0 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 60 10 26 36 81 11 5 4 9 0
2008–09 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 27 2 9 11 38 — — — — —
2009–10 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 40 3 8 11 26 — — — — —
2010–11 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 39 5 11 16 20 — — — — —
2011–12 Ferris State Bulldogs CCHA 43 7 22 29 24 — — — — —
2012–13 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 76 10 27 37 40 24 2 12 14 12
2013–14 Abbotsford Heat AHL 65 10 32 42 40 4 0 2 2 2
2013–14 Calgary Flames NHL 10 0 3 3 0 — — — — —
2014–15 CSKA Moscow KHL 21 2 4 6 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Luleå HF SHL 23 1 5 6 4 9 1 1 2 2
2015–16 Linköpings HC SHL 50 7 24 31 14 6 2 2 4 4
2016–17 Utica Comets AHL 72 3 17 20 16 — — — — —
2017–18 Linköpings HC SHL 50 4 19 23 20 7 3 4 7 0
2018–19 Linköpings HC SHL 52 3 18 21 18 — — — — —
2019–20 Adler Mannheim DEL 36 2 8 10 16 — — — — —
2020–21 Brynäs IF SHL 26 2 8 10 12 — — — — —
2021–22 HV71 Allsv 52 8 35 43 14 15 6 7 13 6
2022–23 HV71 SHL 49 3 7 10 12 — — — — —
NHL totals 10 0 3 3 0 — — — — —
SHL totals 250 20 81 101 80 22 6 7 13 6

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 United States OG 7th 5 0 0 0 0
Senior totals 5 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors
Award Year
College
All-CCHA First Team 2011–12 [13]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2011–12
NCAA All-Tournament Team 2012 [14]
AHL
All-Star Game 2013 [4]
Calder Cup (Grand Rapids Griffins) 2013 [2]

References
  1. Wallner, Peter J. (November 5, 2013). "Former Ferris State, Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Chad Billins reaches NHL for first time". Michigan Live. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  2. Cruickshank, Scott (September 17, 2013). "Flames notes: Billins fresh off 2013 Calder Cup win". Calgary Herald. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  3. Peterson, Torie (November 1, 2013). "Numerology: Chad Billins". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  4. "Griffins possess All-Star Trio". Grand Rapids Griffins Hockey Club. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  5. "Billins agrees to two-way deal with Calgary Flames". The Times-Herald. Port Huron, MI. July 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  6. Gilbertson, Wes (November 5, 2013). "Rookie Flames defenceman Chad Billins gets 'the call'". Calgary Herald. p. S3. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  7. "Parise, Harding lead Wild past Flames, 5–1". ESPN. November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  8. "Galiardi, Bryon among players sent packing by Calgary Flames". Calgary Sun. June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  9. "Canucks sign Chaput, Rendulic and Billins". Vancouver Canucks. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  10. "Chad Billins returns to LHC" (in Swedish). Linköpings HC. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  11. "Eagles sign Billins and Jarvinen" (in German). Adler Mannheim. May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  12. "Welcomes to Brynas IF Chad Billins" (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  13. All-CCHA First Team - The Detroit News
  14. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
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