Clay Wilson

Clay Daniel Wilson (born April 5, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played 36 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames.

For the American underground cartoonist, see S. Clay Wilson.

Clay Wilson
Wilson with the Calgary Flames in 2012
Born (1983-04-05) April 5, 1983
Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Columbus Blue Jackets
Atlanta Thrashers
Florida Panthers
Calgary Flames
HC Donbass
HC Sochi
Severstal Cherepovets
AIK IF
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2005–2018

Playing career
Wilson as a member of the Rochester Americans

Clay Wilson played collegiate hockey for Michigan Tech from 2001 until 2005. After the 2004–05 collegiate season ended, he turned professional with the Muskegon Fury of the UHL. He played parts of two seasons with Muskegon before joining the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. After the 2005–06 season, he was signed as a free agent by the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL. He played for the Ducks' AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL in November 2007.

Wilson made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on March 25, 2008, against the Nashville Predators. He scored his first NHL goal and assist on March 26, 2008, in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, earning him first star honors in only his second NHL game.[1] On January 14, 2009, Wilson was traded by the Blue Jackets, along with a 6th round draft pick, to the Atlanta Thrashers for Jason Williams.[2][3]

Wilson signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Florida Panthers on July 2, 2009.[4] Wilson was then assigned to AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, for the majority of the 2009–10 season before making his Panthers debut on April 3, 2010, against the New York Rangers.[5] Although appearing in only two NHL games, Clay scored an impressive 60 points in 75 games with the Americans to be named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team.[6]

The Calgary Flames signed Wilson to a two-way deal for the 2011–12 season. He spent the majority of it with the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL, but appeared in five games with Calgary. He had a one-way deal with the Flames for 2012–13, but was expected to again spend most of the season in Abbotsford. Wilson instead chose to leave the Flames organization, signing with HC Donbass of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The Flames terminated his NHL contract.[7] He won the 2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup with HC Donbass and was named the best defender in the tournament.[8] He was named best defender again in 2014.[9]

Wilson was re-signed by Donbass to a further two-year contract extension, however with civil unrest in Ukraine forcing Donbass to suspend operations for the 2014–15 season, Wilson signed a one-year contract with expansion club, HC Sochi on July 1, 2014.[10] He then had his contract renewed for a second season. Following the 2015-16 campaign, he left Sochi, moving on to fellow KHL outfit Severstal Cherepovets.[11]

After moving to Sweden to play in the HockeyAllsvenskan with AIK IF for the 2017–18 season, Wilson ended his 13-year professional career in accepting an assistant coach role in a return to Donbas, Ukraine, with HC Donbass on October 16, 2018.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 4 8 12 18 — — — — —
2002–03 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 8 17 25 37 — — — — —
2003–04 Michigan Tech WCHA 37 2 11 13 22 — — — — —
2004–05 Michigan Tech WCHA 35 3 4 7 42 — — — — —
2004–05 Muskegon Fury UHL 14 3 3 6 2 17 0 2 2 8
2005–06 Muskegon Fury UHL 13 3 9 12 9 — — — — —
2005–06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 60 10 27 37 40 16 0 3 3 8
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 79 9 34 43 52 — — — — —
2007–08 Portland Pirates AHL 14 3 5 8 6 — — — — —
2007–08 Syracuse Crunch AHL 57 11 28 39 29 13 2 5 7 4
2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 7 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Syracuse Crunch AHL 33 8 12 20 6 — — — — —
2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 5 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Chicago Wolves AHL 37 6 19 25 10 — — — — —
2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Rochester Americans AHL 75 14 46 60 58 7 2 0 2 22
2009–10 Florida Panthers NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2010–11 Rochester Americans AHL 66 12 36 48 24 — — — — —
2010–11 Florida Panthers NHL 15 3 2 5 6 — — — — —
2011–12 Abbotsford Heat AHL 66 16 27 43 41 8 2 4 6 12
2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 5 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2012–13 HC Donbass KHL 51 8 12 20 26 — — — — —
2013–14 HC Donbass KHL 54 6 16 22 22 13 1 6 7 11
2014–15 HC Sochi KHL 60 2 25 27 14 4 0 1 1 4
2015–16 HC Sochi KHL 45 3 13 16 20 1 0 0 0 4
2016–17 Severstal Cherepovets KHL 52 6 7 13 26 — — — — —
2017–18 AIK IF Allsv 38 3 16 19 16 5 1 2 3 0
NHL totals 36 4 4 8 12 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2011 United States WC 8th 7 0 2 2 0
Senior totals 7 0 2 2 0

References
  1. "Wilson scores goal, assist in win". NHL. March 26, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  2. "Thrashers acquire Clay Wilson and a 6th round draft pick in 2009 NHL Draft from Columbus for Jason Williams". Atlanta Thrashers. January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  3. "Blue Jackets trade for help on the power play". dispatch.com. January 14, 2009. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  4. "Florida Panthers sign Clay Wilson". Florida Panthers. July 2, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  5. "Rangers 4, Panthers 1". CBS Sports. April 3, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  6. "First and Second All-Star Team named". AHL. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  7. Fisher, Scott (August 4, 2012). "Feet of Clay". Calgary Sun. p. S2.
  8. "Donbass dethrones Dragons". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  9. "Dragons win for Oilers". www.iihf.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014.
  10. "Donbass players continue to seek employment" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  11. "Хоккейный клуб Северсталь". severstalclub.ru. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  12. "Clay Wilson - Assistant Coach of Donbass" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Hockey League. October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
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