Chris Nilan
| Chris Nilan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 9, 1958 Boston, MA, USA |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers Boston Bruins |
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| National team |
 United States
|
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| NHL Draft | 231st overall, 1978 Montreal Canadiens |
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| Playing career | 1979–1992 | ||
Christopher John Nilan (born February 9, 1958) is a retired professional ice hockey player and current radio host. Nilan played 688 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games as a right-wing for the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers between 1980 and 1992. He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 with Montreal. Known as "Knuckles," he was famous for his propensity to fight. Nilan's life and career are prominently featured in Alex Gibney's 2011 documentary film The Last Gladiators.
Nilan grew up in Massachusetts where he idolized Bobby Orr and dreamed of playing for the Boston Bruins. He played his youth hockey with the Parkway (West Roxbury, Massachusetts) team of the Greater Boston Youth Hockey League (GBYHL), sponsored by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). He later played college hockey for the Northeastern University Huskies, from 1976 to 1979, averaging 3.5 penalty minutes per game in his final collegiate season.
Nilan was selected 231st overall in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, and was best known as a tough-guy for the Montreal Canadiens in the mid 1980s. One of only nine players in National Hockey League (NHL) history to have recorded more than 3,000 career penalty minutes, he holds the records of highest penalty minute average per game at 4.42 minutes per game, as well as the record for most penalties in a single game. March 31, 1991, when the Hartford Whalers visited Boston, Nilan was assessed a record ten penalties; six minors, two majors, one misconduct and one game misconduct, for a total of 42 penalty minutes.
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