Kurtis Gabriel
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50%Born
1993 (31 years old)
Birth Place
Newmarket, Ontario, CanadaPosition
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Retired
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Height
6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight
200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
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Ice HockeyTeam
_Retired Ice Hockey
2nd Team
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_No League Ice Hockey
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Kurtis Gabriel (born April 20, 1993) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He most recently played for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gabriel is mostly known as an enforcer.
After being passed over in the NHL Entry Draft during his first two years of eligibility, Gabriel was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the 3rd round (81st overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Wild on November 10, 2015, but spent most of his tenure with their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. He concluded his nearly five season tenure with the team following the 2017–18 season, where he subsequently signed with the New Jersey Devils. Although Gabriel only spent one season with the Devils organization, he became the first NHL player to use Pride Tape outside of NHL designated Pride Nights. His advocacy work for the local community earned him the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year with the Wild and Phantoms.
Early life and education
Gabriel was born on April 20, 1993, in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada to mother Kim. His mother and maternal grandparents are of Scottish heritage. His parents split up by the time he was six years old. Growing up, he played hockey, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. By the age of 10, Gabriel was playing Triple-A level hockey, until his father died by suicide and he dropped two divisions. He would later collaborate with the Shared Grief Project as a result of his father's suicide.
Playing career
Amateur
While attending Dr. John M. Denison Secondary School, Gabriel was convinced by a friend to pursue hockey as a career. At that point, he had been splitting his time between baseball, soccer, and hockey and was considering pursuing a college basketball scholarship. He began playing for the AAA midgets Markham Waxers and York-Simcoe Express before earning an invite to the Jr. A Newmarket Hurricanes and Georgina Ice Jr. C evaluation camp. While participating in the Georgina Ice evaluation camp in Georgina, Ontario, he impressed the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Owen Sound Attack scout Bryan Denney and was invited to their development camp.
Gabriel ended up playing four seasons in the OHL from 2010 to 2014, all with the Owen Sound Attack. Gabriel played in 40 games for Owen Sound during his rookie campaign and recorded four points. After his first season in the OHL, Gabriel was not drafted at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft but attended the Phoenix Coyotes Rookie Camp as a free agent invitee. Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Gabriel was also not offered an invite to a rookie camp the following season, following a 17-point campaign. When he returned to Owen Sound prior to the 2012–13 season, he began his first breakout season. By December, he had earned the Attacker of the Week award for helping the team win in a shootout against the Plymouth Whalers, and later scoring the team's only goal in a 4–1 loss to the same team. Although Gabriel concluded the 2012–13 season with a career-high 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points, he was left off the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final ranking. In spite of being passed over in his first two years of eligibility, the Minnesota Wild eventually drafted him 81st overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
In his final session of major junior hockey, Gabriel was named an alternate captain and once again set a new career high in goals, assists, and points. On March 3, 2014, the Minnesota Wild signed Gabriel to a three-year entry-level contract. As the Owen Sound Attack qualified for the OHL playoffs, Gabriel was coming off a 10-game point streak. During the first round of the OHL playoffs, Gabriel recorded one assist in an eventual loss to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
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