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Rhett Gardner

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Not to be confused with Brett Gardner.
Rhett Gardner
Born (1996-02-28) February 28, 1996 (age 28)
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Philadelphia Flyers
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)
Dallas Stars
NHL draft 116th overall, 2016
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2018–present

Rhett Gardner (born February 28, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life

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Gardner was born on February 28, 1998, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada[1] to parents Rob and Renee Gardner.[2]

Playing career

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Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Gardner was drafted in the second round of the 2011 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft by the Spokane Chiefs while captaining the Moose Jaw Generals. However, he never played for the team as his rights were traded to Brandon Wheat Kings on January 10. Following the trade, Gardner informed the Wheat Kings he would not report to them as he had committed to play NCAA Division I collegiate ice hockey with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team.[3] While attending Vanier Collegiate Institute, Gardner played with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.[2] During the 2013–14 season, he earned AJHL All-Rookie Team honors[4] after recording 13 goals and 24 assists in 52 games.[2] As a result of his play, he was selected to represent Team Canada at the World Junior A Challenge,[5] winning a bronze medal in 2013.[6]

Collegiate

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Gardner joined the North Dakota Fighting Hawks as a freshman for their 2015–16 season, where he helped them win their first NCAA Championship title in 16 years.[7] During the season, he tied for fourth on the team with 11 goals which also ranked second-most among freshmen. He also won 280 faceoffs, which was the second-most in program history.[2] In January 2016, Gardner was named National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Rookie of the Week after scored four goals over two games.[8] As he helped the team clinch their NCAA title, Gardner became the first former Okotoks Oiler player to win a national title.[7] He finished his rookie campaign being named to the NCHC's 2015–16 Academic All-Conference Freshman Team.[9]

Prior to his sophomore season, Gardner was drafted in the fourth round, 116th overall, by the Dallas Stars in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[10] He returned to the Fighting Hawks for their 2016–17 season where he set a new career high in points, assists, and power-play goals.[2] At the conclusion of the season, Gardner was again selected for the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team.[11] On April 11, 2017, Gardner was named an assistant captain alongside Trevor Olson and Johnny Simonson for the 2017–18 season.[12]

Professional

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On March 19, 2019, having concluded his collegiate career, Gardner was signed to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars. He was subsequently assigned to the Stars' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars, for the remainder of their 2018–19 season.[13] Gardner recorded his first professional assist on Colin Markison’s game-winning goal during a 5–2 win over the Iowa Wild on March 29, 2019.[14]

Gardner was invited to participate in the Dallas Stars' 2019 training camp prior to the start of the 2019–20 season but was re-assigned to the AHL on September 17.[15] He was re-called to the NHL on October 4 prior the Texas Stars' opening night.[16] Gardner made his NHL debut on October 5 against the St. Louis Blues, logging four faceoff wins and one hit in 12:04 time on ice. He played in six more games for Dallas, posting eight shots on goal and seven hits, before being re-assigned to the AHL.[17]

Upon joining the Dallas Stars, he records his first career NHL assist in a 2–1 shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 14. His point, an assist, came off a goal from Joe Pavelski who had redirected Joel Kiviranta's shot on goal.[18] A few games later, on March 21, 2021, Gardner scored his first NHL goal in a game against the Nashville Predators.[19]

On June 24, 2021, Gardner was signed to a two-year, $1.5 million contract extension with the Stars. The deal is two-way for the 2021–22 season and one-way for 2022–23 season.[20]

On July 1, 2023, Gardner left the Stars organization as a free agent in signing a two-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[21]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Moose Jaw Generals SMHL 10 2 3 5 12 2 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Moose Jaw Generals SMHL 41 19 11 30 53 9 4 2 6 2
2012–13 Moose Jaw Generals SMHL 35 27 21 48 24 2 1 0 1 2
2012–13 Green Bay Gamblers USHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Okotoks Oilers AJHL 52 13 24 37 82 5 1 1 2 6
2014–15 Okotoks Oilers AJHL 54 24 30 54 119 7 1 5 6 14
2015–16 U. of North Dakota NCHC 41 11 7 18 52 — — — — —
2016–17 U. of North Dakota NCHC 38 8 13 21 69 — — — — —
2017–18 U. of North Dakota NCHC 33 7 13 20 48 — — — — —
2018–19 U. of North Dakota NCHC 37 8 7 15 71 — — — — —
2018–19 Texas Stars AHL 11 4 1 5 4 — — — — —
2019–20 Dallas Stars NHL 8 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Texas Stars AHL 55 9 15 24 36 — — — — —
2020–21 Dallas Stars NHL 28 1 1 2 8 — — — — —
2020–21 Texas Stars AHL 2 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2021–22 Texas Stars AHL 66 7 9 16 69 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2022–23 Texas Stars AHL 71 10 30 40 75 8 4 4 8 22
2023–24 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 60 10 13 23 89 6 2 1 3 14
2023–24 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 41 1 1 2 10 — — — — —

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Canada Western U17 9th 5 2 0 2 2
Junior totals 5 2 0 2 2

Awards and honours

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Award Year
SMHL
Second All-Star Team 2013
AJHL
South All-Rookie Team 2014
College
NCHC Best Defensive Forward 2018

References

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  1. ^ "Rhett Gardner". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "RHETT GARDNER". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Generals' Gardner Commits To UND". discovermoosejaw.com. January 24, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  4. ^ "AJHL Announces All-League and All-Rookie Teams". ajhl.ca. March 6, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Hockey Canada announces World Junior A roster". nhl.com. National Hockey League. October 30, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Greer, Remy (November 20, 2013). "Oilers return with Canada West bronze". Okotoks Today. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "A Year Of Firsts For Rhett Gardner". OkotoksOnline.com. April 12, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "Gardner honored by NCHC after four-goal weekend". fightinghawks.com. January 25, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "Nine freshmen recognized by NCHC for academics". fightinghawks.com. June 20, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "Gardner, trio of recruits go on Day 2 of draft". fightinghawks.com. June 25, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "NCHC HONORS 123 STUDENT-ATHLETES FOR ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2016-17". nchchockey.com. February 15, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "Poganski pegged to captain North Dakota in 2017-18". fightinghawks.com. April 11, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Stars sign three players to entry-level contracts". nhl.com. National Hockey League. March 19, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "STARS SCORE FIVE UNANSWERED TO TOP WILD". texasstars.com. March 29, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "CAAMANO, GARDNER, ROBERTSON JOIN STARS FROM DALLAS". texasstars.com. September 27, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  16. ^ "DALLAS STARS RECALL CAAMANO AND GARDNER". texasstars.com. October 4, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "GARDNER AND HANLEY REASSIGNED TO TEXAS STARS". texasstars.com. October 22, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  18. ^ Merz, Craig (March 14, 2021). "Stars defeat Blue Jackets in shootout for split of two-game set". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  19. ^ Palmer, Randy (March 21, 2021). "Moose Jaw's Gardner scores first National Hockey League goal". Moose Jaw Today. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  20. ^ "Stars sign forward Rhett Gardner to two-year contract". Dallas Stars. June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  21. ^ "Flyers sign forward Rhett Gardner to a two-year, two-way contract". Philadelphia Flyers. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year
2017–18 		Succeeded by
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