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Chris Therien

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Chris Therien
Born (1971-12-14) December 14, 1971 (age 52)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
Dallas Stars
National team  Canada
NHL draft 47th overall, 1990
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1994–2006

Christopher Bowie Therien (born December 14, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars between 1995 and 2006. He was the lead analyst for Flyers Pregame Live and Flyers Postgame Live on NBC Sports Philadelphia.[1] Prior to the 2018-19 NHL season he was a color commentator inside the glass for the Flyers on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He was also previously the Flyers' radio color commentator on 97.5 The Fanatic. He is currently the lead commentator for Ice Wars International.

Playing career

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After registering 35 goals and 37 assists in 31 games for Northwood School in 1989–90, Chris Therien was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 3rd round, 47th overall of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He attended Providence College for three years and joined the Canadian national team after graduating. He was a member of the Canadian team which won silver at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. He started his professional career in 1994 playing for the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Once the NHL Lockout came to an end, he joined the Flyers and played every regular season and playoff game in the abbreviated season, earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team. He enjoyed his best season in 1996–97 by recording a career high in points (24) and plus/minus (+27) in 71 games while helping lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals. After playing nine and a half seasons with the Flyers, he was traded to the Dallas Stars on March 8, 2004, for a 2004 8th round draft pick and a 2005 3rd round draft pick.[2] He signed a one-year contract to return to the Flyers shortly after the 2004–05 NHL lockout came to an end, and ended up playing in 47 games before having his season cut short due to a head injury.

Known primarily as a defensive defenceman, Therien was usually partnered with Éric Desjardins over the years.[3] He was also well known for elevating his game when matched up against star forward Jaromír Jágr.[4] His teammates took to calling him Bundy after the character Al Bundy from Married... with Children.[5]

Therien took a slapshot that ended the career of Trent McCleary in a game, which McCleary attempted to block. The shot ended up striking McCleary in the throat, which had enough force to damage his larynx.[6] He was critically injured when hit in the throat by the shot which fractured his larynx and resulted in a collapsed lung.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Therien and his family have been residents of the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey.[7][8] Daughters Isabella Therien, Ava Therien, and Alexa Therien are well known all-stars at Cherokee Highschool in the spot light for basketball. They all play Division 1 Basketball at Loyola University in Maryland. All three have excelled as athletes just like their father. They have been featured on ESPN for basketball honors and also on the TV show Tomboy.

Therien's autobiography Chris Therien: Road to Redemption was released in October 2022.

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
1988–89 Ottawa Junior Senators CJHL 8 3 1 4 22 — — — — —
1989–90 Ottawa Junior Senators CJHL 3 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1989–90 Northwood School HS-NY 31 35 37 72 54 — — — — —
1990–91 Providence College HE 36 4 18 22 36 — — — — —
1991–92 Providence College HE 36 16 25 41 38 — — — — —
1992–93 Providence College HE 33 8 11 19 52 — — — — —
1992–93 Canadian National Team Intl 8 1 4 5 8 — — — — —
1993–94 Canadian National Team Intl 59 7 15 22 46 — — — — —
1993–94 Hershey Bears AHL 6 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1994–95 Hershey Bears AHL 34 3 13 16 37 — — — — —
1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 48 3 10 13 38 15 0 0 0 10
1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 6 17 23 89 12 0 0 0 18
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 2 22 24 64 19 1 6 7 6
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 3 16 19 80 5 0 1 1 4
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 3 15 18 48 6 0 0 0 6
1999–00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 4 9 13 66 18 0 1 1 12
2000–01 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 2 12 14 48 6 1 0 1 8
2001–02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 4 10 14 30 5 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 67 1 6 7 36 13 0 2 2 2
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 56 1 9 10 50 — — — — —
2003–04 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 11 0 0 0 2 5 2 0 2 0
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 47 0 4 4 34 — — — — —
NHL totals 764 29 130 159 585 104 4 10 14 68

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1994 Canada OLY 4 0 0 0 4
Senior totals 4 0 0 0 4

Awards and honors

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Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Silver medal – second place 1994 Lillehammer Ice Hockey
Award Year
All-Hockey East Rookie Team 1990–91
All-Hockey East Second Team 1992–93

Records

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  • His 753 games played as a Philadelphia Flyer is first among defenseman in Flyers history.

References

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  1. ^ Tornoe, Rob (4 October 2018). "Chris Therien lands a new job as NBC Sports Philadelphia shakes up its Flyers broadcast". Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  2. ^ Blockus, Gary (2004-03-09). "Flyers say goodbye to Therien, hello to Malakhov". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  3. ^ "Transcript of Eric Desjardins Conference Call". Philadelphia Flyers. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  4. ^ "Chat wrap: Chris Therien". ESPN.com. February 16, 2001. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. ^ Panaccio, Tim (March 9, 2004). "Flyers shore up defense in trades". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Out of the Woods". CNN/SI. 2000-01-31. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  7. ^ Philadelphia Flyers 2014-15 Media Guide, p. 43. Accessed November 30, 2017. "Therien resides in Marlton, New Jersey, with his wife, Diana, and their four children– daughters Isabella, Ava and Alexa and son Christopher."
  8. ^ Zimmaro, Mark (May 5, 2020). "No Flyers for now, but Therien busy with dad duties". South Philly Review. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
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