Quick Facts
Biography
Christopher Thomas Tamer (born November 17, 1970 in Dearborn, Michigan) is a retired American ice hockey defenseman who played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Atlanta Thrashers.
Hockey career
After playing two years in the junior league, Tamer was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round, 68th overall. Upon being drafted Tamer played for the University of Michigan for four years where he established himself as a strong defenseman and hard hitter. After college, he reported to the Penguins minor league affiliate Cleveland Lumberjacks for the 1993–1994 season. That season he also made his debut with the Penguins, playing in 12 games. After another year split between the Penguins and the Lumberjacks Tamer played with the Penguins full-time for another three years. Shortly into the 1998–1999 season Tamer was traded to the New York Rangers. Following that season the newly formed Atlanta Thrashers picked up Tamer in the 1999 NHL Expansion Draft. He played with the Thrashers for five years, providing veteran experience for the young team. He enjoyed the best season of his career during the 2000–2001 season, scoring 17 points and playing all 82 games in the season, the only time he played the full 82 game schedule. For the 2005–2006 season Tamer played in 14 games with the Chicago Wolves before retiring.
Career statistics
Regular Season
| Regular season | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||
| 1993–94 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||||||
| 1994–95 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 36 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 82 | ||||||
| 1995–96 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 153 | ||||||
| 1996–97 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 45 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 131 | ||||||
| 1997–98 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 79 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 181 | ||||||
| 1998–99 | Pitt-New York Rangers | NHL | 63 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 124 | ||||||
| 1999–00 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 69 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 91 | ||||||
| 2000–01 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 82 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 128 | ||||||
| 2001–02 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 78 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 111 | ||||||
| 2002–03 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 72 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 118 | ||||||
| 2003–04 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 38 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 55 | ||||||
| 11 Years | Totals | NHL | 644 | 21 | 64 | 85 | 1183 | ||||||
International play
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | USA | WC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 2002 | USA | WC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
Personal life
Tamer, along with his wife, founded "Tamer's Time Out for Kids" which allowed children with disabilities and their families to attend Thrasher home ice games. He is the owner of Crossfit Brighton and his wife is the owner of Crossfit Dexter. They have three kids and one of them is going to be attending the University of Michigan in 2017 for business and she is going to play field hockey for the University of Michigan.