Greg Koehler
| Greg Koehler | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 27, 1975 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1998–2007 | ||
Greg Koehler (born February 27, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds the record for shortest career in the National Hockey League (NHL), a 4-second shift on December 29, 2000, and is the only other skater, besides the New York Islanders' Jeff Libby in 1998, whose NHL career spans just a single shift.[1] The rest of his career, which lasted until 2007, was spent in various minor leagues.
Biography
As a youth, Koehler played in the 1989 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros minor ice hockey team.[2] Ken Dryden devoted the second chapter of his 1989 book Home Game to Greg Koehler and his parents when he was the 13-year-old captain of the Marlboros. The chapter, entitled, Playing fields of Scarborough, focuses on the dreams and stresses of players and family in youth hockey.[3]
Koehler played collegiate hockey for the UMass Lowell River Hawks, winning the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award for the 1996-97 season.[4] Going undrafted, Koehler would become a journeyman player in various minor leagues before retiring in 2007. He did, however, get a brief taste of the NHL on December 29, 2000, playing a 4-second shift for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Columbus Blue Jackets that was ended by a penalty as teammate Ron Francis was hooked by Steve Heinze.[1]
As of 2025, Koehler resides in Toronto working as an HVAC technician and playing men’s league hockey. He has a son, Jaxon, and daughter, Lilly.[1][5]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1992–93 | Niagara Falls Canucks | GHL | 40 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | North York Rangers | MetJAHL | 49 | 27 | 47 | 74 | 179 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | North York Rangers | MetJAHL | 48 | 28 | 43 | 71 | 126 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Brampton Capitals | OPJHL | 49 | 33 | 64 | 97 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | U Mass-Lowell | HE | 37 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | U Mass-Lowell | HE | 33 | 20 | 17 | 37 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Beast of New Haven | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Beast of New Haven | AHL | 26 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 29 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 62 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1999–00 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 74 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 157 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | ||
| 2000–01 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 80 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 122 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 56 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Philadelphia Phantoms | AHL | 22 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 43 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Manchester Monarchs | AHL | 13 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Elmira Jackals | UHL | 37 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Manchester Monarchs | AHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05 | Elmira Jackals | UHL | 44 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Adirondack Frostbite | UHL | 31 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 68 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 2005–06 | Milano Vipers | ITA | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Adirondack Frostbite | UHL | 38 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 84 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 21 | ||
| 2006–07 | Chicago Hounds | UHL | 38 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Bloomington Prairie Thunder | UHL | 34 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 187 | 48 | 49 | 97 | 212 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||||
| UHL totals | 222 | 97 | 134 | 231 | 364 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 31 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
See also
References
- ^ a b c Baugh, Peter. "The shortest career in NHL history? 1 shift. 4 seconds. 0 regrets". The Athletic. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ^ Dryden, Ken; MacGregor, Roy (1989). Home Game. McClelland & Stewart Inc. p. 53. ISBN 0-7710-2871-7.
- ^ hockeyeastonline (December 5, 2025). "Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year Award Winners". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Lillhannus, Andreas (April 3, 2025). "Greg Koehler's NHL career lasted for only four seconds". The Hockey Beast. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database