Chris Stewart

Chris Stewart (born on October 30, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently contracted to the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Kingston Frontenacs
Prior to the 2004-05, Chris' older brother Anthony (who was the captain of the Kingston Frontenacs) put his reputation on the line when he asked the Frontenacs general manager Larry Mavety to give Chris the chance to try out with the Frontenacs as an undrafted free agent.

Mavety complied, and Chris made the team in training camp, allowing the brothers to play together on the same team. Initially given the position with the Frontenacs as an energetic fighting role player, Chris took advantage of his increased playing time, and had a solid rookie season, scoring 18 goals and 30 points in 64 games.

Chris played in his first OHL game on September 26, 2004, getting no points in a 4-3 loss to the Brampton Battalion. On October 3, 2004, he scored his first goal in the league on October 3, 2004, beating Sudbury Wolves goaltender Patrick Ehelechner in a 6-4 loss. The Frontenacs failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

In 2005-06, Chris had a breakout season, as he was named as an assistant captain, while scoring 37 goals and 87 points in 62 games to finish second in team scoring, helping Kingston to a playoff berth.

In six playoff games, Chris had two goals as the Frontenacs lost to the Sudbury Wolves in the first round of the playoffs.

That summer, Chris was drafted 18th overall in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. On October 13, 2006, the Frontenacs revealed him as the new captain of the team for the 2006-07 season at the Kingston Memorial Centre before a game against the Guelph Storm.

Chris had another solid season with Kingston as he had 36 goals and 82 points in 61 games, finishing second in team scoring once again.

In the post-season, Chris had four goals and six points in five games, as the Frontenacs lost to the Oshawa Generals in the opening round of the playoffs.

Colorado Avalanche
Chris made his professional debut with the Albany River Rats of the AHL at the end of the 2006-07 season. He played his first game with the team on April 4, 2007, getting no points in a 3-2 loss to the Springfield Falcons.

On April 6, 2007, Chris recorded his first point, an assist as Albany defeated the Binghamton Senators 7-3. On April 14, 2007, he scored his first professional goal on Corey Crawford of the Norfolk Admirals in a 6-5 loss.

In the playoffs, Chris appeared in one game, getting no points as the River Rats lost to the Hershey Bears in the first round. In 2007-08, the Avalanche moved their AHL affiliate to Cleveland, Ohio, and renamed the team to the Lake Erie Monsters.

Chris spent the entire season with Lake Erie, scoring a team high 25 goals, while finishing third in points with 44, however, Lake Erie missed the playoffs.

On November 17, 2007, Chris recorded a hat trick, scoring three times on Toronto Marlies goaltender Justin Pogge in a 5-3 Monsters victory. He began the 2008-09 season with the Monsters, appearing in 19 games, scoring five goals and 11 points.

On December 5, 2008, Chris was then called up to the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL. He played in his first NHL game that night, getting no points and a -1 rating in 7:29 ice time in the Avalanche's 2-1 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars.

On December 9, 2008, Chris scored his first career NHL goal, a shorthanded goal against Jason Labarbera of the Los Angeles Kings and added an assist in a 6-1 victory.

On January 21, 2009, Chris earned his first ever Gordie Howe hat trick, which is a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game in a 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He finished the 2008-09 season with 11 goals and 19 points in 53 games with Colorado, however, the team did not qualify for the playoffs.

Chris saw very little time with Lake Erie in 2009–10, appearing in just two games with the Monsters, getting no points. He spent the majority of the season with the Avalanche, and on December 2, 2009, Chris had another Gordie Howe hat trick while recording his first three point game in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.

On March 6, 2010, Chris recorded his first career hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in a 7-3 win, scoring two goals against Chris Mason followed by a penalty shot goal against Ty Conklin while adding an assist to finish with a career high four points in a game.

Chris finished the season leading the Avalanche with 28 goals, while finishing second in team scoring with 64 points, helping the club into the playoffs.

On April 14, 2010, Chris played in his first NHL playoff game, scoring a goal with 50 seconds left in the game against Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks in a 2-1 Colorado win. He finished the playoffs with three goals in six games, as the Avalanche lost to the Sharks in the first round of post-season.

In the off-season, Chris signed a two-year contract with the Avalanche and began the 2010–11 season with Colorado. On October 28, 2010, he earned his second career hat trick in a 6-5 Avalanche win over the Calgary Flames, scoring all three goals against Henrik Karlsson.

On February 19, 2011, the Avalanche traded Chris, Kevin Shattenkirk and the Avalanche's second round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft to the St. Louis Blues for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and the Blues first round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Chris finished with 13 goals and 30 points in 36 games with Colorado.

St. Louis Blues
Chris finished the 2010–11 season with the St. Louis Blues and made an immediate impact in his debut with the team on February 19, 2011, scoring two goals against Timo Pielmeier in a 9-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

Chris finished with 15 goals and 23 points in 26 games with the Blues, however, they failed to qualify for the playoffs. During the following 2011–12 season, Stewart struggled to reproduce his scoring prowess for the Blues.

Unable to adjust to the defensive tactics of renowned coach Ken Hitchcock, Chris was increasingly subject to trade rumours whilst used in a diminished checking role and relegated as an healthy scratch during parts of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Chris finished with 15 goals and 30 points in 79 games before he opted to re-sign to a one-year deal in hopes to rebound with the Blues.

With the commencement of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Chris signed a one month contract, alongside Wayne Simmonds to play with the Eispiraten Crimmitschau of the 2nd Bundesliga in Germany on September 24, 2012.

Becoming the most established NHL players in ETC Crimmitschau history, Chris scored 5 goals and 11 points in 9 games before he and Simmonds declined to extend their optional stint.

Whilst opting to remain in Europe alongside Simmonds, Chris signed to another lockout out contract in the more competitive Czech Extraliga with HC Bili Tygri Liberec on October 23, 2012.

With the intention of playing alongside Simmonds and Petr Nedved failing to materialise, and after 5 unfruitful games with Liberec, Chris decided to return to Crimmitschau for the remainder of the lockout on November 13, 2012.

Just under a month later, with new found optimism of the lockout end in sight and advice to prevent injury, Chris was released on his request from the remainder of his contract on December 7, 2012. He returned to North America having scored 20 points in just 15 games for the Pirates.

On December 23, 2013, Chris was named First Star of the Week for his performance in the week ending December 22, after earning six goals and one assist. He beat out Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) (#2) and Matt Duchene (Colorado) (#3).

Personal Life
Chris was the second of seven children (he has five younger sisters). He has a mother named Sue (who is Arabic) and a father named Norman (who is a Jamaican immigrant). He is the younger brother of Anthony Stewart who currently plays for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Chris grew up quite poor, but he still loved to play hockey and was noted for his tenacity even before reaching his full size.

Chris and Anthony played with the North York Jr. Canadiens, and thanks to a representative of the team, his hockey was paid for entirely.

Chris also liked football and seriously considered playing it throughout his high school years at the West Hill Collegiate Institute.

Growing up, Chris became friends with fellow Toronto native hockey player Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers and they return to Toronto as house-mates during the off-season.