Blake Wheeler

Blake James Wheeler (born August 31, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Wheeler was born on August 31, 1986, in Plymouth, Minnesota to parents Pat and Jim and older sister Brooke.

Growing up, Wheeler played and attended school in Wayzata, Minnesota.

While playing youth hockey in Wayzata, Wheeler often played a year or two up from his age group due to his skills.

While he originally attended Wayzata High School, Wheeler chose to move to Breck School for his junior and senior years in order to better his chances at a hockey scholarship.

During the 2002–03 season, Wheeler helped lead the Wayzata Bantam team to the AA Silver Stick title and the Minnesota A Bantam State title.

He also played three games at the Tier 1 Bantam National Championships against three triple A teams.

At season's end, Wheeler had accumulated 130 points in 60 games and led the team in scoring.

Following these titles, Wheeler tried out for the United States men's national junior ice hockey team but was cut before the final roster was announced.

Upon being cut, Wheeler returned to Breck School for his junior season where he put up a state-high 45 goals and 55 assists during the 2003–04 regular season and playoffs.

He also led his team to a Class A State Hockey Championship that season and scored a hat trick in the final game.

Beyond hockey, Wheeler also played football at Breck and set a record for most catches by a tight end in the Prep Bowl.

During their Class 2A championship game, Wheeler caught seven passes for 147 yards to defeat Kingsland 51–14.

Following his breakout season, Wheeler committed to play for the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the University of Minnesota.

While he was originally deciding between Boston College and the University of Minnesota, he ultimately chose Minnesota due to its closeness to his family.

Wheeler left Breck after his junior year upon being drafted by the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) in the 2003 USHL Futures Draft.

When speaking of his decision to leave Breck, Wheeler said, "I felt I had accomplished all I could at the high school level, and wanted to test myself against bigger and older players."

Wheeler immediately made an impact on the Gamblers as he scored two goals and an assist in his debut on October 9.

After the team began the season going 1–6, Wheeler received a phone call from Coyotes general manager Wayne Gretzky, who gave him words of encouragement and advice.

The team's slow start continued throughout the season, and Gamblers coach Mark Mazzoleni was soon fielding calls to trade Wheeler.

He was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, fifth overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

After failing to come to terms on a contract with the Coyotes, he signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent.

Wheeler was eventually drafted fifth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

However, Wheeler finished the 2004–05 season leading the Gamblers with 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points.

Following his one season with the Gamblers, Wheeler was asked to participate in USA Hockey's Under-20 National Junior Evaluation Camp before joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers for his freshman season.

While attending the evaluation camp, Wheeler scored three goals an assist over four games against other international teams.

Wheeler began his freshman season with two goals and one assist for three points over his first four collegiate games.

By December, he ranked tied for fourth on the Gophers with four goals and fifth in points with 10.

Wheeler finished his freshman season ranked eighth on the team with 23 points and third among freshman with nine goals.

Although the Gophers qualified for the 2006 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament, Wheeler and the Gophers were upset by the Holy Cross Crusaders in the Regional semifinals.

When Wheeler returned to the Golden Gophers for his sophomore season, he worked with the coaching staff to learn how to become more physical on the ice.

He specifically studied Tomas Holmström and Ryan Smyth to view how they played a physical game using their larger bodies.

After Phil Kessel left the Gophers to join the Boston Bruins, the team began putting more responsibility on Wheeler and moved him from wing to center.

Through his first five games of the 2006–07 season, Wheeler tallied three goals and two assists while also winning 50 percent of faceoffs.

While playing centre in between wingers Ben Gordon and Jay Barriball, Wheeler led the team with nine goals and 18 points by the end of November.

Wheeler continued playing on the Gophers top line, and spent time on the team's top power play unit, as the Gophers maintained a lengthy win streak.

Wheeler began to slow down during the second half of the season and despite scoring 27 points in his first 22 games, he recorded just six points from January 7 to mid-March.

He finished his sophomore season with a career-high 18 goals and 20 assists to rank third on the team with 38 points over 42 games.

During the 2007 WCHA Semifinals, Wheeler recorded his first collegiate hat trick to lift the Gophers to a 4–2 win over the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

This was considered an unexpected pick as Wheeler was ranked 17th among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.