Soon-to-be 14th veteran left wing, Trevor Gillies(51) will be taking his brute force game over to Russia, joining Vityaz Chekhov in the KHL for 2012/2013.
The 6’3″ 231 lbs. forward has been with NY Islanders‘ organization for the last three seasons and appeared in 56 NHL and 50 AHL games with their affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. During that time he’s amassed a whopping 474 penalty minutes in the two leagues.
At 33-years old this is in all likelihood a good move for him to make as there’s no telling how many years he can continue to use his fists to protect teammates.
He sat out a good chunk of last season with a groin injury that limited him to 29 games.
The stocky forward was also seen helping out as an “assistant coach” behind the Sound Tigers‘ bench while he was on the sidelines.
Ironically after watching him play for the last 10 years, he skating and stick work has improved greatly over the last couple campaigns since he started extra sessions with Isles’ Skills’ Development Coach Bernie Cassell.
He will be missed at North American hockey barns, because he may be one of the toughest guys to lace up the skates but he’s also one of the nicest.
