Christopher Higgins (born June 2, 1983) is an American ice hockey player with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 14th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

[edit] Playing career

Originally from Whitestone, New York, Higgins was an All-American at Yale University. Before attending Yale Chris went to Avon Old Farms, a preparatory school in Avon, Connecticut. Higgins grew up as a Montreal Canadiens fan on Long Island. He was a student of the respected Lithuanian hockey coach Aleksey Nikiforov on Long Island. He was involved with youth hockey camps in his teen years, staying on the ice while helping out youth hockey in places such as Chelsea Piers Sky Rink NYC.

[edit] Montreal Canadiens

Higgins scored his first career goal on October 6, 2005, against New York Rangers goalie Kevin Weekes in front of friends and family attending the game at Madison Square Garden.

He was a runner-up for best offensive player during the first week of March, which was won by Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal.

On April 6, 2006, at 14:31 of the third period in a 5–3 win over the Boston Bruins, Higgins became the latest Habs rookie to score 20 or more goals in a season, following Saku Koivu (1995–96) and Michael Ryder (2003–04).

In the 2006–07 season he suffered an ankle injury (left high ankle sprain) that left him sidelined for six weeks.

Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, Higgins was named alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens. He was later replaced in that role, by Mike Komisarek during the 2008–09 season. On November 11, 2008, Higgins got his first hat trick in a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Higgins was traded along with Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik to the New York Rangers for Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt, and Michael Busto on June 30, 2009.^[1]

[edit] New York Rangers

Higgins scored the first preseason goal of the New York Rangers season against Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins in a 2-1 loss on September 15,2009. He scored his first regular season goal with the New York Rangers on November 3, 2009 against the Vancouver Canucks.

[edit] Personal

Higgins grew up in Smithtown, playing on the same youth hockey teams as ex teammate and best friend Mike Komisarek. His Dad is a New York City firefighter and one of his younger brothers is a New York City police officer. He has another younger brother and two sisters, one older and one younger.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Christopher Higgins's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database