Kris Chucko

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image = Kris Chucko.JPG

| image_size = 230px

| position = Right wing

| shoots = Right

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 190

| played_for = Calgary Flames

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|3|13|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

| draft = 24th overall

| draft_year = 2004

| draft_team = Calgary Flames

| career_start = 2006

| career_end = 2011

}}

Kristopher J. Chucko (born March 13, 1986) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played two National Hockey League (NHL) games for the Calgary Flames. He was a first-round selection, 24th overall, of the Flames in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and played his entire professional career in the team's organization. Chucko retired in 2011 as a result of concussions.

Playing career

As a youth, Chucko played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Burnaby.{{cite web|url=https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|title=Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA|year=2018|website=Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament|access-date=2019-02-14|archive-date=2019-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Chucko was drafted after scoring 87 points in 53 games for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League. He then moved on to the University of Minnesota, where he spent two years (2004–2006).{{cn|date=February 2019}}

He signed with the Flames on May 22, 2006. He was later assigned to the Flames AHL farm club, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, where he made his professional debut. Chucko was recalled by the Flames on March 5, 2009, and made his NHL debut that night against the Philadelphia Flyers. He appeared in two games total before being returned to Omaha.{{cite web |last=Sportak |first=Randy |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Calgary/2009/03/08/8672701-sun.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715231908/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Calgary/2009/03/08/8672701-sun.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 15, 2012 |title=No luck in Atlanta for Flames |work=Calgary Sun |date=2009-03-08 |accessdate=2010-09-27}} He remained in the Flames system in 2009–10, joining the team's new AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat. His season ended just after Christmas when he suffered a severe concussion during a game.{{cite web |last=MacFarlane |first=Steve |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Calgary/2010/09/22/15437106.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115073213/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Calgary/2010/09/22/15437106.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |title=Chucko aims to bust out |work=Calgary Sun |date=2010-09-22 |accessdate=2010-09-27 }} The Flames re-signed Chucko to a one-year contract for the 2010-11 season.

Chucko suffered another serious concussion in October 2010, exacerbating a neck injury and limiting him to just two games for the Heat in 2010–11. Following the season, he decided to retire as a player.{{cite news |last=Mahiban |first=Dhiren |url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/breakingnews/concussions-take-their-toll-former-flames-first-round-pick-kris-chucko-retires-132260223.html |title=Concussions take their toll: Former Flames first-round pick Kris Chucko retires |work=Winnipeg Free Press |date=2011-10-20 |accessdate=2011-10-20}}