Introduction
Steven Tetsuo Kariya (born December 22, 1977) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey winger and younger brother of retired National Hockey League player Paul Kariya. Kariya was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Playing career
After playing Junior A with the Nanaimo Clippers, he joined the college hockey ranks with the University of Maine Black Bears. In his senior year, he captained the Black Bears and led them to an NCAA title in 1999.
Having not been drafted by an NHL team, he was signed as a free agent by the Vancouver Canucks and played three-and-a-half years within the organization. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Kariya went overseas to play for Ilves Tampere of the Finnish SM-liiga and won the Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy as the league's top point-scorer. Remaining in Europe, he played one-season stints with the Espoo Blues, HPK, and JYP, with whom he last played during the 2009–10 season. He also played for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Elitserien for two seasons.
On March 1, 2013, Kariya joined the Portland Winterhawks coaching staff
Personal
Kariya's sister Noriko is a professional boxer and his brother Martin is also a professional hockey player. He and Martin are the first and only brothers to have won the Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy.
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 1995–96 | |
| Hockey East All-Tournament Team | 1998 | |
| All-Hockey East First Team | 1998–99 | |
| AHCA East First-Team All-American | 1998–99 |
- Awarded the NCAA Hockey East Sportsmanship Award in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
- NCAA Champion with University of Maine in 1999.
- Awarded the Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy (Most points in SM-liiga) in 2005.
- "2013–14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | University of Maine | HE | 39 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | University of Maine | HE | 35 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | University of Maine | HE | 35 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | University of Maine | HE | 41 | 27 | 39 | 65 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 29 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 45 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 43 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 17 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 67 | 25 | 37 | 62 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 38 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 31 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 57 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Ilves Tampere | SM-liiga | 55 | 24 | 35 | 59 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Espoo Blues | SM-liiga | 56 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 61 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2006–07 | Frölunda HC | SEL | 55 | 23 | 16 | 39 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Frölunda HC | SEL | 41 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | HPK Hämeenlinna | SM-liiga | 58 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | JYP Jyväskylä | SM-liiga | 46 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| NHL totals | 65 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| SM-liiga totals | 215 | 83 | 107 | 190 | 139 | 35 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 28 | ||||
| SEL totals | 96 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||