Consistent excellence and being consistently underrated are an unusual combination in professional sports, but Wheeler's top-level NHL talent frequently flies under the radar.
A 6-foot-5, 225-pound wing who possesses uncommon speed for a player his size, the Plymouth, Minn., native uses his big body to win battles in the corners and create ample space in scoring areas. Add to that a powerful and accurate outside shot and it is easy to understand why the Phoenix Coyotes made Wheeler the No. 5 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft.
Consistent excellence and being consistently underrated are an unusual combination in professional sports, but Wheeler's top-level NHL talent frequently flies under the radar.
A 6-foot-5, 225-pound wing who possesses uncommon speed for a player his size, the Plymouth, Minn., native uses his big body to win battles in the corners and create ample space in scoring areas. Add to that a powerful and accurate outside shot and it is easy to understand why the Phoenix Coyotes made Wheeler the No. 5 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft.
But Wheeler never played for the Coyotes. A collective bargaining quirk let Wheeler elect free agency in June 2008 following his three-year career at the University of Minnesota. He signed a contract with the Boston Bruins and, after making the team out of his first NHL training camp, scored his first career goal in the season-opening 5-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 9, 2008.
During the NHL's 2009 All-Star weekend, Wheeler earned MVP honors with four goals and five points in the League's YoungStars Game.
He finished his first NHL season second in the League with a plus-36 rating and in the top 10 among rookies in goals (21), assists (24) and points (45). After playing in eight of Boston's 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2009, Wheeler finished sixth in voting for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the League's top rookie.
Wheeler finished his second NHL campaign fifth on the Bruins in regular-season scoring with 38 points and appeared in all 13 of Boston's games during the 2010 postseason. He recorded his first playoff points with a two-assist effort in Game 2 of Boston's first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres. Wheeler scored his first NHL playoff goal - and added an assist - as the Bruins opened a 3-0 series lead in their second-round matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
For all of Wheeler's success with the Bruins, a four-player trade that sent him to the Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 18, 2011, preceded a true breakout. He scored five goals and 13 points in his first 16 games with Atlanta and finished with seven goals and 17 points in 23 games.
His new team's relocation to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season agreed with Wheeler, who led the newly formed Jets in scoring that year with 17 goals and 64 points, highlighted by a four-assist game against Colorado on Feb. 19, 2012. The following season Wheeler led the Jets in goals with 28, including three separate two-goal games over an eight-day span in March 2013.
The Jets named Wheeler an alternate captain before the 2014-15 season. That year he scored 26 goals to lead Winnipeg for a third consecutive year and the franchise reached the playoffs for the first time since 2007. In 2015-16, Wheeler tied for sixth in the NHL with 78 points.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- USHL All-Rookie Team (2005)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2018)
- Signed as a free agent by Boston, July 1, 2008.
- Traded to Atlanta by Boston with Mark Stuart for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik, February 18, 2011.
- Transferred to Winnipeg after Atlanta franchise relocated, June 21, 2011.
- Signed as a free agent by Munchen (Germany), October 28, 2012.
