Keith Yandle

Keith Michael Yandle (born September 9, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He also is co-host of the hit podcast, Spittin Chiclets. Yandle was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the fourth round, 105th overall, at the 2005 NHL entry draft. He played 1,109 games for the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers.

After playing his junior career in the QMJHL for the Moncton Wildcats, where he was named CHL defenceman of the year, Yandle made his NHL debut in 2006 and quickly established himself as a premier offensive defenseman, leading the Coyotes in points in both the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. He holds the second-longest NHL ironman streak of consecutive games played, with 989, and held the all-time record from January 2022 to October 2022; during the 2020–21 season, he became the third player ever to record 900 consecutive games played. Yandle passed Doug Jarvis's streak as the then-longest in NHL history on January 25, 2022 after playing his 965th consecutive game.

Yandle was born on September 9, 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Both of his parents worked long hours for FedEx in order to provide for their three children: while his father Bud drove trucks for the company, his mother Patti, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for most of her adult life, served as a dispatcher. Although his father also worked as a local youth hockey coach in Milton, Massachusetts, Yandle was not a full-time ice hockey player in his childhood. He was instead a multi-sport athlete, playing hockey, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, and American football, depending on what was in season. During hockey season, Yandle was often overlooked on All-Star teams and by scouts, who were focused on the flashier Boston-area defenseman, Dan McGoff of nearby Charlestown. While McGoff never reached the National Hockey League (NHL), Yandle was inspired by him and used their rivalry to improve his own skills.

In 2000, Yandle played in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the South Shore region of Massachusetts. From there, he began playing high school hockey for Milton High School, taking the Wildcats to an 18–2 win–loss record. After one year there, he chose to enroll at Cushing Academy, a college-preparatory school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and to focus solely on hockey. During his junior season in 2003–04, Yandle scored 14 goals and 48 assists for Cushing; as a senior the following year, he added an additional 14 goals and 40 assists in 34 games, and was named an All-New England First Team selection.

Yandle originally intended to play college ice hockey for the University of New Hampshire, where his older brother Brian was already playing, but he struggled academically throughout high school and was denied admittance. After his plans to attend New Hampshire fell through, Yandle instead offered a verbal commitment to attend the University of Maine instead. Ultimately, however, he chose to forego college entirely in order to sign with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), believing that a year of junior ice hockey was the fastest option to turn professional. Playing alongside future NHL standouts Brad Marchand and Jason Demers, Yandle scored 25 goals and 59 Assists, the highest of any Moncton defenseman in history. As a team, the Wildcats had a 52–15–0–3 record, leading to a franchise-high 107 points. After winning the President's Cup as QMJHL champions, they advanced to the Memorial Cup, where they fell in the finals to the Quebec Ramparts. At the end of the year, Yandle won both the Emile Bouchard Trophy for the top defenseman in the QMJHL and the Telus Cup for the best defensive player in the league, and he was a QMJHL First All-Star Team selection. The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) also named Yandle their Defenseman of the Year, and he was part of that year's CHL First All-Star Team.

Drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the fourth round, 105th overall, in 2005, Yandle made his NHL debut on October 11, 2006, against the Detroit Red Wings, logging 20 minutes of ice time in the game. In the 2007–08 season, he participated in the American Hockey League All-Star Game as a member of the PlanetUSA team.^{[citation needed]}

In his first Stanley Cup playoff game, on April 14, 2010, Yandle scored the first goal for Phoenix against Detroit to tie the game at 1–1. He would later add an assist and be named one of the game's three stars. Yandle was named to the 2011 NHL All-Star Game as a replacement for the Atlanta Thrashers' Tobias Enström.

Shortly after free agency began on July 1, 2011, Yandle signed a five-year contract extension with the Coyotes worth $26.25 million. He played an integral role in the Coyotes' push in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs that saw them face the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Final, contributing nine points during their run. On November 12, 2014, he played his 400th consecutive game with the team. He ranks second all-time on the franchise's longest consecutive games played list, behind only Dale Hawerchuk (475).