Greg Koehler
Greg Koehler is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds the record for shortest career in the National Hockey League, a 4-second shift on December 29, 2000, and is the only other skater, besides the New York Islanders' Jeff Libby in 1998, whose NHL career spans just a single shift. The rest of his career, which lasted until 2007, was spent in various minor leagues.
Biography
As a youth, Koehler played in the 1989 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros minor ice hockey team. Ken Dryden devoted the second chapter of his 1989 book Home Game to Greg Koehler and his parents when he was the 13-year-old captain of the Marlboros. The chapter, entitled, Playing fields of Scarborough, focuses on the dreams and stresses of players and family in youth hockey.Koehler played collegiate hockey for the UMass Lowell River Hawks, winning the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award for the 1996-97 season. Going undrafted, Koehler would become a journeyman player in various minor leagues before retiring in 2007. He did, however, get a brief taste of the NHL on December 29, 2000, playing a 4-second shift for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Columbus Blue Jackets that was ended by a penalty as teammate Ron Francis was hooked by Steve Heinze.
As of 2025, Koehler resides in Toronto working as an HVAC technician and playing men’s league hockey. He has a son, Jaxon, and daughter, Lilly.