Christopher B. Bala (born September 24, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played minor hockey in Pennsylvania before being recruited by Harvard University to play college hockey. After four years with Harvard, Bala, who was drafted 58th overall by the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1998 NHL entry draft, joined the Senators and appeared in six games. He then the following seasons playing for the minor league affiliates of the Senators, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche in the American Hockey League. He was named an AHL All-Star in his rookie season in the AHL. He finished his career playing for the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Playing career

Bala was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where he attended the Hill School. As a youth, he played in the 1992 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Philadelphia Flyers minor ice hockey team. He played for four years with the Hill School before being recruited by Harvard University in 1997. Bala was drafted 58th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1998 NHL entry draft and joined the Senators during the 2001–02 NHL season, playing six regular season games scoring one assist. While with Ottawa, he spent most of his time with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates, the Grand Rapids Griffins and Binghamton Senators. He was named to the AHL All-Star Game as a rookie in 2002. He was traded by the Senators in a three-team trade on June 26, 2003 that saw Bala go to the Minnesota Wild and defenseman Peter Smrek sent to Ottawa by the Nashville Predators. He played the majority of the following season in the AHL for the minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, the Houston Aeros, before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche on March 9, 2004 for Jordan Krestanovich. He was immediately assigned to Colorado's AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He then played for the Reading Royals of the ECHL. He returned to his alma mater, the Hill School, as a varsity coach and admissions officer following his playing career.

Career statistics

Awards and honors