About Jay McKee
Jay McKee (born September 8, 1977) is a Canadian coach of the Hamilton Hammers of the American Hockey League and former professional ice hockey defenceman. He spent the majority of his career with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL), and has also played for the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins. Throughout his career, he has been noted among the NHL's best shot-blockers. McKee was born in Kingston, Ontario, but grew up in Loyalist, Ontario. After his retirement from playing, he has served as an assistant coach for the NCAA's Niagara Purple Eagles, AHL's Rochester Americans, the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Erie Otters and the OHL's Kitchener Rangers. After one season in Kitchener, he was promoted to head coach of the Rangers, where he served for three-and-a-half seasons. He was then named the head coach of the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs in 2021. He remained with the Bulldogs as they relocated and became the Brantford Bulldogs until 2026. On May 29, 2026, the New York Islanders named McKee the head coach of their new AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Hammers. McKee was drafted by the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League in the first round, tenth overall, at the 1993 OHL Priority Selection. McKee was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 14th overall, at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton. He spent a majority of the 1996–97 season with Buffalo, and on November 11, 1996, McKee recorded his first career multi-point game with two assists in a 3–2 win over the Florida Panthers. On March 22, McKee earned his first career NHL goal, scoring against John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers in a 3–2 loss.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.