Khaira comes from a family with a history of accomplishment in athletics. Khaira's parents were prominent volleyball players in British Columbia during the 1980s. His brother Sahvan Khaira attends the University of Calgary and plays on the men's ice hockey team. Khaira is only the third player of Punjabi descent, following Robin Bawa and Manny Malhotra, to play in the NHL.
Playing career
Khaira was drafted by the Oilers after his second season in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Prince George Spruce Kings. Shortly after the draft, Khaira committed to play collegiate hockey with Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. At the completion of his freshman season in 2012–13 with Huskies, Khaira left college to pursue a major junior career closer to home in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips. On August 7, 2013, he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers. In the following 2013–14 season, Khaira posted 43 points in 59 games with the Silvertips. At the elimination in first-round of the post-season, Khaira then made his professional debut with the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, joining the club for their post-season run. In the second year of his entry-level contract, Khaira and the Oilers AHL affiliation moved to the new Bakersfield Condors. During this 2015–16 NHL season, Khaira was called up to the Oilers on November 26, 2015, playing his first NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 28, 2015. This made Khaira only the third player of Punjabi Indian descent to play in the NHL, after Robin Bawa, and half-French, half-Indian Manny Malhotra. Khaira played 15 games at the NHL level that season, earning 2 assists. Khaira was a regular with the Condors for the 2016–17 season, and occasional call up to the NHL Oilers. During his second NHL game that season, on January 16, 2017, Khaira scored his first NHL goal, against Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes. On December 9 of the same year, Khaira earned his first multi-goal game, scoring twice against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.
