Slater Koekkoek

Slater Koekkoek
Born (1994-02-18) February 18, 1994
North Dundas, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL Draft 10th overall, 2012
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2014–present

Slater Koekkoek (born February 18, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He currently plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Junior

Koekkoek was a 1st round selection of the Peterborough Petes in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection.[1] Koekkoek played 4 seasons and 195 games in the Ontario Hockey League having played 131 games with the Peterborough Petes and 64 with the Windsor Spitfires. During his 2nd season with the Peterborough Petes he only played in 26 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in November.[2] He was traded mid-season to Windsor on January 10, 2013, and in his last season, he set a career high and recorded 15 goals and 53 points, and finished with a +44 rating and 51 penalty minutes.

Professional

Koekkoek was selected 10th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was signed by the Lightning to a three-year entry level contract on March 20, 2013 and was assigned to the Canadian Hockey League the first 2 years.[3] Koekkoek made his professional hockey debut on October 12, 2014 against the Hartford Wolf Pack. In 66 games with the Crunch, Koekkoek has five goals and 24 points to go along with 40 penalty minutes. Koekkoek leads all Crunch defensemen in assists (19) and points (24). He also is tied for fifth among American Hockey League rookie defensemen in points.

Koekkoek made his NHL Debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 31, 2015 in his home province of Ontario losing 3-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs recording 2 shots and a -1 rating.[4][5] Koekkoek skated 15:31 in the game. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper stated that "he can be proud of how he played," and that "he was up in the play, and he did some good things. He defended well, and I was happy with him."[6] On April 8, 2015, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Koekkoek had been reassigned to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Koekkoek skated in three games with the Lightning, recording two penalty minutes and six shots.[7]

On March 7, 2016, Koekkoek recorded his first career NHL assist and first NHL point in a 2-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.[8] On April 30, 2016, Koekkoek appeared in his first NHL playoff game, which was a 4-1 Lightning win over the New York Islanders.[9] On May 24, 2016, Koekkoek recorded his first career playoff assist and point, which came in a 2-5 Lightning loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[10]

International

Koekkoek represented Team Canada at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he had two points in seven games and helped Canada win a bronze medal. In the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, Koekkoek served as an alternate captain, and he led Canada in defensive scoring with five points in five games.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Notre Dame Hounds SMHL 5 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2009–10 Notre Dame Hounds SMHL 44 16 27 43 91 13 3 4 7 6
2010–11 Peterborough Petes OHL 65 7 16 23 67 — — — — —
2011–12 Peterborough Petes OHL 26 5 13 18 17 — — — — —
2012–13 Peterborough Petes OHL 40 6 22 28 28 — — — — —
2012–13 Windsor Spitfires OHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Windsor Spitfires OHL 62 15 38 53 51 — — — — —
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 72 5 21 26 44 3 0 1 1 6
2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 60 5 10 15 26 — — — — —
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 9 0 1 1 2 10 0 1 1 2
NHL totals 12 0 1 1 4 10 0 1 1 2

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Canada Ontario U17 1st, gold medalist(s) 5 1 2 3 8
2011 Canada IH18 1st, gold medalist(s) 5 0 5 5 0
2011 Canada WJC18 4th 7 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 17 2 8 10 10

Awards and honours

Award Year
World U-17 Hockey Challenge Gold Medal 2011 [12]
OHL First All-Star Team 2013–14 [13]

References

  1. ↑ "OHL Completes 2010 Priority Selection". OurSportsCentral.com. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  2. ↑ "Koekkoek, Slater - 2015 NHL Draft Prospects". NHL.COM. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Lightning sign 2012 First round pick Slater Kokkoek". Tampa Bay Lightning. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  4. ↑ Tampa Bay, Lightning (March 31, 2015). "Lightning recall Slater Koekkoek From Syracuse". Tampa Bay Lightning News. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  5. ↑ Erlendsson, Erik (March 31, 2015). "Bolts experience post-clinch letdown against Toronto". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ Burns, Bryan (March 31, 2015). "James Reimer leads Maple Leafs past Bolts". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  7. ↑ Tampa Bay, Lightning (April 8, 2015). "Lightning Reassign Slater Koekkoek To Syracuse". Tampa Bay Lightning News. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kimelman, Adam (March 7, 2016). "Shayne Gostisbehere's two goals help Flyers defeat Lightning". NHL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Long, Corey (April 30, 2016). "Drouin helps Lightning win Game 2 vs. Islanders". NHL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ Long, Corey (May 25, 2016). "Penguins win Game 6, extend series vs. Lightning". NHL.com. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  11. ↑ Tampa Bay, Lightning (March 20, 2013). "Lightning Sign 2012 First-Round Pick SLater Koekkoek". Lightning News. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Team Ontario downs U.S. to win under-17 gold". Winnipeg Free Press. 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  13. ↑ "OHL announces 2013-14 All-Star Teams". Ontario Hockey League. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Vladislav Namestnikov		 Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick
2012 		Succeeded by
Andrei Vasilevski
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