Cory Emmerton

Cory Emmerton (born June 1, 1988 in St. Thomas, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently under contract by the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. He was drafted by the Red Wings in the second round, 41st overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He played 2 games in the 2010–11 season for Detroit and is currently on the roster of their farm team, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Minor Hockey
Emmerton grew up playing minor hockey for his hometown St. Thomas Travellers of the OMHA and the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Pavilion AAA league in Ontario.

Junior
The Kingston Frontenacs selected Emmerton with their 5th round, 89th overall pick in the 2004 OHL Priority Selection from the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. He made the team out of training camp, and in his rookie season, he scored 17 goals and added 21 assists in 58 games, finishing 6th in team scoring.

In 2005–06, Emmerton led the Frontenacs in scoring with 90 points in 66 games, helping the team make the playoff for the first time since he joined the club. In the playoffs, Emmerton would only be held to two points, both goals, in 6 games, as Kingston would be eliminated in the opening round. In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, the Detroit Red Wings selected Cory in the 2nd round, 41st overall selection.

Emmerton had a tough 2006–07 season, missing some time to injuries, as he would appear in only 40 regular season games. He finished fourth in team scoring with 66 points, as the team would once again make the playoffs. Emmerton had a strong playoff, leading Kingston with five goals and seven points in five games, however, his team would be eliminated in the first round.

He would return to Kingston in 2007–08, and be named the Frontenacs captain, however, the Fronts would get off to a bad start, and quickly fell out of playoff contention, and in early December, Emmerton would be traded to the Brampton Battalion for Justin Levac, Thomas Middup, 2nd and 3rd round picks in 2008, 2nd and 3rd round picks in 2009, and a 6th round pick in 2010. At the time of the trade, Emmerton was leading the Frontenacs with 31 points in 24 games.

In his first game as a Brampton Battalion, Emmerton would score a goal and add two assists to help the Battalion defeat the top team in the league, the Kitchener Rangers. Shortly after his trade to Brampton, Emmerton would compete for a spot on the Canadian National Junior Team, however, he was not able to fulfill his dream, as he was sent home by the team due to being diagonosed with mono. Emmerton came back from his illness, and recorded 30 points in 30 games with Brampton, followed by two assists in five playoff games with the team.

Professional
Emmerton played a couple of games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2007 playoffs after the Frontenacs were eliminated from the OHL playoffs, going pointless in two games. He was signed to a three-year entry level contract wit the Detroit Red Wings on June 4, 2007. After the Battalion were eliminated in the first round of the 2008 OHL playoffs, the Red Wings would once again bring Emmerton up to the Griffins, as he recorded an assist in seven regular season games with the club. He played his first NHL game on Saturday, January 22, 2011 against Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and scored his first NHL goal.