Jay Bouwmeester

Jay Daniel Bouwmeester (born September 27, 1983) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a first round selection, third overall, of the Florida Panthers at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2003 and played seven seasons in the Panthers organization before being traded to Calgary in 2009. He has one of the longest "iron man" streaks in the NHL, having appeared in 737 consecutive regular season games from 2004 to 2014, and has played in two All-Star Games.

Internationally, Bouwmeester has represented Canada numerous times. He appeared in three consecutive World Junior Championships between 2000 and 2002, winning a silver and two bronze medals. He made his debut with the senior national team in 2003, winning the first of two consecutive World Championship titles. Bouwmeester was a member of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey championship team and represented Canada at the 2006 and 2014 Winter Olympics, winning gold with Team Canada in 2014. Bouwmeester is also the most recent entry in the Triple Gold Club, having lifted the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.

Early life
Bouwmeester was born September 27, 1983 in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the son of Dan and Gena Bouwmeester, and has an elder sister, Jill. His father is a school teacher and coach in Edmonton, and played defence himself for the University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey team. Bouwmeester was a naturally gifted player; his father said he could handle a hockey stick at an early age, and learned to skate shortly after he learned to walk. An all-around athlete, Bouwmeester also played baseball and soccer competitively, and ran track, played volleyball and basketball at school. He had natural talent for hockey, however, and learned to play both on an backyard rink his father maintained and in the basement of the family home.

Junior
Bouwmeester played bantam and midget hockey with the Edmonton South Side Athletic Club, winning the Alberta midget championship in 1997–98. He was selected by the Medicine Hat Tigers first overall at the Western Hockey League's (WHL) 1998 Bantam Draft, and appeared in eight games with the Tigers in the 1998–99 WHL season.

He joined the Tigers full-time in 1999–2000, scoring 34 points in 64 games as a 16-year-old. His offensive totals improved in his two following WHL seasons: 53 in 2000–01 and 61 in 2001–02. He was named to the WHL's East All-Star team, and was considered a candidate to be selected first overall at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Instead, he was taken third overall by the Florida Panthers, behind Rick Nash and Kari Lehtonen.

Florida Panthers
Bouwmeester made his NHL debut with the Panthers at the start of the 2002–03 Season, and appeared in all 82 games for Florida, a franchise rookie record. He scored his first NHL goal on November 11, 2002, against the Chicago Blackhawks, and finished the season with four goals and sixteen points. He was named to the 2003 NHL All-Rookie Team on defence.

He improved to 20 points in 61 games in 2003–04 though he missed 18 games with a foot injury. The 2004–05 NHL lockout forced him to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) that season. He joined the Panthers' AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, but experienced difficulties adapting to playing in the minor leagues. Despite struggling to generate offence, Bouwmeester participated in the AHL All-Star game, and was loaned to the Chicago Wolves when it became evident the Rampage would not qualify for the playoffs. Bouwmeester and the Wolves reached the Calder Cup Finals, though they lost to the Philadelphia Phantoms.

Bouwmeester experienced a breakout season after the NHL resumed play in 2005–06, scoring 5 goals, 41 assists and 46 points in 82 games, all career highs, and was invited to join Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in the place of injured defenceman Scott Niedermayer. He made news that off-season in his hometown of Edmonton when he was arrested for driving under the influence, a charge he pled guilty to the following summer.

He again appeared in all 82 games for the Panthers in 2006–07 and set a new career high with 12 goals. Bouwmeester appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game, representing the Panthers in the game held at Dallas.

He improved again to 15 goals in 2007–08 while again playing in every game for the Panthers and led the NHL in average ice time at 27 minutes, 28 seconds per game. He signed a new one-year, $4.875 million contract as a restricted free agent following the season, turning down the Panthers' long-term offers in the hopes of becoming an unrestricted free agent at the expiry of his new contract.

Another 15-goal season followed in 2008–09. He played in all 82 games and succeeded Andrew Brunette as the league's ironman when the latter player was forced out of the Colorado Avalanche lineup with injury. He appeared in his second All-Star Game and scored a goal. As the season approached its end, the Panthers were fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but were unable to convince Bouwmeester to sign a contract extension. Despite numerous offers from other teams for his services, Florida general manager Jacques Martin chose not to trade Bouwmeester. He and the Panthers struggled to end the season, and failed to qualify for the post-season.

Calgary Flames
Unable to come to terms with Bouwmeester, the Panthers traded his negotiating rights to the Calgary Flames in exchange for the negotiating rights to defenceman Jordan Leopold and a third round draft pick (Josh Birkholz) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The deal gave the Flames four days with which they had exclusive rights to negotiate with Bouwmeester before he became an unrestricted free agent and gained the ability to negotiate with any team. Hours before that deadline expired, Bouwmeester and the Flames agreed to a five-year, $33 million contract.

The Flames struggled to score for much of the 2009-10 NHL season, and Bouwmeester was no exception. He finished the year with just three goals and rarely served as an offensive catalyst for Calgary. He did not miss a game for the Flames, and while his consecutive games played streak sat at 424 following the season, Bouwmeester also held the active record for most games played without reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs at 553.

International play
Bouwmeester played in three World Junior Championships with the Canadian junior team. He became the youngest player to ever represent Canada at the tournament when he won a bronze medal at the 2000 tournament at the age of 16 years, 3 months. He recorded two assists in 2001 as Canada won another bronze medal. In 2002, Bouwmeester and the Canadian team won the silver medal, losing the championship game to Russia, 5-4.

His first appearance with the senior team came at the 2003 World Championships. Bouwmeester finished second in scoring amongst defencemen with seven points, and was named the tournament's best defenceman, and an all-star as he helped Canada win the gold medal.

Bouwmeester won a second gold medal at the 2004 World Championship, contributing three points in nine games. He scored the championship winning goal in a 5–3 victory over Sweden. He was a late addition to Canada's entry at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, invited to replace the injured Chris Pronger. He appeared in four games as Canada won the tournament.

He again joined the team as an injury replacement at the 2006 Winter Olympics after Scott Niedermayer was forced out of the tournament. He appeared in six games, scoring no points, as Canada lost in the quarter-finals. Bouwmeester's most recent appearance with the national team came at the 2008 World Championship. He appeared in all nine games, but settled for the silver medal after Russia defeated Team Canada in the final. Bouwmeester participated in Canada's summer camp in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics, but his struggles in the weeks leading up the team being announced resulted in his being left off the roster.

Playing style
Bouwmeester is best known for his skating ability. His coach in Medicine Hat, Rick Carriere, said his ability to move the puck up the ice and score meant Bouwmeester could have played in the NHL at the age of 15. He is a capable offensive player from his defensive position and frequently joined offensive rushes while with Florida, but failed to do so as often in his first season in Calgary, resulting in much lower offensive output. The primary criticism of his game is that he lacks a physical presence on the ice. The Hockey News commentator Ken Campbell argued that it has prevented him from becoming one of the game's elite defencemen. He is frequently among the league leaders in ice time per game and one of the most durable, as he has not missed an NHL game since 2003–04.