| Nick Merkley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 23 1997, Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Height Weight | 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Forward |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team (P) Cur. team | Arizona Coyotes Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) |
| NHL Draft | 30th overall, 2015 Arizona Coyotes |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
Nicholas Merkley (born May 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Merkley was rated as a top prospect who was widely projected to be a first round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[1] In the said Draft, he was selected 30th overall by the Arizona Coyotes, the final pick of the opening round.
Playing career
Edit
Merkley was selected ninth overall by the Kelowna Rockets in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. Following a strong first season with the Rockets,[2] he was selected as the 2013–14 WHL Rookie of the Year and awarded the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy,[3] and during the 2014–15 WHL season he was rewarded for his outstanding play when he was selected to skate in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[4] and was also named to the 2014–15 WHL (West) Second All-Star Team after scoring 20 goals and 90 points in 72 games.
On September 3, 2015, Merkley agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes.[5]
He made his NHL debut on December 19, 2017, against the Florida Panthers.[6] He played 13 minutes 30 seconds of ice time in a 3–2 loss. He was sent back down to the AHL shortly after. On January 4, 2018, Merkley was selected for the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic Game in Utica, New York.[7][8]
International playEdit
Merkley helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[9]
Career statisticsEdit
Regular season and playoffsEdit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | Calgary Buffaloes | AMHL | 30 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 95 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 2012–13 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 66 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 46 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 12 | ||
| 2014–15 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 72 | 20 | 70 | 90 | 79 | 19 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 18 | ||
| 2015–16 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 43 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 63 | 23 | 40 | 63 | 73 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 22 | ||
| 2017–18 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 38 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 45 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
InternationalEdit
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Canada Pacific | U17 | 
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | |
| 2014 | Canada | IH18 | 
| 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
| Junior totals | 11 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 22 | ||||
Awards and honoursEdit
| Honours | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy – WHL Rookie of the Year | 2013–14 | [10] |
| Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal | 2014 | [11] |
| CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game | 2015 | [12] |
| WHL (West) Second All-Star Team | 2015 | [13] |
| CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team | 2015 | [14] |
| American Hockey League All-Star Game | 2018 | [8] |
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ "Merkley Rockets' next top NHL draft pick". Sportsnet.ca (2015-03-12). Retrieved on 2015-03-12.
- ↑ "Kelowna Rockets rookie Nick Merkley blossoming quickly". Yahoo! Sports (2015-02-14). Retrieved on 2015-02-14.
- ↑ "Early draft watch includes Rockets trio". okanagansportpage.com (2014-11-14). Retrieved on 2014-11-14.
- ↑ "Kelowna's Nick Merkley proves cream rises to the top for NHL draft". Yahoo! Sports (2015-06-27). Retrieved on 2015-06-27.
- ↑ "Coyotes sign Merkley to entry-level contract". Arizona Coyotes (2015-09-03). Retrieved on 2015-09-03.
- ↑ Merkley's NHL debut memorable despite Arizona's loss (December 19, 2017). Retrieved on 21 December 2017.
- ↑ ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2018 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC (January 4, 2018). Retrieved on January 14, 2018.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Coyotes prospects Dylan Strome, Nick Merkley make AHL All-Star team (January 4, 2018). Retrieved on January 14, 2018.
- ↑ "Merkley helps team Canada u18's claim gold". Kelowna Rockets (2014-10-12). Retrieved on 2014-10-12.
- ↑ "Nick Merkley vaults into lead scoring race". Calgary Herald (2014-04-01). Retrieved on 2015-06-28.
- ↑ "NHL draft prospect Nick Merkley is making a statement". The Hockey News (2015-02-03). Retrieved on 2015-02-03.
- ↑ "Rockets forward selected to Prospects Game". kelownacapnews.com (2015-06-01). Retrieved on 2015-06-01.
- ↑ "Bowey, Chartier, Merkley, Morrissey named to All-Star teams". Kelowna Rockets (2015-04-01). Retrieved on 2015-04-01.
- ↑ "Memorial Cup awards and All-Stars". Memorial Cup (2015-06-01). Retrieved on 2015-06-02.
External linksEdit
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dylan Strome | Arizona Coyotes first round draft pick 2015 | Succeeded by Clayton Keller |
