| Nick Merkley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 23, 1997, Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 11 in (1.80 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.
Contents
Playing career[edit | edit source]
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 play[edit | edit source]
Merkley helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[9]
Career statistics[edit | edit source]
Regular season and playoffs[edit | edit source]
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International[edit | edit source]
| 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 honours[edit | edit source]
| 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] |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "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 links[edit | edit source]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dylan Strome |
Arizona Coyotes first round draft pick 2015 |
Succeeded by Clayton Keller |
