| Spencer Knight | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 19, 2001, Darien, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) |
| Position | Goaltender |
| Catches | Left |
| NHL team | Florida Panthers |
| NHL Draft | 13th overall, 2019 Florida Panthers |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
Spencer Knight (born April 19, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Panthers, 13th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
Playing career[]
Ranked as the top eligible goaltender in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Knight was the first goaltender chosen, selected 13th overall by the Florida Panthers.[2] It marked the first time in franchise history that Florida chose a goaltender in the first round.[1]
Knight played collegiate hockey with the Boston College Eagles in the Hockey East.[3] He emerged during his freshman year as one of the NCAA's top netminders, earning a top-10 finish in the Mike Richter Award voting with his 1.97 GAA, .931 SV%, and 23–8–2 record over 33 games, along with 5 shutouts.[4] He also was named to the conference All-Rookie team and Second All-Star Team.[5][6]
He excelled again during his sophomore season with a 2.18 GAA and .932 SV%, going 16–4–1 in 21 games with 3 shutouts during the COVID-19 pandemic-abbreviated year. Knight's performance earned a number of accolades; he was named a CCM/ACHA First Team All-American, a top 3 finalist for the Mike Richter Award and a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.[7][8][9] He earned conference Player of the Year and Goaltending Champion honors and was a Hockey East First Team All-Star.[10][11]
Following his sophomore season with Boston College, Knight left college and signed with the Florida Panthers to a three-year, entry-level contract on March 31, 2021.[12] On April 20, Knight made his NHL debut and earned his first win with a 5–1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.[13][14] He also became the first goaltender born in the 21st century to play in the NHL.[15] After securing a 5–4 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on May 2, Knight became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to start their career 4–0.[16]
Knight made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut on May 24, in Game 5 of the Panthers' first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Down 3–1 in the series, he was given the start over both Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger in an attempt to stave off elimination. Just 53 seconds into the game, Knight allowed a goal on his first shot faced. However, he made 36 straight saves afterwards en route to a 4–1 victory.[17] In doing so, Knight became the second youngest goaltender ever to win their postseason debut, and was also the very first goaltender to appear in both the Stanley Cup playoffs and the NCAA Tournament in the same calendar year.[18] However, the Panthers would be eliminated in the next game, ultimately falling 4–2 in the series to the Lightning.[19]
International play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
Competitor for  United States of America
| ||
| World Junior Championship | ||
| Gold | 2021 Canada | |
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2019 Sweden | |
Knight was the starting goaltender for the United States at the 2021 World Juniors played in Edmonton, Alberta. Knight posted a 1.63 GAA and a .940 SV%, he started seven games and went 6–1 during the tournament, including wins in all three playoff rounds and a 2–0 shutout of Canada in the gold medal game to give the US its fifth title.[20]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2017–18 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 19 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 982 | 52 | 0 | 3.18 | .902 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 841 | 31 | 1 | 2.21 | .903 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Boston College | HE | 33 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 1,979 | 65 | 5 | 1.97 | .931 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Boston College | HE | 21 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1,296 | 47 | 3 | 2.18 | .932 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 207 | 8 | 0 | 2.32 | .919 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 4 | 0 | 2.06 | .933 | ||
| NHL totals | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 207 | 8 | 0 | 2.32 | .919 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 4 | 0 | 2.06 | .933 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | United States | U18 | 
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 357 | 9 | 1 | 1.51 | .936 | |
| 2020 | United States | WJC | 6th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 241 | 10 | 0 | 2.49 | .913 | |
| 2021 | United States | WJC | 
|
7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 332 | 9 | 3 | 1.63 | .940 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 930 | 28 | 4 | 1.87 | .930 | ||||
Awards and honors[]
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| HE All-Rookie Team | 2019–20 | [21] |
| HE Second All-Star Team | 2019–20 | [22] |
| New England D1 All-Stars | 2019–20 | [23] |
| AHCA East First Team All-American | 2020–21 | [24] |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Panthers select goaltender Spencer Knight with 13th pick in NHL draft", June 21, 2019.
- ↑ 2019 Draft Prospect Rankings.
- ↑ Spencer Knight at eliteprospects.com.
- ↑ Staff, USCHO (2020-03-25). Ten semifinalists announced for 2020 Mike Richter Award as top goalie in D-I men’s hockey.
- ↑ Hockey East Names 2019-20 All-Star Teams - Hockey East Association.
- ↑ Hockey East Names 2019-20 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team - Hockey East Association.
- ↑ Three Hockey East Players Named Finalists For 2021 Hobey Baker Award - Hockey East Association.
- ↑ BC's Knight Named Top-Three Finalist for 2021 Richter Award - Hockey East Association.
- ↑ Seven Hockey East Players Named to 2020-21 Men's All-American Teams - Hockey East Association.
- ↑ Spencer Knight Named Hockey East Player of the Year - Hockey East Association.
- ↑ Knight Named Goalie of the Year, Eagles Land Four on Hockey East All-Star Teams.
- ↑ Florida Panthers agree to terms with Spencer Knight. Florida Panthers (March 31, 2021).
- ↑ Goaltender Spencer Knight, 20, makes most of NHL debut, leads Florida Panthers to easy victory (April 20, 2021).
- ↑ Ingemi, Marisa (2021-04-20). Spencer Knight the latest top college goalie to get an NHL debut.
- ↑ @PR_NHL (April 20, 2021). Spencer Knight of the @FlaPanthers, the first goaltender born in the 2000s to appear in an NHL game, turned aside 33 of 34 shots to earn a win in his League debut. #NHLStats.
- ↑ Gereffi, Paul. Aleksander Barkov’s goal in overtime lifts Panthers over Stars.
- ↑ "Goalie Spencer Knight keeps Panthers alive vs. Lightning", Reuters, 2021-05-25.
- ↑ @hockey_east (May 24, 2021). The @BCHockey product continues to make history in 2020-21, becoming the first goaltender to play @NCAAIceHockey and start in the #StanleyCup Playoffs in the same season. He made 36 saves tonight and is 5-0 in the NHL..
- ↑ Lightning eliminate Panthers with Game 6 shutout (May 26, 2021).
- ↑ Hockey, U. S. A. (2021-01-05). GOLDEN: USA Downs Canada, 2-0, To Win Title at World Juniors.
- ↑ Hockey East names 2019-20 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team. hockeyeastonline.com (March 17, 2020).
- ↑ Hockey East names 2019-20 All-Star Teams. hockeyeastonline.com (March 18, 2020).
- ↑ Three eagles honored by New England writers. Boston College Eagles (April 14, 2020).
- ↑ "Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season", April 9, 2021.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Grigori Denisenko |
Florida Panthers first round draft pick 2019 |
Succeeded by Anton Lundell |
| Preceded by Jeremy Swayman |
Hockey East Player of the Year 2020–21 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Jeremy Swayman |
Hockey East Goaltending Champion 2020–21 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |