Jake Leschyshyn

Canadian ice hockey player (born 1999)
Ice hockey player
Jake Leschyshyn
Born (1999-03-10) March 10, 1999 (age 25)
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 New York Rangers
Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights
NHL draft 62nd overall, 2017
Vegas Golden Knights
Playing career 2019–present

Jake Leschyshyn (/lɛˈsɪʃʌn/ leh-SIH-shuhn;[1] born March 10, 1999) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Leschyshyn played junior hockey for the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League, serving as captain of the latter in 2018–19, and previously played in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights. He also played in the AHL for the Chicago Wolves and Henderson Silver Knights.

Early life

Leschyshyn was born on March 10, 1999, in Raleigh, North Carolina[2] to parents Curtis and Laura.[3][4] As his father played for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, Leschyshyn started playing ice hockey in the state. He participated in organized ice hockey in Colorado from 2004 until 2011 when his family moved to Saskatchewan.[5] Prior to the move, Leschyshyn played with the Colorado Thunderbirds' U12 Pee Wee Major Team.[6]

Playing career

Amateur

Upon moving to Saskatchewan, Leschyshyn played his second year of pee wee AA, as well as bantam AA and midget AAA, in Saskatoon.[7] While playing with the Saskatoon Bantam AA Stallions of the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League in the 2013–14 season, Leschyshyn accumulated 31 goals and 28 assists.[8] As a result of his play, Leschyshyn was drafted sixth overall by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.[9] Although Leschyshyn signed with the Rebels in July 2014,[10] he was reassigned to the Saskatoon Blazers of the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League for the 2014–15 season after attending their training camp.[11] While with the Blazers, he collected 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points through 38 games.[8] In January 2015, Leschyshyn's WHL playing rights were traded to the Regina Pats in exchange for Connor Gay, a 2016 1st Round pick, 2015 2nd Round pick, and 2017 7th Round pick.[12] As such, Leschyshyn played earned a two-game call up from the Pats in February which saw him make his WHL debut and score his first WHL goal.[13]

Major junior

Upon concluding the 2014–15 season with the Blazers, Leschyshyn joined the Pats full-time in March 2015 for the remainder of their games.[13] He re-joined the Pats for the 2015–16 season where he immediately made an impact on the team by scoring his first WHL hat-trick on November 27, 2015.[14] During the 2016–17 season, he scored 17 goals and 40 points, but missed the remainder of the season after suffering an knee injury.[15] Prior to the 2018–19 season, he was named captain by the Regina Pats after spending the previous season as an alternate captain.[16] However, during the season, he was traded along with fellow teammate Nick Henry to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.[17]

Professional

Drafted by the Golden Knights in 2017, he signed an entry level contract on June 1, 2018, and played his first NHL game on October 14, 2021 after key players like Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty dealt with key injuries.[18][19] He scored his first career NHL goal and registered his first career points during a 7-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks.[20][21] He started in the 18 games during the first half of the season with the Golden Knights, but was re-assigned to the Henderson Silver Knights.[22] On August 13, 2022, he signed a three-year deal to remain with the Golden Knights.[23] However, he was waived by Vegas for assignment to the AHL on January 10, 2023, after not registering a point in 22 games.[24]

On January 11, 2023, he was claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers, one day after the Golden Knights waived him.[25][4] He started in 13 games with the Rangers during the season before being placed on waivers and being sent down to the Hartford Wolf Pack, which ultimately paved the way for the Rangers to trade for Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane.[26]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2013–14 Saskatoon Blazers SMAAAHL 9 2 4 6 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Saskatoon Blazers SMAAAHL 38 15 20 35 30 — — — — —
2014–15 Regina Pats WHL 12 3 0 3 0 9 1 0 1 0
2015–16 Regina Pats WHL 66 7 9 16 38 12 1 3 4 8
2016–17 Regina Pats WHL 47 17 23 40 22 — — — — —
2017–18 Regina Pats WHL 64 18 22 40 67 7 3 2 5 2
2018–19 Regina Pats WHL 24 16 16 32 18 — — — — —
2018–19 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 44 24 25 49 30 7 6 4 10 2
2018–19 Chicago Wolves AHL 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
2019–20 Chicago Wolves AHL 61 4 4 8 20 — — — — —
2020–21 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 39 6 5 11 38 5 0 0 0 5
2021–22 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 41 2 4 6 8 — — — — —
2021–22 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 34 14 13 27 24 2 0 0 0 2
2022–23 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 22 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
2022–23 New York Rangers NHL 13 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2022–23 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 18 5 10 15 8 5 2 1 3 2
2023–24 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 47 8 11 19 36
2023–24 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 77 2 4 6 16 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2015 Canada Black U17 8th 5 1 1 2 4
Junior totals 5 1 1 2 4

References

  1. ^ "Rangers Claim Forward Jake Leschyshyn off Waivers," New York Rangers, Wednesday, January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Jake Leschyshyn". Elite Prospects. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  3. ^ Granger, Jesse (November 17, 2021). "Golden Knights' Jake Leschyshyn grew up around the NHL, but had another big influence: 'That's his mom right there'". The Athletic. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Walker, Mollie (January 23, 2023). "Rangers' Jake Leschyshyn hoping to make different impact in NHL than father". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  5. ^ Nugent-Bowman, Daniel (February 21, 2015). "Younger Leschyshyn knows playing on the road". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  6. ^ "Colorado Thunderbirds Announce Teams for 2011-2012 Season". Colorado Thunderbirds. August 4, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Zary, Darren (June 23, 2017). "NHL Draft preview: Jake Leschyshyn has benefitted from fatherly advice given by his ex-NHLer dad Curtis". The StarPhoenix. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Rocca, Taylor (May 23, 2018). "Leschyshyn enjoying title chases with Pats, Golden Knights". Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Zary, Darren (May 2, 2014). "Leschyshyn, Holt crack top 10 selections". The StarPhoenix. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Meachem, Greg (July 10, 2014). "Rebels ink 'important' pieces". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved November 27, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Rebels Roster Now At 27". Red Deer Rebels. August 31, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Pats Acquire Top Prospect from Rebels". Regina Pats. January 5, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Harder, Greg (March 5, 2015). "Leschyshyn future starts right now". The Leader-Post. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  14. ^ "Leschyshyn Leads Pats to Win in Calgary". Regina Pats. November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Harder, Greg (February 13, 2017). "Pats' Leschyshyn out for season with knee injury". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  16. ^ Harder, Greg (September 20, 2018). "Leschyshyn named Pats captain; Henry and Schioler alternates". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  17. ^ Guignard, Jonathan (November 29, 2018). "Regina Pats deal Jake Leschyshyn and Nick Henry to Lethbridge Hurricanes". Global News. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Golden Knights prospects make NHL debuts against Kings". October 14, 2021.
  19. ^ "Golden Knights sign forward Jake Leschyshyn to entry-level deal - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca.
  20. ^ Emerson, Justin (November 13, 2021). "Live coverage: Golden Knights' third-period explosion carries them over Canucks". Las Vegas Sun.
  21. ^ "Golden Knights' Jake Leschyshyn: Earns first two career points". CBS Sports. November 14, 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Golden Knights' Jake Leschyshyn: Assigned to AHL affiliate". CBS Sports. November 27, 2021.
  23. ^ "Golden Knights re-sign Jake Leschyshyn to 3-year contract". Sportsnet.ca. August 14, 2022.
  24. ^ "Golden Knights' Jake Leschyshyn: Hits waivers". CBS Sports. January 10, 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Rangers Claim Forward Jake Leschyshyn off Waivers". New York Rangers. January 11, 2023.
  26. ^ Faria, Nick (February 28, 2023). "Rangers finally pull off blockbuster, acquire Patrick Kane from Blackhawks". AM New York Metro.

External links

  • Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database