Jasper Weatherby (born January 22, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in 2021.

Jasper Weatherby
Weatherby with the San Jose Sharks in 2022
Born (1998-01-22) January 22, 1998 (age 26)
Portland, Oregon, US
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Center/Left wing
Shoots Left
ELH team
Former teams
HC Dynamo Pardubice
San Jose Sharks
NHL draft 102nd overall, 2018
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 2021–present

Early life

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Weatherby was born in Portland, Oregon[1] to parents Richard Weatherby and Lucinda Moeglein.[2] He comes from Jewish descent as his Jewish grandfather fled the Nazis from London, England.[3] While both of his grandparents became civil right lawyers, his mother attended various civil rights protests during the Civil rights movement.[4] Weatherby also grew up alongside his adopted brother Kevin, who the family took in when he was eight years old.[3]

Playing career

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BCHL

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Although Weatherby was born in Portland, his family moved to a ranch in Ashland, Oregon when he was a toddler.[5] He remained in Oregon until he was 14 years old when he left to play at the Canadian International Hockey Academy from 2012 to 2014.[6] In his final season at the academy, a broken leg caused Weatherby to miss most of the 2014–15 season.[7] From there, he spent two seasons with the Omaha AAA Lancers while attending Douglas County West High School but was unable to earn a long-term contract with several other junior teams upon graduating in 2016.[8] Weatherby eventually earned a tryout with the Wenatchee Wild of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL)[8] and played under coach Bliss Littler from 2016 to 2018. While playing under Littler, Weatherby helped lead the Wild to the 2018 BCHL Championship and a berth in the RBC Cup semifinals.[9] In November 2017, Weatherby announce his commitment to join the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in 2018.[10]

Following his final season in the BCHL, Weatherby was ranked 198th amongst North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[11] Weatherby immediately enrolled in some University of North Dakota summer classes and began taking part in their offseason training program.[5] He was eventually drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round, 102nd overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[12]

College

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Following the draft, Weatherby played collegiate hockey with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the NCHC from 2018 to 2021 while majoring in marketing.[2] In his first season with the Hawks, Weatherby registered three goals and two assists through 36 games.[1] He tallied his first collegiate goal in a 6–2 loss to the Western Michigan Broncos on November 17, 2018.[13] The Fighting Hawks finished 5th in the 8th place NCHC standings before being swept by Denver in the first round of the NCHC Playoffs.[14]

Weatherby improved offensively during the shortened 2019–20 NCHC season and finished with 10 goals and eight assists through 35 games.[1] By November 2019, Weatherby had collected two goals and two assists while also leading the team in faceoff win percentage through the first nine games of the season.[15] His offensive talent helped lead the Fighting Hawks to the 2019 Penrose Cup as the NCHC's regular-season champions.[16]

Professional

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Following his Junior season, Weatherby concluded his collegiate career by signing a two-year entry-level contract with the Sharks on August 24, 2021[17]

In his first professional season, Weatherby made the 2021–22 opening night roster with the Sharks. He made his NHL debut on October 16, 2021, in a 4–3 win over the Winnipeg Jets, where he also scored his first goal.[18] In making an immediate impact with the Sharks, Weatherby added 5 goals and 11 points through 50 regular season games before finishing the season re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

After attending the Sharks training camp in preparation for the 2022–23 season, Weatherby failed to make the opening night roster and was assigned to continue his development in the AHL. Weatherby registered just 3 goals and 6 points through 39 games with the Barracuda before he was traded by the Sharks to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Kyle Criscuolo on January 18, 2023.[19]

As a pending restricted free agent, Weatherby was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Red Wings to release him as a free agent. On July 3, 2023, he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators.[20]

After a lone season with the Predators AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, Weatherby went un-signed over the summer as a free agent. Approaching the 2024–25 season, he accepted an invitation to attend the training camp of the Edmonton Oilers on a professional tryout on September 19 2024.[21] During the pre-season, Weatherby was released by the Oilers, however, he remained within the organization on an AHL contract with affiliate the Bakersfield Condors on September 26, 2024.[22]

On October 24, 2024, Weatherby signed with Czech Extraliga club HC Dynamo Pardubice for the remainder of the 2024-25 season with an option for another season.[23]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 Wenatchee Wild BCHL 46 12 20 32 25 10 2 2 4 4
2017–18 Wenatchee Wild BCHL 58 37 37 74 47 20 15 23 38 8
2018–19 U. of North Dakota NCHC 36 3 2 5 32
2019–20 U. of North Dakota NCHC 35 10 8 18 20
2020–21 U. of North Dakota NCHC 29 14 10 24 8
2021–22 San Jose Sharks NHL 50 5 6 11 18
2021–22 San Jose Barracuda AHL 25 5 10 15 24
2022–23 San Jose Barracuda AHL 39 3 3 6 39
2022–23 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 31 3 8 11 12
2023–24 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 66 12 13 25 38 13 1 2 3 22
NHL totals 50 5 6 11 18

Awards and honours

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Award Year
BCHL
First All-Star Team 2018
Vern Dye Memorial Trophy (MVP) 2018
Brett Hull Trophy (Top Scorer) 2018
NCHC
NCHC Academic All-Conference Team 2019, 2020, 2021 [24]
NCHC Player of the Month February 2021 [25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Jasper Weatherby". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Jasper Weatherby". University of North Dakota. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Elliott Schlossman, Brad (September 8, 2020). "Jasper Weatherby's grandpa worked with Martin Luther King Jr., his grandmother marched in Selma, now he hears his calling". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  4. ^ White, Marcus (December 3, 2020). "Sharks prospect kneels for anthem, protests racial injustice". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Penza, Danny (January 26, 2018). "Ashland's Jasper Weatherby drafted by San Jose Sharks". Mail Tribune. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "Alum Jasper Weatherby Signs NHL Contract". Canadian International Hockey Academy. August 27, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Jones, Dan (April 25, 2018). "Ashland native Weatherby is NHL prospect after big year". Mail Tribune. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Pashelka, Curtis (September 20, 2021). "This Sharks prospect was all set to be a college senior. Now he's vying for an NHL job". Daily Democrat. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  9. ^ Ecker, Arch (February 28, 2018). "Wenatchee Honored With Three BCHL League Awards". Wenatchee Wild. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "WEATHERBY COMMITS TO NORTH DAKOTA". Wenatchee Wild. November 14, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  11. ^ "Central Scouting publishes final Draft list". BCHL. April 16, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "Sharks Conclude 2018 NHL Draft with Five Selections". National Hockey League. June 23, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  13. ^ "Broncos put exclamation mark on sweep of Hawks". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. November 17, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Schlossman, Brad (March 17, 2019). "UND season, post-season streak ends with Denver sweep". The Rink Live. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  15. ^ Karasik, Nicola (November 12, 2019). "Sharks Prospect of the Week: Jasper Weatherby". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  16. ^ "NORTH DAKOTA PICKED TO REPEAT AS PENROSE CUP CHAMPIONS IN 2020 NCHC PRESEASON POLL". NCHC. November 23, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  17. ^ "Sharks Sign Center Jasper Weatherby". nhl.com. August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "Sharks' rookies Eklund, Weatherby lead comeback victory over Jets". cbc.ca. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  19. ^ "Red Wings acquire forward Jasper Weatherby from San Jose Sharks". Detroit Red Wings. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  20. ^ "Predators sign Jasper Weatherby to a one-year, two-way contract". Nashville Predators. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  21. ^ "Oilers sign Jasper Weatherby to PTO". Edmonton Journal. September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  22. ^ "Oilers trim training camp roster by 9 players". Edmonton Oilers. September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  23. ^ "Ex-Shark Becomes Latest Pardubice Signing". The Hockey News. October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  24. ^ "Eleven Fighting Hawks claim NCHC All-Academic Team honors". North Dakota Fighting Hawks. March 4, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  25. ^ "NORTH DAKOTA, OMAHA CLAIM NCHC FEBRUARY MONTHLY HONORS". March 2, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
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