Nicholas Merkley (born May 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing under contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Merkley was formerly 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.
| Nick Merkley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped1).jpg) Merkley in 2018 | |||
| Born |
May 23, 1997 Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| KHL team Former teams |
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Arizona Coyotes New Jersey Devils Ässät San Jose Sharks Dinamo Minsk | ||
| NHL draft |
30th overall, 2015 Arizona Coyotes | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Playing career
editMerkley 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]
During the 2019–20 season while with the Tucson Roadrunners, Merkley was traded by the Coyotes to the New Jersey Devils in a deal involving star forward Taylor Hall on December 16, 2019.[9] Merkley joined the Devils' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils, and was instantly productive in collecting 8 goals and 19 points in 28 regular season games. He was later recalled by the New Jersey Devils, adding a goal and an assist in four games, before the regular season was abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As an impending restricted free agent with the Devils and with the team unable to qualify in the return to play format, Merkley signed a one-year contract with the Finnish Liiga club Ässät on August 27, 2020, in order to stay in game shape. His contract included an NHL-out clause until commencement of the delayed 2020–21 North American season.[10]
On July 26, 2021, Merkley was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Christián Jaroš.[11] He signed a one-year contract three days later.[12] He made his debut for the Sharks on October 30, 2021, in a 2–1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.[13] Three days later, he recorded his first point as an assist in a 5–3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.[14] His first goal came on November 4, 2021, in a 3–5 loss to the St. Louis Blues.[15]
On March 21, 2022, Merkley was traded by the Sharks to the New York Rangers in exchange for Anthony Bitetto at the NHL trade deadline.[16]
On August 1, 2022, having left the Rangers as a free agent, Merkley agreed to a one-year contract with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, for the 2022–23 season.[17][18]
On July 8, 2024, Merkley signed a two-year contract to play for another KHL team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.[19]
International play
editMerkley helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[20]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 26 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Binghamton Devils | AHL | 28 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Ässät | Liiga | 19 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 27 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Binghamton Devils | AHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | San Jose Barracuda | AHL | 43 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 16 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 67 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 88 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | ||
| 2023–24 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 65 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 55 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 41 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 132 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 143 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 34 | ||||
International
edit| 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| Honours | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy – WHL Rookie of the Year | 2013–14 | [21] |
| Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal | 2014 | [22] |
| CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game | 2015 | [23] |
| WHL (West) Second All-Star Team | 2015 | [24] |
| CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team | 2015 | [25] |
| American Hockey League All-Star Game | 2018 | [8] |
References
edit- ^ "Merkley Rockets' next top NHL draft pick". Sportsnet.ca. March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ "Kelowna Rockets rookie Nick Merkley blossoming quickly". Yahoo! Sports. February 14, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ "Early draft watch includes Rockets trio". okanagansportpage.com. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ "Kelowna's Nick Merkley proves cream rises to the top for NHL draft". Yahoo! Sports. June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ^ "Coyotes sign Merkley to entry-level contract". Arizona Coyotes. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Merkley's NHL debut memorable despite Arizona's loss". kelownanow.com. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2018 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC". theahl.com. Springfield, Mass. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ a b Layman, Matt (January 4, 2018). "Coyotes prospects Dylan Strome, Nick Merkley make AHL All-Star team". arizonasports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ "RELEASE: Devils acquire picks and players in exchange for Hall, Speers". National Hockey League. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ "Ässät announce first signing with Nick Merkley" (in Finnish). Ässät. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ "Sharks Acquire Rights to Forward Nick Merkley from Devils". National Hockey League. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ "Sharks Sign Forward Nick Merkley". National Hockey League. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "Sharks top Jets in OT after coach, seven players put in COVID-19 protocol". National Hockey League. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ "Hertl has three points for Sharks in victory against Sabres". National Hockey League. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ "Brandon Saad scores twice, leads Blues past Sharks 5–3". ESPN. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ^ "Rangers trade Anthony Bitetto to Sharks for Nick Merkley". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ "Nick Merkley - Dinamo Minsk player". Sportnaviny.com. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "Nick Merkley - Dinamo Minsk player" (in Belarusian). HC Dinamo Minsk. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "2015 first-rounder Nick Merkley signs with KHL's Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg". The Hockey News. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "Merkley helps team Canada u18's claim gold". Kelowna Rockets. October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ "Nick Merkley vaults into lead scoring race". Calgary Herald. April 1, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ "NHL draft prospect Nick Merkley is making a statement". The Hockey News. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ "Rockets forward selected to Prospects Game". kelownacapnews.com. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- ^ "Bowey, Chartier, Merkley, Morrissey named to All-Star teams". Kelowna Rockets. April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Memorial Cup awards and All-Stars". Memorial Cup. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database