Ozzy Wiesblatt (born March 9, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was drafted in the first round, 31st overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
| Ozzy Wiesblatt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
March 9, 2002 Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Nashville Predators Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) | ||
| NHL draft |
31st overall, 2020 San Jose Sharks | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Early life
editWiesblatt was born to parents Kimberly White and Art Wiesblatt, who are both deaf. As a result, he and his siblings all learned American sign language to communicate. Wiesblatt and his brothers Ocean, Orca, and Oasiz all play hockey.[1] They also have a younger sister, Oceania.[2]
Wiesblatt is Jewish.[3]
Playing career
editWiesblatt began his ice hockey career playing for the Calgary Bisons U15 AAA in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League before being drafted into the Western Hockey League (WHL). Prior to being drafted 25th overall, Wiesblatt recorded 38 goals and 35 assists in 32 games during the 2016–17 season.[4] In spite of being drafted, he remained in the Alberta Midget Hockey League with the Calgary Bisons U18 team but was selected for Team Alberta at the 2017 WHL Cup.[5][6] He made his WHL debut during the 2017–18 season, during which he recorded his first career WHL goal.[7]
Wiesblatt officially joined the Raiders roster for the 2018–19 where he recorded 39 points and helped lead the team to the Ed Chynoweth Cup.[8] As a result, he shared the team's Rookie of the Year award with Kaiden Guhle.[9] This caught the attention of San Jose Sharks' general manager and director of scouting, who referred to Wiesblatt as a center rather than a winger.[10]
Wiesblatt entered his first year of draft eligibility ranking 19th overall North American skaters per the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Midterm Rankings.[11] Although the season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, he placed second on the team in scoring with 70 points in 64 games.[12] As a result, he was drafted in the first round, 31st overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[13] He signed his contract on October 16, 2020.[14]
On March 18, 2024, Wiesblatt was reassigned by the Sharks from the San Jose Barracuda to the Milwaukee Admirals.[15] He played out the remainder of the season with the Admirals, posting 6 points through 16 regular season games and adding 9 points in 15 playoff contests.
He was traded by the Sharks to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Egor Afanasyev on June 23, 2024.[16]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Calgary Buffaloes U18 | AMHL | 33 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 64 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 20 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 64 | 25 | 45 | 70 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | San Jose Barracuda | AHL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 23 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 43 | 10 | 31 | 41 | 55 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | San Jose Barracuda | AHL | 45 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | San Jose Barracuda | AHL | 34 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 12 | ||
| AHL totals | 101 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 85 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 12 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Canada Black | U17 | 5th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2019 | Canada | HG18 | 
|
5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| Junior totals | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | ||||
References
edit- ^ Korbin, Kelley (November 9, 2007). "Deaf parents help build communication skills". Jewish Independent. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ Radford, Evan (July 23, 2018). "Hockey mom's deafness pushed her boys to be better". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "All the Jewish players taking the NHL ice". InterMountain Jewish News. October 26, 2023.
- ^ "Raiders Select 10 Players In 2017 WHL Bantam Draft". raiderhockey.com. May 4, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Five Raider prospects to play in WHL Cup". panow.com. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Raiders Well Represented At WHL Cup". raiderhockey.com. October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "It Was Probably Easily The Best Moment Of My Life". raiderhockey.com. May 2, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ Medina, Alex (September 28, 2020). "Crazy and Exciting Time". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Raiders Hand Out 2018-19 Awards". raiderhockey.com. March 18, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ White, Marcus (October 7, 2020). "How Wiesblatt won over Sharks with blend of skill, spirit". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "January 13, 2020 Twenty-two Albertans listed in NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings". hockeyalberta.ca. January 13, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ Punkari, Lucas (September 22, 2020). "Wiesblatt keeping busy during long off season". paherald.sk.ca. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ White, Marcus (October 6, 2020). "Sharks select Ozzy Wiesblatt with No. 31 pick in NHL draft". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "Sharks Sign Center Ozzy Wiesblatt". National Hockey League. October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ "Wiesblatt Reassigned To Admirals". Milwaukee Admirals. March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Predators Acquire Ozzy Wiesblatt From San Jose". NHL.com. Nashville Predators. June 23, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database