Brendan Leipsic

Brendan Leipsic
Born (1994-05-19) May 19, 1994
Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Marlies (AHL)
NHL Draft 89th overall, 2012
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2014–present

Brendan Leipsic (born May 19, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Leipsic was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 3rd round (89th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Personal

Leipsic is Jewish, and was born in Winnipeg, Canada.[1][2][3][4][5] His mother Kathleen was a gymnast who represented Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and his father Greg was a high school running back.[6] He has a brother (Jeremy) and a sister (Emma).[7]

Playing career

Leipsic played in the WHL from the 2010–11 season. He was a member of Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge.[8]

In the 2012–13 season with the Portland Winterhawks, Leipsic scored 120 points in 68 games to win the CHL Top Scorer Award as the highest-scoring player in the Canadian Hockey League.[9]

On May 23, 2013, the Nashville Predators signed Leipsic to a three-year entry-level contract.[10]

Leipsic was assigned to the Predators AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals to begin his first professional season in 2014–15. He led the Admirals in rookie scoring with 36 points in 47 games.

On February 15, 2015, the Predators traded Leipsic along with Olli Jokinen and Nashville's 2015 first round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a package deal for Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli.[11] Leipsc played an important role down the stretch in helping the Toronto Marlies (a team that struggled to score early in the year) reach the post-season.

Leipsic began the 2015–16 season with the Marlies, and would play there for most of the year. However, in February 2016, the Maple Leafs lineup was depleted due to injuries. Wanting to allow younger players to remain in the AHL and develop, Toronto initially called up older veterans.

When injury struck again however, Leipsic was called up on February 13, 2016, in reward for his strong play, along with Jeremy Morin, both on an emergency basis.[12] Leipsic made his debut the same night, in a road game against the Vancouver Canucks, and scored his first NHL goal midway through the second period, batting a flying puck out of mid-air and past goaltender Ryan Miller.[13] The reaction of Leipsic's parents, who were in attendance and flew last minute to the game, garnered much media attention.[13] Leipsic became the first Maple Leafs' player to score a goal in his NHL debut since Nikolay Kulemin in 2008. Leipsic was sent back to the Marlies shortly after his debut.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11Portland WinterhawksWHL68161733502134714
2011–12Portland WinterhawksWHL652830588220781528
2012–13Portland WinterhawksWHL6849711201032110142441
2013–14Portland WinterhawksWHL603952911112014193349
2014–15Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL477293616 — — — — —
2014–15Toronto MarliesAHL27712196 5 1 2 3 14
2015–16 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 6 1 2 3 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 6 1 2 3 2 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Canada Western WHC17 6th 5 3 2 5 6
Junior totals 5 3 2 5 6

Awards and honours

Honours Year
CHL Top Scorer Award 2012–13 [14]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ []http://cdn.agilitycms.com/hockey-canada/Team-Canada/Men/Junior/2013/Downloads/2013njt_summer_camp_media_guide.pdf
  9. ↑ Preds prospect Brendan Leipsic finishes as leading scorer in all of major junior… | Section 303
  10. ↑ "Predators sign Leipsic". Nashville Predators. 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  11. ↑ "Leafs trade Santorelli, Franson to Predators". MapleLeafsHotStove.com. 2015-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
  12. ↑ "Leafs recall Leipsic, Morin on emergency basis". TSN. 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  13. 1 2 "Brendan Leipsic scores winner in NHL debut as Maple Leafs beat Canucks". CBC Sports. 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  14. ↑ "2012-13 Award Winners". Canadian Hockey League. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-05-01.

External links

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