Nick Holden
| Nick Holden | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
May 15, 1987 St. Albert, AB, CAN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Colorado Avalanche Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2008–present | ||
Nick Holden (born May 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Holden played Junior A-level hockey for the Camrose Kodiaks and Sherwood Park Crusaders of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League (WHL) at the major junior level.[1]
Holden signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets as an undrafted free agent and spent two seasons playing for the team's then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He then made his NHL debut on October 21, 2010, with the Blue Jackets during the 2010–11 season in a 3–1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.[2][3]
During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Holden appeared in a brief, two-game return to the NHL with the Blue Jackets, primarily playing with the Springfield Falcons. He finished the season leading all Falcons defenceman in scoring with nine goals and 39 points in 73 games.
On July 5, 2013, Holden left the Blue Jackets organization and signed a two-year contract as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche.[4] After partaking and impressing in his first Avalanche training camp, Holden was unexpectedly successful in making the team's opening night roster for the 2013–14 season.[5] Holden sat as a healthy scratch in the first 11 games of the season before making his Avalanche debut as a forward in a 3–2 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on November 2, 2013.[6] In returning to his natural position of defence, Holden scored his first career NHL goal, a game-winner, against Braden Holtby in a 4–1 victory over the Washington Capitals on November 10, 2013.[7][8] As the season progressed, Holden solidified his position within the Avalanche blueline, and on January 18, in a game against the Nashville Predators, he set a career high in scoring two goals and three points whilst also recording an all-time team record of nine hits for a defenceman. His three points and nine hits were last matched by Jiří Šlégr of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001.[9] Holden finished the season second amongst Avalanche defencemen with ten goals in only 54 games. He also led all Avalanche defenceman with three goals and four points in their Western Conference Quarter-final series defeat in the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Minnesota Wild.[10]
Holden was rewarded from his breakout season in signing a three-year contract extension on July 1, 2014.[11]
Personal life
Nick and his wife Angela have two children named Parker and Carter. Holden has purchased tickets to every Avalanche home game and donated them to numerous children's charity organizations.[12]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | Camrose Kodiaks | AJHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Camrose Kodiaks | AJHL | 29 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Sherwood Park Crusaders | AJHL | 28 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Chilliwack Bruins | WHL | 67 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 62 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2007–08 | Chilliwack Bruins | WHL | 70 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 61 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 68 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 67 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 25 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 73 | 9 | 30 | 39 | 58 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 54 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 78 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 82 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 221 | 21 | 40 | 61 | 74 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Sherwood Park Crusaders season stats". Sherwood Park Crusaders. 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
- ↑ "Nash has two goals in Jackets 3-1 win". Yahoo! Sports. 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ↑ Rimer, Jeff (2010-10-22). "Rimer's game day ramblings – Oct. 22". Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ↑ "Avalanche announce signings". Colorado Avalanche. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
- ↑ "Avalanche make three cuts; final roster set". Denver Post. 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Stastny scores in OT to lift troubled Varlamov, Avs". CBS Sports. 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
- ↑ "First place Colorado keep climbing". CBS Sports. 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
- ↑ "Hardwork, positivity led to Holden's first score". Colorado Avalanche. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Avalanche 2014-15 Media Guide". Colorado Avalanche. 2014-10-01. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
- ↑ "Holden's golden opportunity". Denver Post. 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- ↑ "Avalanche signs Nick Holden to extension". Colorado Avalanche. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ↑ http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8474207&view=bio
External links
- Nick Holden's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
- Nick Holden's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database