Michael St. Croix

Michael St. Croix
Born April 10, 1993 (1993-04-10) (age 18)
Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 New York Rangers
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
NHL Draft 106th overall, 2011
New York Rangers
Playing career 2009–present

Michael St. Croix (born April 10, 1993 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. He is the Oil Kings all time leading scorer.[1] His father is former NHL goaltender Rick St. Croix and his brother is former professional hockey defenseman Chris St. Croix.[2][3][4]

He was the 106th pick in the 4th round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.[5][6][7] He had been ranked as the 46th best prospect in the draft by The Hockey News, ahead of Rangers' first round draft pick J.T. Miller.[3][5] The International Scouting Services ranked him as the 59th best prospect in the draft and Central Scounting ranked him as the 56th best North American skater.[8] Central Scouting had ranked him 36th in their midseason rankings.[9] Hockey Prospectus ranked him 26th overall.[10]

Michael was drafted 4th overall by the Oil Kings in the 2008 bantam draft.[8][11][12] He played two games for the Oil Kings in the 2008-09 season, scoring one goal and one assist for two points.[13] In 2009-10, St. Croix played 66 games for young Oil Kings team that only won 16 games.[8][13] He scored 18 goals and 28 points for 46 total points, leading the Oil Kings in both goals and points.[8][13] In 2010-11, St. Croix and the Oil Kings were more successful. The Oil Kings made the playoffs and St. Croix scored 27 goals and 48 assists for 75 total points.[8][13] His 48 assists led the team and set a modern franchise record, his 75 points placed second on the team and his 27 goals were third on the team.[1][9][14] His 75 points also placed him 36th in the WHL and his 48 assists placed him 32nd.[15][16] St. Croix also played in four playoff games, scoring one goal.[13] During the 2011-12 season, St. Croix was named the WHL Player of the Week for the week of November 28 to December 4 2011, for scoring 3 goals and 5 assists with a +5 plus minus rating in 3 games.[17] He was beaten out by fellow New York Ranger draftee Christian Thomas for the honor of Canadian Hockey League player of the week for that week.[18]

He represented Team Western at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in both 2009 as a 15 year old and 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge as a 16 year old, reaching the semifinal in 2009.[11] In his final season in Midget AAA hockey, he led the Manitoba Midget AAA league in scoring with 103 points in 41 regular season games, and added 20 points in 9 playoff games.[12]

St. Croix regards his vision as his best asset as a player, allowing him to set up plays, complete passes with little space, and to make fancy plays with the puck, and also views his playmaking and hockey sense as key assets.[8][11] He also positions himself well to take advantage of scoring opportunities.[8] He tries to emulate Patrice Bergeron as a player.[8]

Awards and honours

References

  1. ^ a b c "Five Oil Kings in Central Scouting Final Rankings". Edmonton Oil Kings. April 11, 2011. http://www.oilkings.ca/article/five-oil-kings-in-central-scouting-final-rankings/96861. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  2. ^ Glew, K.. "Backchecking: St. Croix was a Saint". The Hockey News. http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/14678-Backchecking-St-Croix-was-a-Saint.html. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  3. ^ a b Campbell, T. (June 4, 2011). "Local NHL prospect St. Croix gets stoked". Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/local-nhl-prospect-st-croix-gets-stoked-123152758.html. Retrieved 2011-06--28. 
  4. ^ Cameron, C. (October 14, 2010). "Hockey a family business for Oil Kings' player". Edmonton Sun. http://www.edmontonsun.com/sports/hockey/2010/10/14/15696821.html. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  5. ^ a b "Rangers 2011 Entry Draft Picks at a Glance". newyorkrangers.com. June 25, 2011. http://rangers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567234&navid=DL. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  6. ^ Campbell, T. (June 26, 2011). "Trio of 'Tobans celebrate selections". Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/trio-of-tobans-celebrate-selections-124558534.html. Retrieved 2011-06--28. 
  7. ^ Brooks, L.. "Rangers' Drury may take buyout". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/drury_may_take_buyout_lEInicbvpT1YdKS6oivJSJ. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Echevarria, A.. "Prospect Watch: Michael St. Croix". The Hockey News. http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/40087-Prospect-Watch-Michael-St-Croix.html. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  9. ^ a b "Rangers make six picks at 2011 draft". newyorkrangers.com. June 25, 2011. http://rangers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=567384. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  10. ^ Pronman, C. (June 25, 2011). "NHL Draft Wrap-Up Atlantic Division". Hockey Prospectus. Prospectus Entertainment Ventures, LLC.. http://www.puckprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=993. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  11. ^ a b c Sager, N. (December 17, 2010). "Draft tracker: 5 questions with Michael St. Croix, Edmonton Oil Kings". Yahoo! Sports. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/juniorhockey/blog/buzzing_the_net/post/Draft-tracker-5-questions-with-Michael-St-Croi?urn=juniorhockey-297143. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  12. ^ a b Van Diest, D. (August 21, 2009). "St. Croix ready to stay put". Edmonton Sun. http://www.edmontonsun.com/sports/hockey/2009/08/21/10542791-sun.html. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  13. ^ a b c d e "Michael St. Croix". hockeydb. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=117651. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  14. ^ "2010-11 Edmonton Oil Kings". hockeydb. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0047162011.html. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  15. ^ "WHL 2010-11 Top Scorers". Western Hockey League. http://www.whl.ca/stats/show/type/top_scorers/ls_season/236/first/20. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  16. ^ "WHL 2010-11 Assists Leaders". Western Hockey League. http://www.whl.ca/stats/show/type/records/ls_season/236/subtype/1/first/20. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 
  17. ^ "Oil King's St. Croix WHL Player of the Week". Western Hockey League. December 5, 2011. http://www.whl.ca/article/oil-kings-st-croix-whl-player-of-the-week. Retrieved 2011-12-05. 
  18. ^ "Generals’ Christian Thomas Named CHL Player of the Week". Ontario Hockey League. December 6, 2011. http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/article/generals-christian-thomas-named-chl-player-of-the-week/110968. Retrieved 2011-12-08. 
  19. ^ "Broncos trio make WHL Plays of the Year". April 1, 2011. http://www.swbooster.com/Sports/Broncos/2011-04-01/article-2391295/Broncos-trio-make-WHL-Plays-of-the-Year/1. Retrieved 2011-06-28. 

External links