Erik Westrum

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Erik Westrum
Born (1979-07-26) July 26, 1979
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
team
Former teams 		Free Agent
Phoenix Coyotes
Minnesota Wild
Toronto Maple Leafs
HC Ambrì-Piotta
National team  United States
NHL Draft 187st overall, 1998
Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career 2001–present

Erik Clinton Westrum (born July 26, 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American professional ice hockey Center who is currently an Unrestricted Free Agent. He most recently played in Switzerland with HC Ambrì-Piotta in the National League A (NLA).

Playing career

Westrum was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes with their 7th pick, 187st overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. At the time he was playing in the NCAA for the University of Minnesota. Erik played the next four years with the Gophers. After completing his college career he moved to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for the 2001/2002 season. With the Falcons he played 199 games, scoring 106 points, 37 goals and 69 assists.

Westrum made his NHL debut with Phoenix during the 2003–04 NHL season, playing 15 games with 2 points, one goal and one assist. After the NHL season he played an important role in helping Team USA win the bronze medal in the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. He scored the winning goal to secure the Bronze medal in a shootout while leading the tournament in face-off percentage and was one of the tournament leaders in scoring.

After making an impact with the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2003-2004 NHL season, Westrum was forced to sign a contract with the Utah Grizzlies in the AHL due to the 2004 NHL lockout. With this team he played 80 games with 18 goals and 15 assists, for a total of 33 points. In the season 2005–06 Erik Westrum signed a two-way contract with Minnesota Wild in the NHL after a trade sent him from Phoenix and to his home state of Minnesota. The Wild exchanged Zbynek Michalek for the Coyote's Erik Westrum. But the second experience in the top North America league lasted for only 10 games with one assist. He finished the season with the Wild's farm team, the Houston Aeros. He played 71 games with 98 points, finishing second on the team behind Kirby Law's 110 points.

At the end of 2006 season he signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs in July, 2006, joining Minnesota Gophers teammate John Pohl, already with the Leafs. With Toronto, Westrum played two games scoring no points. As Captain of the Leafs top farm-team, the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League, he finished as the team's top scorer with 58 points (23 goals and 35 assist).

After six professional seasons in North America Westrum signed his first European contract in the Swiss League with the HC Ambri-Piotta. After an explosive start with Ambri-Piotta he signed a four-year contract extension on May 15, 2009. In the first year in Ambrì he became a fan favorite thanks to his spectacular league leading play.[1]

International play

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze 2004 Prague

He has represented Team USA at the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships where Team USA won the bronze medal. Westrum scored the game winning goal in a shootout to secure the Bronze medal against Slovakia and his future teammate Marian Gaborik of the Minnesota Wild.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 U. of Minnesota WCHA 39 6 12 18 43 — — — — —
1998–99 U. of Minnesota WCHA 41 10 26 36 81 — — — — —
1999–00 U. of Minnesota WCHA 39 27 26 53 99 — — — — —
2000–01 U. of Minnesota WCHA 42 26 35 61 84 — — — — —
2001–02 Springfield Falcons AHL 73 13 29 42 116 — — — — —
2002–03 Springfield Falcons AHL 70 10 22 32 65 6 0 4 4 6
2003–04 Springfield Falcons AHL 56 14 18 32 91 — — — — —
2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 15 1 1 2 20 — — — — —
2004–05 Utah Grizzlies AHL 80 18 15 33 117 — — — — —
2005–06 Houston Aeros AHL 71 34 64 98 138 8 1 7 8 20
2005–06 Minnesota Wild NHL 10 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Toronto Marlies AHL 70 23 35 58 135 — — — — —
2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2007–08 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 50 33 39 72 104 7 3 6 9 71
2008–09 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 32 21 18 39 115 11 4 10 14 26
2009–10 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 40 10 16 26 40 6 5 5 10 16
2010–11 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 11 1 3 4 6 3 1 2 3 0
2011–12 HC Ambrì-Piotta NLA 8 1 4 5 26 — — — — —
NHL totals 27 1 2 3 22 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2004 United States WC 9 3 2 5 6
Senior int'l totals 9 3 2 5 6

Awards & Honours

Golden Gopher Team Award Winners

  • Frank Pond Rookie of the Year Award, season 1997–98.
  • Dr. V. George Nagobads Unsung Hero Award second place, season 1998–99.
  • John Mariucci MVP, season 1999–00.
  • Tom Mohr Playoff MVP, season 1999–00.
  • John Mariucci MVP, season 2000–01.
  • Tom Mohr Playoff MVP, season 2000–01.

All-Star Team

  • WCHA - Third All-Star Team, season 1999–00.
  • WCHA - First All-Star Team, 2000–01.
  • AHL - First All-Star Team, season 2005–06.
  • AHL - First All-Star Team, season 2006–07.

Swiss National League

  • National League TopScorer, season 2007–08.

References

  1. ↑ "Westrum to remain in Ambri-Piotta" (in Italian). ticinonews.ch. 2009-05-13. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 

External links

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