Tim Stapleton

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Tim Stapleton
Born (1982-07-19) July 19, 1982
La Grange, IL, USA
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–present
Medal record
Competitor for the  United States
Ice hockey
Ice Hockey World Championships
Bronze 2013 Sweden/Finland

Timothy Gabriel Stapleton (born July 19, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.

Playing career

Undrafted, Stapleton played for two seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. Stapleton then represented the University of Minnesota Duluth for four seasons, where he led the team in scoring as a freshman and had back-to-back 40 point seasons.

After a brief stint with the Portland Pirates of the AHL, he signed with Jokerit of the Finnish SM-liiga, completing a tryout which led to a one-year contract. During his first Jokerit season, Stapleton won the SM-liiga silver medal and finished second in playoff scoring.

On June 6, 2008, Stapleton signed as a free agent to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2008–09 season.[1] Stapleton was assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on September 26, 2008.

On 26 February 2009, Stapleton played his first career NHL game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring the shootout winner.[2] In his next game Stapleton was credited with his first NHL goal against the Ottawa Senators, goaltender Brian Elliott on February 28, 2009.[3]

On July 1, 2009, Stapleton was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers with Pavel Kubina for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart.[4] After signing with the Thrashers, Stapleton was then assigned to affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, for the 2009–10 season.[5]

For the 2010–2011 season, Stapleton signed a Professional Try-out agreement with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. On November 30, 2010, Stapleton was signed to a 2-year contract by the Atlanta Thrashers.[6]

On February 27, 2011, Stapleton scored his first goal since April 16, 2010. It was against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was invited and accepted an invitation to join the USA hockey team for the 2011 IIHF tournament.

On April 10, 2011, Stapleton scored a goal in the 3rd period against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was the last game of the season for the Thrashers and would be the last goal in their history. The following season, the Thrashers, including Stapleton, moved to Canada to become the Winnipeg Jets. For the first time Stapleton remained at the NHL level for an entire season, often playing the point on the power play despite playing his even-strength minutes as a third- or fourth-line forward; partly because of this, he logged career highs (and more than doubled his career NHL totals) in games played, goals, assists and points.

Despite this performance, Stapleton was not re-signed by the Jets when his contract expired the following summer. On July 10, 2012, it was announced that Stapleton had agreed to terms with HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL

Despite being born and raised in the Chicago area, Stapleton is not related to 1970s Chicago Blackhawks star defenseman Pat Stapleton or former Winnipeg Jets and Atlanta Thrashers forward Mike Stapleton, despite wearing the latter's number with both franchises.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Green Bay Gamblers USHL 52 7 15 22 8 4 1 2 3 4
2001–02 Green Bay Gamblers USHL 61 24 36 60 10 7 4 7 11 0
2002–03 U. of Minnesota-Duluth WCHA 42 14 28 42 6 — — — — —
2003–04 U. of Minnesota-Duluth WCHA 43 16 25 41 18 — — — — —
2004–05 U. of Minnesota-Duluth WCHA 38 19 20 39 6 — — — — —
2005–06 U. of Minnesota-Duluth WCHA 39 14 16 30 4 — — — — —
2005–06 Portland Pirates AHL 9 0 5 5 4 4 0 0 0 2
2006–07 Jokerit SM-l 56 19 29 48 28 10 6 4 10 8
2007–08 Jokerit SM-l 55 28 33 61 36 14 9 8 17 8
2008–09 Toronto Marlies AHL 70 28 51 79 26 6 2 0 2 2
2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Chicago Wolves AHL 73 30 29 59 18 14 4 9 13 12
2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 6 2 0 2 2 — — — — —
2010–11 San Antonio Rampage AHL 20 8 7 15 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Chicago Wolves AHL 4 1 3 4 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 45 5 2 7 12 — — — — —
2011–12 Winnipeg Jets NHL 63 11 16 27 10 — — — — —
2012–13 Dinamo Minsk KHL 52 24 16 40 30 — — — — —
KHL totals 52 24 16 40 30 — — — — —
SM-l totals 111 47 62 109 64 24 15 12 27 16
NHL totals 118 19 18 37 24 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2011 United States WC 7 0 1 1 0
2013 United States WC 10 2 3 5 2
International totals 17 2 4 6 2

References

  1. ↑ "Leafs ink Stapleton". Toronto Maple Leafs. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
  2. ↑ "Maple Leafs 5, Islanders 4". CBS Sports. 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
  3. ↑ "With NHL on his mind, Wolves Stapleton glad to be home". DailyHerald. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
  4. ↑ "Thrashers acquire Kubina and Stapleton from Toronto". Atlanta Thrashers. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
  5. ↑ "Thrashers agree to terms with three RFA's". Atlanta Thrashers. 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
  6. ↑ "Thrashers Sign F Tim Stapleton; Activate F Patrice Cormier from IR and Assign to Chicago (AHL)". Atlanta Thrashers. 2010-11-30. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 

External links

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