Jake Muzzin

Jake Muzzin
Muzzin in 2013
Born February 21, 1989
Woodstock, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team Los Angeles Kings
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 141st overall, 2007
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2010–present

Jacob Muzzin (born February 21, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Junior

Muzzin played his early minor hockey in the Woodstock Minor Hockey Association before moving on to play AAA in Brantford, Ontario.

Muzzin was the first pick, 11th overall, by Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection Draft from the Brantford 99'ers Minor Midgets. He didn't play with the Greyhounds until late in 2006 after he required herniated disc surgery at 16 years old. Despite having played only 37 regular season games and 13 playoff games, he was drafted 141st overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he was drafted, he went unsigned by the Penguins and re-entered the 2009 NHL Entry Draft but wasn't picked and returned for an overage year with the Greyhounds. In his final season in the OHL, Muzzin won the Max Kaminsky Trophy for top defenceman in the League.

Professional

Muzzin signed as a free agent to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings on January 4, 2010.[1]

Following the Kings' training camp and pre-season games, Muzzin made the Kings' opening night roster for the 2010–11 season.[2] On November 3, 2010, however, he was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs.[3] Just six days later, on November 9, 2010, the Kings recalled the defenceman for a brief stint before again reassigning Muzzin to the Monarchs in favor of Alec Martinez on November 23. In 2012, Muzzin was recalled during the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs and was on the roster as a healthy scratch when they won the Stanley Cup over the New Jersey Devils.[4][5] He did not appear in any games that season. Although he did not qualify to have his name engraved on the Cup, he was nonetheless included in the team's celebratory picture.

Muzzin scored his first NHL goal in his third game following the 2012–13 NHL lockout on January 26, 2013, against Jason LaBarbera of the Phoenix Coyotes. He went on to become a regular in the Kings' lineup and scored seven goals and nine assists in 45 regular season games, while adding three assists in 17 playoff games. He was also named NHL Rookie of the Month for March 2013.[6]

On July 12, 2013, Muzzin and the Kings agreed to a new, two-year contract extension.[7][8]

At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, Muzzin began as a third line pairing and was a healthy scratch for a series of games. However, he quickly continued to develop, and after being paired with defensive star Drew Doughty, he continued to earn more playing time on the top defensive pairing. Muzzin continued to earn minutes for the Kings and finished the regular season averaging 19:01 minutes per game, in addition to registering five goals and 19 assists in 76 regular season games. In the playoffs, he scored six goals and six assists in 26 games, averaging 23:23 minutes of ice time per game, including 37:18 in Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers.[9] With the penalty he drew in the third period of that Game 5, Muzzin catalyzed a debate amongst the hockey world around the apparent rise in acceptability of "flopping" or diving in the NHL, drawing comparisons with the same problem in professional basketball and soccer.[10][11]

With his first Stanley Cup ring, Muzzin is the first Woodstock, Ontario, professional athlete to win a major sports trophy.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Brantford 99'ers MHAO 57 20 23 43 78 12 1 2 3 34
2006–07 Soo Thunderbirds NOJHL 4 0 3 0 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 37 1 3 4 10 13 0 4 4 6
2007–08 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 67 6 12 18 53 10 1 3 4 4
2008–09 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 62 6 23 29 57 — — — — —
2009–10 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 64 15 52 67 76 5 0 1 1 2
2009–10 Manchester Monarchs AHL 1 0 1 1 0 13 1 3 4 6
2010–11 Manchester Monarchs AHL 45 3 15 18 39 7 3 1 4 2
2010–11 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Manchester Monarchs AHL 71 7 24 31 40 3 0 1 1 2
2012–13 Manchester Monarchs AHL 29 2 9 11 24 — — — — —
2012–13 Los Angeles Kings NHL 45 7 9 16 35 17 0 3 3 6
2013–14 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 5 19 24 58 26 6 6 12 8
2014–15 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 10 31 41 22 — — — — —
NHL totals 208 22 60 82 115 43 6 9 15 14

Awards and honours

References

  1. ↑ "Kings sign Muzzin; Activate Stoll". Los Angeles Kings. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  2. ↑ Helene Elliott. "Schenn, Loktionov, Lewis, Clifford and Muzzin make Kings' opening night roster". latimes.com. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  3. ↑ "Kings send Jake Muzzin to Manchester; Doughty to be activated". LA Times. 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  4. ↑ Cup win a learning experience for Jones
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Kings vs Coyotes boxscore
  8. ↑
  9. ↑
  10. ↑
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ Woodstock Sentinel-Review article

External links