Jeff Friesen

Jeff Friesen
Friesen during the 2006-07 NHL season as a member of the Flames.
Born August 5, 1976
Meadow Lake, SK, CAN
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for San Jose Sharks
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
New Jersey Devils
Washington Capitals
Calgary Flames
Eisbären Berlin
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 11th overall, 1994
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 1994–2011

Jeff Daryl Friesen (born August 5, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 800 games in the National Hockey League. He is known for his tenure with the San Jose Sharks and the New Jersey Devils, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2003.

Playing career

Friesen played his junior years with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he was Rookie of the Year in 1993. He was selected 11th overall in the first round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. He played 14 season in the NHL as a winger, originally as a left winger but also as a right winger.

Friesen played nearly seven seasons with the Sharks, becoming their 3rd all-time leading scorer, but was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim near the end of the 2000–01 season. After playing the following season with the Ducks, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils for the 2002–03 season where he won the Stanley Cup. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Ottawa Senators that year, Friesen scored the game-winning goal with just under three minutes left in regulation in Game 7. It was his third game-winning goal of the series. Then in Game 7 of the finals, he scored two goals.

On September 26, 2005, the salary cap troubled Devils traded Friesen to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional 2006 draft pick. On March 9, 2006, he was moved again to the Ducks for a second-round draft pick, but spent a significant part of the 2005–06 season sidelined with a groin injury.

Friesen was signed by the Calgary Flames on July 5, 2006 to a 1-year $1.6 million contract for the 2006–07 season. After a disappointing season that had Friesen producing six goals and six assists in seventy-two games, the Calgary Flames chose not to re-sign him. He played in the AHL as a left wing for the Lake Erie Monsters before January 29, 2008, when Friesen was released.

Friesen attended the San Jose Sharks' 2008 training camp on a tryout basis.[1] On October 9, 2008, Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced that Friesen had been released from training camp.[2] On August 29, 2009, Friesen signed a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).[3]

Jeff is tied with Jamie Baker for the Sharks single-season short-handed goals record with 6, set in the 1997–98 season.[4] On February 21, 2015 he returned to San Jose (Santa Clara) where he was introduced along with several other former Shark players before the outdoor Stadium Series game vs. the L.A. Kings at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 Regina Pats WHL 4 3 1 4 2 — — — — —
1992–93 Regina Pats WHL 70 45 38 83 23 13 7 10 17 8
1993–94 Regina Pats WHL 66 51 67 118 48 4 3 2 5 2
1994–95 Regina Pats WHL 25 21 23 44 22 — — — — —
1994–95 San Jose Sharks NHL 48 15 10 25 14 11 1 5 6 4
1995–96 San Jose Sharks NHL 79 15 31 46 42 — — — — —
1996–97 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 28 34 62 75 — — — — —
1997–98 San Jose Sharks NHL 79 31 32 63 40 6 0 1 1 2
1998–99 San Jose Sharks NHL 78 22 35 57 42 6 2 2 4 14
1999–00 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 26 35 61 47 11 2 2 4 10
2000–01 San Jose Sharks NHL 64 12 24 36 56 — — — — —
2000–01 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 15 2 10 12 10 — — — — —
2001–02 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 81 17 26 43 44 — — — — —
2002–03 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 23 28 51 26 24 10 4 14 6
2003–04 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 17 20 37 26 5 0 0 0 4
2005–06 Washington Capitals NHL 33 3 4 7 24 — — — — —
2005–06 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 18 1 3 4 8 16 3 1 4 6
2006–07 Calgary Flames NHL 72 6 6 12 34 5 0 0 0 2
2007–08 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 5 1 4 5 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Eisbären Berlin DEL 53 15 30 45 130 5 1 1 2 0
2010–11 Eisbären Berlin DEL 30 5 9 14 12 11 1 4 5 2
NHL totals 893 218 298 516 488 84 18 15 33 48

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1994 Canada WJC 1st 5 0 2 2 0
1995 Canada WJC 1st 7 5 2 7 4
1996 Canada WC 2nd 8 2 0 2 6
1997 Canada WC 1st 11 3 4 7 16
1999 Canada WC 4th 7 2 2 4 0
2001 Canada WC 5th 7 1 3 4 6
2004 Canada WC 1st 9 0 1 1 4
Junior totals 12 5 4 9 4
Senior totals 42 8 10 18 32

Personal

Friesen and his ex-wife Rhonda have a daughter, Kaylee (born in 2005),[5] and a son, Benjamin.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Friesen returns as tryout player". Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  2. ↑ "Friesen Released From Training Camp". Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Jeff Friesen bleibt Eisbär". Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  4. ↑ "Single-season short-handed goals". hockey-reference.com. 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  5. ↑ Friesen, Jeff (2006-10-28). FlamesTV Interview with Jeff Friesen (Video). Interview with Alex Ruiz. FlamesTV.
  6. ↑ "Hier umarmt Friesen seine Allerliebsten". 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  7. ↑ "Seine Welt ist eine Scheibe". 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2010-01-04.

External links

Preceded by
Viktor Kozlov		 San Jose Sharks first round draft pick
1994 		Succeeded by
Teemu Riihijärvi