Justin Abdelkader

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Justin Abdelkader
Justin Abdelkader's Stanley Cup2008.jpg
Born (1987-02-25) February 25, 1987 (age 26)
Muskegon, MI, USA
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position Left Wing/Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Detroit Red Wings
NHL Draft 42nd overall, 2005
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2008–present

Justin Abdelkader (pronounced /ˈæbdəlkeɪdər/; born February 25, 1987) is an American ice hockey forward currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.

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College career [edit]

On April 7, 2007 Abdelkader scored the game-winning goal in the 2007 NCAA Championship Game against Boston College, securing the NCAA Division 1 National Championship for Michigan State University and earning him the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. He scored the latest game-winning regulation goal ever scored in an NCAA Frozen Four championship game when he scored with just 18.9 seconds left.

NHL career [edit]

Detroit Red Wings [edit]

Abdelkader was selected by the Detroit Red Wings with the 42nd overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

On April 3, 2008, Abdelkader signed a one-game amateur tryout with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and was to play that night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In doing so, he forfeited his college eligibility for the 2008–09 season. The following day, Abdelkader signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[1]

Abdelkader scored 24 goals for the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2008-09 season and was one of the team's best offensive players in the playoffs.[2]

On May 8, 2009 Abdelkader was brought up to the Red Wings as the replacement for Tomáš Kopecký, who sat out Game 5 of the Western Conference semi-finals series against the Anaheim Ducks. Coach Mike Babcock sent Abdelkader to replace Kopecký "because he'll run over people. We expect him to play hard like Darren Helm. He's on the forecheck and he's a physical guy."[3] During the game Abdelkader scored his first career point on an assist to Johan Franzén.

Abdelkader scored his first career NHL goal on May 30, 2009 in Game 1 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After shooting the puck, he grabbed the rebound out of the air with his glove, dropped the puck, and beat Marc-André Fleury high stick side.[4][5] His second goal came nearly 24 hours later in the second game of the series, off of what commentators described as a "knuckle puck." He carried the puck into the forward zone alone against three Penguins defenders and fired a slapshot past Fleury. He became the first rookie to score a goal in consecutive finals games since Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli did it in 1981.[6]

During the 2009–10 season Justin played 50 games for the Red Wings scoring 3 goals, while adding 3 assists. He was then re-signed by the Red Wings on a two-year extension worth $1.575 million.

The 2010–11 season was Abdelkader's first full NHL season as a Red Wing. He played in 74 games, scoring 7 goals, and adding 12 assists.

During the 2011–12 season, he missed only one game to finish with 8 goals and 22 points in 81 games.

International play [edit]

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Bronze 2007 Leksand

Abdelkader was selected to play for the United States Junior National Team at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden in 2007.[7]

Personal life [edit]

Justin Abdelkader is the son of Joseph and Sheryl Abdelkader. The surname Abdelkader is Arabic. His paternal grandfather, Yusuf Abdul Qadir (Anglicised Joseph Abdelkader), emigrated from Jordan at the age of 19 to Muskegon, where he later met a Polish girl named Susie.[8][9][10]

Abdelkader was born and raised in Norton Shores and graduated from Mona Shores High School in 2005. He was named to the all-state hockey team and awarded the Mr. Hockey award, given to the top high school ice hockey player in Michigan. During his senior year, he played for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL, and helped the team win the 2004-05 Clark Cup Championship.

Career statistics [edit]

Regular season and playoffs [edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 60 27 25 52 86 11 0 4 4 8
2005–06 Michigan State Spartans NCAA 44 10 12 22 83 — — — — —
2006–07 Michigan State Spartans NCAA 38 15 18 33 91 — — — — —
2007–08 Michigan State Spartans NCAA 42 19 21 40 107 — — — — —
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 76 24 28 52 102 10 6 2 8 23
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 0 0 0 10 2 1 3 0
2009–10 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 33 11 13 24 86 — — — — —
2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 50 3 3 6 35 11 1 1 2 36
2010–11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 7 12 19 61 11 0 0 0 22
2011–12 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 8 14 22 62 5 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 209 18 29 47 160 37 3 2 5 60

International [edit]

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2007 United States WJC 7 0 2 2 10
Junior Int'l totals 7 0 2 2 10

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Kopecky done for rest of season; Abdelkader signed for three years". 
  2. ^ "Rafalski, Draper, Kopecky won't play Sunday". 
  3. ^ Ted Kulfan, "Rafalski, Draper, Kopecky won't play Sunday," The Detroit News, May 8, 2009.
  4. ^ http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?id=42908
  5. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290530005
  6. ^ "Griffins foursome keys Red Wings' run for Cup". mlive.com. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
  7. ^ "Player Bio:Justin Abdelkader". MSU Athletics. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-12-29. 
  8. ^ http://www.nhl.com Archived 16 January 2010 at WebCite
  9. ^ http://www.theahl.com/pagebank/index.html?id=8786
  10. ^ http://www.wzzm13.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=110061&catid=82

External links [edit]

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