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Drew Stafford

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Drew Stafford
Stafford with the Buffalo Sabres in 2012
Born (1985-10-30) October 30, 1985 (age 39)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Buffalo Sabres
Winnipeg Jets
Boston Bruins
New Jersey Devils
National team  United States
NHL draft 13th overall, 2004
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2006–2019

Drew Stafford (born October 30, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger. Stafford was drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, and has played for the Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life

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Stafford was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but grew up in Faribault, Minnesota. As a teenager, he played AAA hockey with the Milwaukee Jr Admirals. His father, Gordie, played professional hockey in the International Hockey League (IHL) and is the director of girls hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, where Drew also played high school hockey.[1] Stafford's uncle, Barrie Stafford, was the head equipment manager for the Edmonton Oilers for 28 years before retiring in 2012.[2]

Playing career

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Amateur

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Stafford played for the St. Albert Bantam AA Flyers in St. Albert, Alberta, in 1999–2000. During the season, he finished third in League scoring with 26 goals and 47 points in 30 games while leading his team to a provincial berth. At the conclusion of the season, Stafford was selected to participate in Hockey Alberta's elite development program as a member of the Northwest Sharks in the 2000 Pioneer Chrysler Alberta Cup.

Stafford played at Shattuck-Saint Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, for two years and played on the US national team at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships. He then played for three seasons at the University of North Dakota and on the US national team at the 2004 and 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Following his freshman season, Stafford was drafted 13th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. After two more seasons, he signed a professional contract with the Sabres in 2006, foregoing his senior season at the University of North Dakota. Stafford finished his three-year collegiate career with 118 points (48 goals and 70 assists).

Professional

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Stafford skating with teammate Jordan Leopold in 2011

Buffalo Sabres

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Stafford began his professional career with Buffalo's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. With nine points in the first 11 games of the season, he caught the attention of Sabres management, and was called up to Buffalo in early November to replace injured winger Maxim Afinogenov. In his NHL debut on November 5 against the New York Rangers, Stafford assisted on a game-winning overtime goal by Daniel Brière, earning his first NHL point. On November 11, he scored his first goal in the NHL on the Philadelphia Flyers' Antero Niittymäki. He won NHL Rookie of the Month honors for March 2007 despite the fact that Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche had his record-breaking rookie scoring streak in the same month. Stafford scored his first game-winning goal on February 27 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Stafford became a regular in the Sabres' lineup during the 2007–08 season, scoring his first career hat-trick against the Atlanta Thrashers on January 18, 2008. More than a year later, he went on to score his second hat-trick in a 10–2 rout of the Edmonton Oilers on January 27, 2009. A little less than a year after that, he celebrated his third hat-trick on December 15, 2010, against the Boston Bruins. He added his fourth, also against Boston, on January 1, 2011, his fifth on February 8, 2011 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his sixth on February 13, 2011, against the New York Islanders. On June 3, 2011, Stafford signed a four-year, $16 million contract extension with the Sabres.[3]

Winnipeg Jets

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In his ninth season with the Sabres in 2014–15, on February 11, 2015, Stafford was traded alongside Tyler Myers, Brendan Lemieux, Joel Armia and a 2015 first-round draft pick (Jack Roslovic) to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and the rights to goaltending prospect Jason Kasdorf.[4] On February 14, 2015, in just his second game on the Jets, Stafford scored a goal in regulation, as well as the shootout winner, in a 5–4 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings.[5] On February 6, 2016, during a game against the Colorado Avalanche, Stafford hit Nick Holden in the face with a high stick, earning him a one game suspension.[6] On the eve of free-agency Stafford re-signed to a two-year contract to remain in Winnipeg on June 30, 2015.[7]

Boston Bruins

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On March 1, 2017, Stafford was traded from Winnipeg to the Boston Bruins for a conditional 6th round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[8][9] On March 4, Stafford played in his first Bruins game, racking up his first scoring point as a Bruin by assisting on Ryan Spooner's game-winning goal against the New Jersey Devils for a 3-2 home ice win at TD Garden.[10] Stafford scored his first Bruins goal on March 8, Boston's third goal en route to a 6-1 home ice defeat of the visiting Detroit Red Wings.[11]

New Jersey Devils

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On August 25, 2017, Stafford signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the New Jersey Devils.[12] In 59 games with the club, Stafford recorded eight goals and 15 points in 59 games.

On September 7, 2018, Stafford signed a professional tryout agreement to attend the Devils' training camp.[13] On October 5, the Devils signed Stafford to a one-year, $810,000 contract.[14][non-primary source needed]

On January 4, 2019, Stafford scored the game-winning shootout goal in his 800th regular season NHL game.[15]

On September 4, 2019, it was announced that Stafford would attend the Minnesota Wild's training camp on a professional tryout.[16]

Personal life

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Stafford was born in Milwaukee, when his father, Gord Stafford, played professional hockey with the Milwaukee Admirals of the International Hockey League and the Wichita Wind of the Central Hockey League during the 1980s.[17] Stafford formed a band called Red Seal Peach while at the University of North Dakota with goaltender Jordan Parise.[18] Stafford appears in the Every Time I Die video for "Decayin with the Boys," playing jenga at a party in full hockey uniform.[19]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Shattuck–Saint Mary's HSMN 45 35 53 88 30 — — — — —
2002–03 Shattuck–Saint Mary's HSMN 64 49 67 116 48 — — — — —
2003–04 University of North Dakota WCHA 36 11 21 32 30 — — — — —
2004–05 University of North Dakota WCHA 40 13 22 35 34 — — — — —
2005–06 University of North Dakota WCHA 41 24 23 47 63 — — — — —
2006–07 Rochester Americans AHL 34 22 22 44 30 — — — — —
2006–07 Buffalo Sabres NHL 41 13 14 27 33 10 2 2 4 4
2007–08 Buffalo Sabres NHL 64 16 22 38 51 — — — — —
2008–09 Buffalo Sabres NHL 79 20 25 45 29 — — — — —
2009–10 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71 14 20 34 35 3 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Buffalo Sabres NHL 62 31 21 52 34 7 1 2 3 2
2011–12 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 20 30 50 46 — — — — —
2012–13 Buffalo Sabres NHL 46 6 12 18 21 — — — — —
2013–14 Buffalo Sabres NHL 70 16 18 34 39 — — — — —
2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 50 9 15 24 39 — — — — —
2014–15 Winnipeg Jets NHL 26 9 10 19 8 4 1 1 2 0
2015–16 Winnipeg Jets NHL 78 21 17 38 28 — — — — —
2016–17 Winnipeg Jets NHL 40 4 9 13 12 — — — — —
2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 18 4 4 8 12 6 2 0 2 2
2017–18 New Jersey Devils NHL 59 8 7 15 10 2 0 0 0 10
2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 57 5 8 13 18 — — — — —
NHL totals 841 196 232 428 415 32 6 5 11 18

International

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Medal record
ice hockey
Representing the  United States
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Helsinki
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 United States U18 5th 5 1 2 3 14
2003 United States WJC18 4th 6 3 2 5 8
2004 United States WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 0 2 2 2
2005 United States WJC 4th 7 5 4 9 14
2006 United States WC 7th 7 0 1 1 0
2008 United States WC 6th 7 1 3 4 6
2009 United States WC 4th 9 2 1 3 6
Junior totals 24 9 10 19 38
Senior totals 23 3 5 8 12

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
All-WCHA Third Team 2006
AHL
All-Star Classic 2007

References

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  1. ^ "Shattuck St. Mary's Hockey Staff". Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  2. ^ "Oilers Long-Time Equipment Manager Barrie Stafford Honored by Hockey Legends". Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  3. ^ James O'Brien (2011-06-04). "Buffalo Sabres sign Drew Stafford to four-year, $16M contract extension". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  4. ^ "Kane, Bogosian dealt to Sabres in eight-player blockbuster deal". TSN. February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "Drew Stafford's shootout goal in 4th round sends Jets to 5-4 win over Detroit Red Wings". Times Colonist. February 14, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "NHL suspends Drew Stafford 1 game for high-sticking". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 8, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "Jets re-sign Drew Stafford to two-year contract". sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. June 30, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Jets agree to terms with Drew Stafford". Winnipeg Jets. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  9. ^ "Jets Trade Stafford to Bruins for pick". TSN. March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  10. ^ Kalman, Matt (March 5, 2017). "Bruins win another under Bruce Cassidy". Boston Bruins. National Hockey League. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  11. ^ "Bruins crush Red wings 6-1". National Hockey League. 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
  12. ^ "Devils sign RW Drew Stafford to a one-year contract". National Hockey League. August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  13. ^ Ryan, Chris. "Devils bring back Drew Stafford on tryout". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  14. ^ "New Jersey Devils on Twitter: "The #NJDevils have agreed to terms with RW Drew Stafford on a one-year, one-way contract worth $810,000. Stafford had been with New Jersey since the start of training camp on a PTO". Twitter. October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  15. ^ Marshall, John (2019-01-05). "Kinkaid stops 21 shots, Devils beat Coyotes 3-2 in shootout". AP News. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  16. ^ TSN ca Staff (2019-09-04). "Stafford to attend Wild training camp on PTO - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  17. ^ "Gord Stafford". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  18. ^ Stephen Sickles. "Multi-talented: Getting to know the real Drew Stafford". Let's Go Sabres. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  19. ^ "Decavin with the Boys". 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2014-06-17 – via YouTube.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick
2004 		Succeeded by
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