Jujhar Khaira
Jujhar Khaira | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada | August 13, 1994||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
Weight | 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb) | ||
Position | Left wing | ||
Shot | Left | ||
NHL team | Edmonton Oilers | ||
NHL draft |
63rd overall, 2012 Edmonton Oilers | ||
Playing career | 2014–present |
Jujhar Khaira (born August 13, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Khaira was drafted 63rd overall by the Oilers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Family heritage
Khaira comes from a family with a history of accomplishment in athletics. Khaira's parents were prominent volleyball players in British Columbia during the 1980s. His brother Sahvan Khaira is a defenceman with WHL team Swift Current Broncos.
Khaira is only the third player of Punjabi descent to play in the NHL.[1]
Playing career
Khaira was drafted by the Oilers after his second season in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Prince George Spruce Kings. Shortly after the draft, Khaira committed to play collegiate hockey with Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.[2]
At the completion of his freshman season in 2012–13 with Huskies, Khaira left college to pursue a major junior career closer to home in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips. On August 7, 2013, he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[3] In the following 2013–14 season, Khaira posted 43 points in 59 games with the Silvertips. At the elimination in first-round of the post-season, Khaira then made his professional debut with the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, joining the club for their post-season run.[4]
In the second year of his entry-level contract, Khaira and the Oilers AHL affiliation moved to the new Bakersfield Condors.[4] During this 2015–16 NHL season, Khaira was called up to the Oilers on November 26, 2015, playing his first NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 28, 2015.[5][6] This made Khaira only the third player of Punjabi Indian descent to play in the NHL, after Robin Bawa, and half-French, half-Indian Manny Malhotra.[1][7] Khaira played 15 games at the NHL level that season, earning 2 assists.
Khaira was a regular with the Condors for the 2016–17 season, and occasional call up to the NHL Oilers. During his second NHL game that season, on January 16, 2017, Khaira scored his first NHL goal, against Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes.[8] On December 9 of the same year, Khaira earned his first multi-goal game, scoring twice against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.[9][10]
Career statistics
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2010–11 | Prince George Spruce Kings | BCHL | 58 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2011–12 | Prince George Spruce Kings | BCHL | 54 | 29 | 50 | 79 | 69 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
2012–13 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | 37 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013–14 | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 59 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 59 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
2013–14 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | Oklahoma City Barons | AHL | 51 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 62 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
2015–16 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 49 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2015–16 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2016–17 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 27 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2016–17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2017–18 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 69 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 94 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — |
References
- ^ a b Wyshynski, Greg (2015-11-28). "Jujhar Khaira becomes just 3rd ever Punjabi player in NHL history". Puck Daddy. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
- ^ "Bulldogs defenceman Hyland commits to michigan tech". BCHL.ca. Alberni Valley Bulldogs. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
Hyland is the third current BCHL player to commit to Michigan Tech along with Jujhar Khaira and Alex Petan.
- ^ edmontonoilers.com staff (2013-08-07). "Oilers agree to terms with Jujhar Khaira". Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
- ^ a b Wescott, Chris (5 December 2015). "Khaira a good sign of Oilers development". NHL.com. Edmonton, AB: Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ Matheson, Jim (2015-11-26). "Oilers Nail Yakupov out two to four weeks with sprained ankle". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ^ Staples, David (2015-10-31). "Edmonton Oilers next best bet at Bakersfield: JJ Khaira". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ Clinton, Jared (2015-11-27). "Oilers' Jujhar Khaira aiming to become third Punjabi player to suit up in NHL". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
- ^ Tychkowski, Robert (2017-01-17). "Oilers put Coyotes out of their misery". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
- ^ NHL (2017-12-09), Khaira strikes twice in Oilers' 6-2 win against Habs, retrieved 2017-12-10
- ^ The Canadian Press (9 October 2017). "Khaira scores twice as Oilers chase Price, rout Habs". TSN.ca. Montreal: TSN. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1994 births
- Living people
- Bakersfield Condors players
- Canadian people of Punjabi descent
- Canadian Sikhs
- Edmonton Oilers draft picks
- Edmonton Oilers players
- Everett Silvertips players
- Ice hockey people from British Columbia
- Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey players
- Oklahoma City Barons players
- Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia