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Nick Merkley

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Nick Merkley
Merkley in 2018
Born (1997-05-23) May 23, 1997 (age 27)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams		 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Arizona Coyotes
New Jersey Devils
Ässät
San Jose Sharks
Dinamo Minsk
NHL draft 30th overall, 2015
Arizona Coyotes
Playing career 2017–present

Nicholas Merkley (born May 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing under contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Merkley was formerly rated as a top prospect who was widely projected to be a first-round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[1] In the said Draft, he was selected 30th overall by the Arizona Coyotes, the final pick of the opening round.

Playing career

[edit]

Merkley was selected ninth overall by the Kelowna Rockets in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. Following a strong first season with the Rockets,[2] he was selected as the 2013–14 WHL Rookie of the Year and awarded the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy,[3] and during the 2014–15 WHL season he was rewarded for his outstanding play when he was selected to skate in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[4] and was also named to the 2014–15 WHL (West) Second All-Star Team after scoring 20 goals and 90 points in 72 games.

On September 3, 2015, Merkley agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes.[5]

He made his NHL debut on December 19, 2017, against the Florida Panthers.[6] He played 13 minutes 30 seconds of ice time in a 3–2 loss. He was sent back down to the AHL shortly after. On January 4, 2018, Merkley was selected for the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic Game in Utica, New York.[7][8]

During the 2019–20 season while with the Tucson Roadrunners, Merkley was traded by the Coyotes to the New Jersey Devils in a deal involving star forward Taylor Hall on December 16, 2019.[9] Merkley joined the Devils' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils, and was instantly productive in collecting 8 goals and 19 points in 28 regular season games. He was later recalled by the New Jersey Devils, adding a goal and an assist in four games, before the regular season was abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an impending restricted free agent with the Devils and with the team unable to qualify in the return to play format, Merkley signed a one-year contract with the Finnish Liiga club Ässät on August 27, 2020, in order to stay in game shape. His contract included an NHL-out clause until commencement of the delayed 2020–21 North American season.[10]

On July 26, 2021, Merkley was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Christián Jaroš.[11] He signed a one-year contract three days later.[12] He made his debut for the Sharks on October 30, 2021, in a 2–1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.[13] Three days later, he recorded his first point as an assist in a 5–3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.[14] His first goal came on November 4, 2021, in a 3–5 loss to the St. Louis Blues.[15]

On March 21, 2022, Merkley was traded by the Sharks to the New York Rangers in exchange for Anthony Bitetto at the NHL trade deadline.[16]

On August 1, 2022, having left the Rangers as a free agent, Merkley agreed to a one-year contract with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, for the 2022–23 season.[17][18]

On July 8, 2024, Merkley signed a two-year contract to play for another KHL team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.[19]

International play

[edit]

Merkley helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[20]

Career statistics

[edit]

Regular season and playoffs

[edit]
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Calgary Buffaloes AMHL 30 14 19 33 95 11 4 6 10 16
2012–13 Kelowna Rockets WHL 1 0 0 0 0 7 0 3 3 0
2013–14 Kelowna Rockets WHL 66 25 33 58 46 14 4 13 17 12
2014–15 Kelowna Rockets WHL 72 20 70 90 79 19 5 22 27 18
2015–16 Kelowna Rockets WHL 43 17 31 48 44 — — — — —
2016–17 Kelowna Rockets WHL 63 23 40 63 73 17 6 13 19 22
2017–18 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 38 18 21 39 22 — — — — —
2017–18 Arizona Coyotes NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2018–19 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 45 10 24 34 26 — — — — —
2019–20 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 26 3 13 16 10 — — — — —
2019–20 Binghamton Devils AHL 28 8 11 19 16 — — — — —
2019–20 New Jersey Devils NHL 4 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2020–21 Ässät Liiga 19 4 9 13 33 — — — — —
2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 27 2 8 10 7 — — — — —
2020–21 Binghamton Devils AHL 5 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2021–22 San Jose Barracuda AHL 43 11 25 36 28 — — — — —
2021–22 San Jose Sharks NHL 9 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 16 5 6 11 10 — — — — —
2022–23 Dinamo Minsk KHL 67 20 20 40 88 5 1 2 3 28
2023–24 Dinamo Minsk KHL 65 16 16 32 55 6 3 1 4 6
NHL totals 41 4 11 15 11 — — — — —
KHL totals 132 36 36 72 143 11 4 3 7 34

International

[edit]
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Canada Pacific U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 2 3 5 14
2014 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 0 4 4 8
Junior totals 11 2 7 9 22

Awards and honours

[edit]
Honours Year
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy – WHL Rookie of the Year 2013–14 [21]
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal 2014 [22]
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2015 [23]
WHL (West) Second All-Star Team 2015 [24]
CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team 2015 [25]
American Hockey League All-Star Game 2018 [8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Merkley Rockets' next top NHL draft pick". Sportsnet.ca. March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  2. ^ "Kelowna Rockets rookie Nick Merkley blossoming quickly". Yahoo! Sports. February 14, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  3. ^ "Early draft watch includes Rockets trio". okanagansportpage.com. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "Kelowna's Nick Merkley proves cream rises to the top for NHL draft". Yahoo! Sports. June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  5. ^ "Coyotes sign Merkley to entry-level contract". Arizona Coyotes. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  6. ^ "Merkley's NHL debut memorable despite Arizona's loss". kelownanow.com. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  7. ^ "ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2018 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC". theahl.com. Springfield, Mass. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Layman, Matt (January 4, 2018). "Coyotes prospects Dylan Strome, Nick Merkley make AHL All-Star team". arizonasports.com. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  9. ^ "RELEASE: Devils acquire picks and players in exchange for Hall, Speers". National Hockey League. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  10. ^ "Ässät announce first signing with Nick Merkley" (in Finnish). Ässät. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  11. ^ "Sharks Acquire Rights to Forward Nick Merkley from Devils". National Hockey League. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  12. ^ "Sharks Sign Forward Nick Merkley". National Hockey League. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sharks top Jets in OT after coach, seven players put in COVID-19 protocol". National Hockey League. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "Hertl has three points for Sharks in victory against Sabres". National Hockey League. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "Brandon Saad scores twice, leads Blues past Sharks 5–3". ESPN. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  16. ^ "Rangers trade Anthony Bitetto to Sharks for Nick Merkley". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  17. ^ "Nick Merkley - Dinamo Minsk player". Sportnaviny.com. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  18. ^ "Nick Merkley - Dinamo Minsk player" (in Belarusian). HC Dinamo Minsk. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  19. ^ "2015 first-rounder Nick Merkley signs with KHL's Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg". The Hockey News. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  20. ^ "Merkley helps team Canada u18's claim gold". Kelowna Rockets. October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  21. ^ "Nick Merkley vaults into lead scoring race". Calgary Herald. April 1, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  22. ^ "NHL draft prospect Nick Merkley is making a statement". The Hockey News. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  23. ^ "Rockets forward selected to Prospects Game". kelownacapnews.com. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  24. ^ "Bowey, Chartier, Merkley, Morrissey named to All-Star teams". Kelowna Rockets. April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  25. ^ "Memorial Cup awards and All-Stars". Memorial Cup. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Arizona Coyotes first round draft pick
2015 		Succeeded by
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