Jon Merrill (ice hockey)
Jonathon Merrill (born February 3, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Merrill was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Merrill was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but grew up in Grand Blanc, Michigan and Brighton, Michigan.[1]
| Jon Merrill | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill with the New Jersey Devils in 2014 | |||
| Born | February 3, 1992 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams | Minnesota Wild New Jersey Devils Vegas Golden Knights Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens | ||
| National team | United States | ||
| NHL Draft | 38th overall, 2010 New Jersey Devils | ||
| Playing career | 2013–present | ||
Playing career
As a youth, Merrill played in the 2004 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Little Caesars minor ice hockey team.[2]
Prior to turning professional, Merrill played NCAA college hockey with the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team. Merrill was suspended for the first 12 games of the 2011–12 season by the University of Michigan for "violating team rules."[3][4]
On March 27, 2013, the New Jersey Devils signed Merrill to a three-year entry-level contract, and he began the 2013–14 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Albany Devils.[5]
In the 2013–14 season, Merrill made his NHL debut on November 3, 2013, skating with the Devils in a game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center, but less than five minutes into he game he fell into the boards, sustaining severe facial lacerations and a concussion.[6][7]
He scored his first NHL goal on February 7, 2014, a game winner in overtime against Ilya Bryzgalov of the Edmonton Oilers,[8] making him the first Devil to score his first NHL goal in overtime.[citation needed]
On June 21, 2017, Merrill was selected in the NHL Expansion Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.[9] On January 16, 2018, Merrill signed a two-year, $2.75 million contract extension with the Golden Knights.[10]
After three seasons as an original member of the Golden Knights, Merrill left the club as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $925,000 contract with the Detroit Red Wings on October 9, 2020.[11] In the shortened 2020–21 season, Merrill registered 5 assists in 36 games from the blueline for the Red Wings before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Hayden Verbeek and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft on April 11, 2021.[12]
Merrill made 13 further regular season appearances with the Canadiens, going scoreless, before featuring in 13 playoff games in helping Montreal reach the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
As a free agent from the Canadiens, Merrill joined his fifth NHL organization in agreeing to terms with the Minnesota Wild on a one-year, $850,000 contract on July 29, 2021.[13]
On January 11 2022, Merrill was signed to a three-year, $3.6 million extension with the Wild.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2008–09 | U.S. NTDP U17 | USDP | 24 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | U.S. NTDP U18 | NAHL | 26 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | U.S. NTDP Juniors | USHL | 22 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | U.S. NTDP U17 | USDP | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 56 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | University of Michigan | CCHA | 42 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | University of Michigan | CCHA | 19 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | University of Michigan | CCHA | 21 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Albany Devils | AHL | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Albany Devils | AHL | 15 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2013–14 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 52 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 66 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 47 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 51 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 34 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2018–19 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 57 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 53 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 49 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 36 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 69 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 474 | 16 | 70 | 86 | 233 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||||
International
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing United States | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 2011 Buffalo | ||
| World U18 Championships | ||
| 2009 Minnesota | ||
| 2010 Minsk | ||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | United States | U18 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2010 | United States | U18 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2011 | United States | WJC | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2012 | United States | WJC | 7th | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2022 | United States | WC | 4th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 25 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 12 | ||||
| Senior totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2011 | [14] |
References
- ^ Dan Feldman (June 24, 2010). "Incoming Michigan freshman and former Grand Blanc resident Jon Merrill's NHL draft hopes hinge on how teams view his maturity". mlive.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
Born in Oklahoma City, where his dad served in the Air Force, Merrill moved to Grand Blanc when he was 3. His family moved to Brighton four years ago, and he moved to Ann Arbor two years ago to play for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program.
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
- ^ "Merrill Suspended for 12 Games". mgoblue.com. October 1, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ^ . December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ "Jon Merrill signs three year contract with Devils; to play remainder of season in Albany". Fire & Ice.com. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
- ^ "Devils notes: Jon Merrill injured in debut". NorthJersey.com. 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
- ^ "Devils confirm Merrill suffered concussion in debut". NBC Sports. 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
- ^ "Merrill's first NHL goal lifts Devils over Oilers". sportsnet.ca. February 7, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ^ Pinchevsky, Tal (June 22, 2017). "Vegas Golden Knights Focus on Defense in N.H.L. Expansion Draft". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ "Jon Merrill Signs Two-Year Contract Extension, AAV $1.375 Million". NHL.com. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Detroit, Jon Merrill reach one-year agreement". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ Campbell, Tim (April 11, 2021). "Merrill traded to Canadiens by Red Wings". NHL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ "Wild agree to terms with Jon Merrill on one-year contract". Minnesota Wild. July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database