Jon Merrill (ice hockey)

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Jon Merrill
Jon Merrill - New Jersey Devils 2.jpg
Merrill with the New Jersey Devils in 2014
Born (1992-02-03) February 3, 1992 (age 29)
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
NHL Draft 38th overall, 2010
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2013–present

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]

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]

Merrill played for the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team for the 2011–12 season.

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]

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
NHL totals 405 12 54 66 211 29 0 1 1 10

International[]

Medal record
Representing  United States
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Buffalo
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Minnesota
Gold medal – first place 2010 Minsk
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2009 United States WJC18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 2 2 4
2010 United States WJC18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 0 1 1 2
2011 United States WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 4 5 0
2012 United States WJC 7th 6 0 4 4 6
Junior totals 25 1 11 12 12

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
College
NCAA All-Tournament Team 2011 [14]

References[]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  3. ^ "Merrill Suspended for 12 Games". mgoblue.com. October 1, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "McKenzie: Jon Merrill Trying to get Career Back on Track". December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Devils notes: Jon Merrill injured in debut". NorthJersey.com. 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  7. ^ "Devils confirm Merrill suffered concussion in debut". NBC Sports. 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  8. ^ "Merrill's first NHL goal lifts Devils over Oilers". sportsnet.ca. February 7, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Jon Merrill Signs Two-Year Contract Extension, AAV $1.375 Million". NHL.com. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (October 9, 2020). "Detroit, Jon Merrill reach one-year agreement". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  12. ^ Campbell, Tim (April 11, 2021). "Merrill traded to Canadiens by Red Wings". NHL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Wild agree to terms with Jon Merrill on one-year contract". Minnesota Wild. July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  14. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.

External links[]

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