Luke Prokop

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Not to be confused with Luke Prokopec.

Luke Prokop
Born (2002-05-06) May 6, 2002 (age 19)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Nashville Predators
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
NHL Draft 73rd overall, 2020
Nashville Predators
Playing career TBD–present

Luke Prokop (born May 6, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. He is a prospect for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL), who selected him in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. In 2021, Prokop came out as gay, becoming the first player under contract with an NHL team to do so.

Playing career[]

Prokop is from Edmonton, Alberta.[1] He became a fan of Shea Weber, a right-handed defenceman, when he watched Weber playing ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics for the Canadian men's national ice hockey team. Prokop became a fan of Weber's team, the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL), and began wearing jersey number 6 in his honour.[2]

Prokop attended the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) selected Prokop with their first round selection, the seventh overall, of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.[3] He played for Canada's national under-18 ice hockey team in the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships.[4]

The Predators selected Prokop in the third round, with the 73rd overall selection, of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[5] In December 2020, he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Predators,[2] and spent the 2020–21 season with Calgary.

Prokop was traded from the Hitmen to the Edmonton Oil Kings on October 13, 2021.[6]

Personal life[]

Luke's older brother, Josh, is also an ice hockey player. The Calgary Hitmen signed Josh in September 2018.[7] They both spent time playing with Calgary, before Luke was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings.[8]

On July 19, 2021, Prokop came out as gay, becoming the first player under contract with an NHL team to do so.[1][9]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2017–18 Calgary Hitmen WHL 14 0 2 2 6 — — — — —
2018–19 Calgary Hitmen WHL 62 1 9 10 12 11 0 4 4 0
2019–20 Calgary Hitmen WHL 59 4 19 23 30 — — — — —
2020–21 Calgary Hitmen WHL 15 2 4 6 14 — — — — —
2021–22 Calgary Hitmen WHL 3 1 1 2 4 — — — — —
WHL totals 153 8 35 43 66 11 0 4 4 0

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Canada White U17 6th 5 0 1 1 0
Junior totals 5 0 1 1 0

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Predators prospect Prokop announces he is gay". ESPN. July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Hitmen defenceman Luke Prokop signs first contract with Predators". Calgary Sun. December 9, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Calgary Hitmen take defenceman Luke Prokop with seventh-overall pick in 2017 WHL bantam draft". Calgary Herald. May 4, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Alex Medina (November 15, 2018). "Captain Canada – Calgary Hitmen". Hitmenhockey.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "NHL Draft Selections". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. October 8, 2020. p. 5B.
  6. ^ "Predators prospect Prokop traded to Oil Kings". WHL.ca. October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  7. ^ "Silvertips notebook: Everett practicing in Bellingham – The team heads up north this week due to a scheduling conflict at Angel of the Winds Arena". The Daily Herald. Everett, Washington. September 26, 2018.
  8. ^ Alex Medina (January 22, 2019). "Super Prokop Bros. – Calgary Hitmen". Hitmenhockey.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Joe Hernandez Twitter. "NHL Prospect Luke Prokop Makes History As League's First Gay Player". NPR. Retrieved July 19, 2021.

External links[]

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