Zach Werenski
Zach Werenski | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born |
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S. | July 19, 1997|||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | |||||
Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) | |||||
Position | Defense | |||||
Shoots | Left | |||||
NHL team | Columbus Blue Jackets | |||||
National team |
NHL Draft | 8th overall, | ||||
Playing career | 2016–present |
Zachary Werenski (born July 19, 1997) is an
Playing career
Junior
Werenski played in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Belle Tire minor ice hockey team.[1] He later trained with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program during the 2013–14 season. He finished second among team defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 20 assists in 47 games, despite missing time in November due to injury.[2]
College
During his freshman season, at the University of Michigan, Werenski recorded nine goals and 16 assists. Following an outstanding rookie season, Werenski was named to both the 2014–15 Big Ten All-Freshman Team and the All-Big Ten First Team.[3] Werenski's CHL rights are owned by the OHL's London Knights. He was drafted by them in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection.
Following an outstanding season with the Wolverines, Werenski was named the Big Ten Conference
During the
Professional
Columbus Blue Jackets
On June 26, 2015, Werenski was drafted 8th overall by the
On March 29, 2016, Werenski signed a three-year, entry level contract with the
He made his professional debut for the Monsters on April 1, 2016. On April 9, he scored his first professional goal, the overtime game-winning goal against Nathan Lieuwen of the Rochester Americans.[12] During the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs, Werenski recorded five goals and nine assists, to help lead the Monsters to their first Calder Cup championship.[13]
On October 13, 2016, Werenski made his debut for the Blue Jackets in the season opening-game and scored his first NHL point with an assist.[14] On October 15, 2016, in his second NHL game, Werenski scored his first goal against Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks.[15] Werenski was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for November 2016. Through 14 games that November, Werenski scored three goals and seven assists.[16]
On March 10, 2017, Werenski set the record for the most points scored by any Blue Jackets rookie in franchise history beating the previous record holder, Rick Nash, by 8 points.[17]
Werenski was injured in Game 3 of the First Round of the 2017 playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins when a puck on a shot from Phil Kessel rode up the shaft of his stick and hit him in the face. He received stitches and a black eye but returned to the game in the third period only to leave again when his eye closed over.[18] He was not able to play for the remainder of the playoffs.[19]
Werenski was voted third in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting, an award given annually to the best rookie in the league. The award eventually went to Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews.[20]
On January 26, 2018, Werenski was called to replace fellow defensemen
On September 9, 2019, the Blue Jackets signed Werenski to a three-year, $15 million contract extension.[25]
On December 31, 2019, Werenski scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 Blue Jackets' win over the Florida Panthers and former goaltender teammate, Sergei Bobrovsky. Werenski finished the shortened 2019–20 NHL regular season leading the league in goals by defensemen with 20.[26]
On April 9, 2021, Werenski was ruled out for the remainder of the 2020–21 season due to a sports hernia.[27][28][29]
Werenski signed a six-year, $57.5 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets on July 29, 2021. After re-signing with the team, Werenski was described as becoming "the face of the franchise".[30]
International play
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing United States | ||
Ice hockey | ||
World U-17 Hockey Challenge | ||
2014 Canada | ||
IIHF World Junior Championship | ||
2016 Finland |
Werenski represented the United States at the
Werenski was named captain of the
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2013–14 | U.S. NTDP Juniors | USHL | 35 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013–14 | U.S. NTDP U17 | USDP | 47 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013–14 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2014–15 | University of Michigan | B1G | 35 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2015–16 | University of Michigan | B1G | 36 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2015–16 | Lake Erie Monsters
|
AHL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 2 | ||
2016–17 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 78 | 11 | 36 | 47 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 77 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
2018–19 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 82 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | ||
2019–20 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 63 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
2020–21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 35 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2021–22 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 68 | 11 | 37 | 48 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2022–23 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2023–24 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 70 | 11 | 46 | 57 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 486 | 90 | 212 | 302 | 115 | 29 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 15 |
International
Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | United States
|
U17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2015
|
United States | WJC
|
5th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
2016 | United States | WJC | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | ||
2019 | United States | WC | 7th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Junior totals | 18 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 6 | ||||
Senior totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Awards and achievements
Awards | Year | |
---|---|---|
College | ||
All-Big Ten Freshman Team | 2015 | [3] |
All-Big Ten First Team | ||
Defensive Player of the Year
|
2016 | [5] |
All-Big Ten First Team | ||
AHCA West First-Team All-American | 2016 | [6] |
Big Ten All-Tournament Team | 2016
|
[7] |
AHL | ||
Calder Cup (Lake Erie Monsters) | 2016 | [13] |
NHL | ||
Rookie of the month, November | 2016 | [34] |
NHL All-Star Game | 2018, 2022 | [21] |
International | ||
Best Defenseman
|
2016 | [33] |
IIHF World Junior Championships All-Star Team |
References
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- ^ CBS Interactive. March 16, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- ^ "Hockey Postseason Honors Announced". Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ CBS Interactive. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- ^ CBS Interactive. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ CBS Interactive. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- CBS Interactive. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- CBS Interactive. June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ "Blue Jackets sign Zach Werenski to three-year, entry level contract". Columbus Blue Jackets. March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ "Zach Werenski signs amateur tryout contract with AHL's Lake Erie Monsters". Columbus Blue Jackets. March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- Lake Erie Monsters. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Brown, Tony (June 12, 2016). "Bjorkstrand's OT goal clinches Monsters' first-ever Calder Cup championship". Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- ^ Merz, Craig (October 14, 2016). "Brad Marchand's five points help Bruins win opener". NHL.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- ^ Merz, Craig (October 16, 2016). "Sharks hand Blue Jackets second straight loss". NHL.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
- ^ "November rookie of the month: Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ Lukan, Alison (March 10, 2017). "Werenski breaks franchise rookie points record". NHL.com. Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ "Blue Jackets rookie Zach Werenski is out for the season with facial fracture". The Washington Post. April 17, 2017.
- ^ "Blue Jackets' Werenski out for balance of NHL playoffs". cbc.ca. April 17, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ "Zach Werenski Finishes Third in Calder Memorial Trophy Race". The Cannon. Jun 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Zach Werenski added to Metro team roster at 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. Columbus Blue Jackets. January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ Hedger, Brian (May 3, 2018). "Growing Pains: Shoulder surgery among multiple hurdles Werenski faced". NHL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
Werenski and Jones each scored 16 goals to share the franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a single season
- ^ Merz, Craig (April 24, 2018). "Werenski played through injury most of season for Blue Jackets". NHL.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ Merz, Craig (May 3, 2018). "Werenski could miss training camp for Blue Jackets after shoulder surgery". NHL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "Werenski signs three-year contract with Blue Jackets". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ "Draisaitl wins Art Ross, Ovechkin wins ninth Richard Trophy". Reuters. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
- ^ "Werenski out for season for Blue Jackets with sports hernia". NHL.com. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
- ^ "Blue Jackets' Werenski to miss rest of season with sports hernia injury". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
- ^ O'Leary, Sean. "Blue Jackets' Werenski to undergo sports hernia surgery, out for season". theScore.com. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
- ^ Hedger, Brian. "With big six-year contract, Zach Werenski becomes face of Blue Jackets franchise". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ "Zach Werenski Statistics". USA Hockey. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
- CBS Interactive. December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
- ^ a b "Puljujarvi MVP, Best Forward". International Ice Hockey Federation. January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Zach Werenski named NHL's top rookie for November". NHL.com. December 1, 2016.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database