Nick Merkley

Nick Merkley
Born	May 23, 1997 Calgary, AB, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Forward
Shoots	Right
NHL team (P) Cur. team	Arizona Coyotes Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
NHL Draft	30th overall, 2015 Arizona Coyotes
Playing career	TBD–present

Nick Merkley (born May 23, 1997) is a Canadian ice hockey player. He is currently playing in the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) as a prospect for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Merkley was 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

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]

International play

Merkley helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.^[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				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		—	—	—	—	—
WHL totals				182	62	134	196	169		40	9	38	47	30

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2014	Canada Pacific	U17			6	2	3	5	14
2014	Canada	IH18			5	0	4	4	8
Junior totals					11	2	7	9	22

Awards and honours

Honours	Year
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy - WHL Rookie of the Year	2013–14	[7]
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal	2014	[8]
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game	2015	[9]
WHL (West) Second All-Star Team	2015	[10]
CHL Memorial Cup All-Star Team	2015	[11]

References

1. "Merkley Rockets' next top NHL draft pick". Sportsnet.ca. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
2. "Kelowna Rockets rookie Nick Merkley blossoming quickly". Yahoo! Sports. 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
3. "Early draft watch includes Rockets trio". okanagansportpage.com. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
4. "Kelowna's Nick Merkley proves cream rises to the top for NHL draft". Yahoo! Sports. 2015-06-27. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
5. "Coyotes sign Merkley to entry-level contract". Arizona Coyotes. 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
6. "Merkley helps team Canada u18's claim gold". Kelowna Rockets. 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
7. "Nick Merkley vaults into lead scoring race". Calgary Herald. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
8. "NHL draft prospect Nick Merkley is making a statement". The Hockey News. 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
9. "Rockets forward selected to Prospects Game". kelownacapnews.com. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
10. "Bowey, Chartier, Merkley, Morrissey named to All-Star teams". Kelowna Rockets. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
11. "Memorial Cup awards and All-Stars". Memorial Cup. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-02.

External links

• Nick Merkley's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
  
• Nick Merkley's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database