Luke Kunin
| Luke Kunin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Kunin in 2018 | |||
| Born |
December 4, 1997 Chesterfield, Missouri | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Minnesota Wild Iowa Wild (AHL) | ||
| NHL Draft |
15th overall, 2016 Minnesota Wild | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Luke Kunin (born December 4, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey center, currently playing with the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kunin was selected 15th overall by the Wild in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
Early life
Kunin is the son of Sheri and Mark Kunin, and has an older brother Nick.[2][3] His paternal grandmother was Sandy Spevack Kunin, who was the daughter of George and Bernice Spevack.[4] He was born in Chesterfield, Missouri, and is Jewish.[5][6][7]
In grade 6, Kunin was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His friend and, then, teammate Matthew Tkachuk arranged for Kunin to meet with St. Louis Blues player B. J. Crombeen who also had type 1 diabetes.[8] He went to Whitfield School in Missouri for one year and then spent time with the U.S National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[9] He graduated from high school in three years.[2]
Playing career
College
In the 2015–16 season, his freshman year with the Wisconsin Badgers, he was the second-youngest player in college hockey. Kunin scored 19 goals (third-most among NCAA freshmen) and 32 points in 34 games and was named to the Big Ten Conference All-Rookie Team.[10][11]
In the 2016–17 season, Kunin was elected as the Wisconsin team captain, becoming only the second sophomore captain in teams history.[2] The last sophomore to have had achieved this honor was Mike Eaves 40 years ago.[2][12] He led the Badgers with 22 goals and 38 points in 35 games, good enough for Second Team All Big Ten.
On January 5, 2017, Kunin won a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior U20 Championship as Captain of Team USA in a 5-4 shootout win against Team Canada.[13]
Minnesota Wild
At the conclusion the 2016–17 season, Kunin ended his collegiate career by signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild on March 23, 2017.[10] He was assigned to conclude the season with AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, on an amateur try-out deal.[14]
In the 2017–18 season, on October 26, 2017, Kunin recorded his first goal against the New York Islanders in an eventual 6–4 win.[15] He became the first player in team history to score their first career NHL goal shorthanded.[16] However, on October 29 Kunin was sent back to the Iowa Wild, Minnesota's AHL affiliate.[17] On January 4, 2018, Kunin was selected to represent the Wild at the 2018 AHL All-Star game.[18] He became the fourth player in team history to be named an All Star, joining former Wild players Alex Tuch, Mathew Dumba, and Gustav Olofsson.[19] Kunin was called up to the Wild on February 28, 2018, however he received a season ending injury, a torn ACL, in a game against the Detroit Red Wings on March 4, 2018.[16] He underwent surgery for his ACL a month later and was given a 6–7 month recovery time.[20]
International play
In 2013-14 he won the U.S. National Team World Under-17 Hockey Challenge Gold Medal, and in 2014-15 he won the U.S. National Team WJC IIHF World Under-18 Championship Gold Medal.[21]
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. National Development Team | USHL | 32 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 20 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | University of Wisconsin | B1G | 34 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | University of Wisconsin | B1G | 35 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 12 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 36 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 19 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 19 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | United States | U17 |  |
6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | United States | WJC18 | |
7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2017 | United States | WJC | |
7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25 | |
| Junior totals | 20 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 27 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| B1G All-Rookie Team | 2016 | [11] |
| B1G All-Tournament Team | 2017 | |
| B1G Second All-Star Team | 2017 | |
| AHCA West Second-Team All-American | 2016–17 | [22] |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2018 | [18] |
See also
References
- ↑ "Wild takes Wisconsin center Luke Kunin". Minneapolis Star Tribune. June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 "Luke Kunin". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ Russo, Michael (June 24, 2016). "About Luke Kunin". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ "Sandy Spevack Kunin". legacy.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ "Jewish Sports Review". Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Ron Kaplan (June 29, 2016). "JML, the next generation?". New Jersey Jewish News. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Kaplan, Ron (October 20, 2017). "Shalom, Luke Kunin". kaplanskorner.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ Dennis Punzel (January 15, 2016). "Diabetes doesn't keep freshman forward Luke Kunin from making a quick impact". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Mayes, Warren (July 8, 2016). "Chesterfield's Kunin ready to take part in Minnesota Wild's prospect camp". westnewsmagazine.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- 1 2 "Wild sign first-round pick, Badgers captain Luke Kunin". foxsports.com. March 23, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- 1 2 "Luke Kunin named to Big Ten All-Freshman team". wiba.com. March 15, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Lund, Ryan (July 20, 2017). "Wild could have future captain in Kunin". foxsports.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ Mizutani, Dane (September 28, 2017). "Wild think Luke Kunin will be an NHL player, maybe very soon". duluthnewstribune.com. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ "Luke Kunin: "I want to be a winner wherever I go"". Minnesota Star Tribune. March 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ↑ Jessi Pierce (October 27, 2017). "Shorthanded goals help Wild win against Islanders". NHL.com. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- 1 2 Sarah Mclellan (March 5, 2018). "Former Wild No. 1 pick Luke Kunin suffers torn ACL". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ↑ "Wild's Luke Kunin: Sent back to AHL". CBS Sports. October 31, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- 1 2 "ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2018 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC". theahl.com. January 4, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ↑ "FORWARD LUKE KUNIN NAMED CENTRAL DIVISION ALL-STAR". iowawild.com. January 4, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ "Kase, Ducks beat Wild to clinch playoff berth". tsn.ca. April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ↑ "Luke Kunin" - Eliteprospects.com
- ↑ "2016-2017 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joel Eriksson Ek |
Minnesota Wild first round draft pick 2016 |
Succeeded by Filip Johansson |