| Vballgirl03 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
January 13, 1992 Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 177 lb (80 kg; 12 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
|
NHL team (
P) Cur. team |
Eligible 2010 NHL Draft Windsor Spitfires ( OHL) | ||
| National team |
United States | ||
| NHL draft | , 2010 | ||
| Playing career | TBA–present | ||
Austin Watson (born January 13, 1992 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a Canadian major junior ice hockey left winger of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). [1] He is a "potential first-rounder" for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. [2]
Personal Life
Austin Watson was born January 13, 1992, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he grew up with his parents, Mike and Mary Watson. He is the oldest of nine children, eight boys and one girl. [3] He went to school one year at Detroit Catholic Central High School, and one year at Father Gabriel Richard High School before he was drafted into the OHL, where he now attends St. Anne's High School. Watson played for the high school golf team at Father Gabriel Richard, where they went to state finals. [4]
Playing Career
Early Career
Before the OHL, Watson played all of his early hockey with the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, whose home arena is Compuware Arena. While playing for the Ambassadors, Watson received exposure to OHL hockey, as Compuware Arena is also home to the Plymouth Whalers (another OHL team).
College Hockey
At first, Watson did not show interest in the OHL, and verbally committed to the University of Maine Black Bears, planning on playing for the US U-17 team. Because of his plans to play college, although he was projected to go second overall in the OHL draft, he ended up going 36th overall. [5] Because the U-17 delayed on giving him a spot, Watson decided to forego his verbal commitment to Maine and play with the Windsor Spitfires.
The Windsor Spitfires
Although it was a gamble, the Spitfires took a chance and drafted Watson. Their bet paid off. Watson came into the OHL with a bang, surprising people with his fast skating and smart playing. Despite the fact that Watson hit a slump mid-season, he came out with 10 goals and 19 assists, for a total of 29 points. During playoffs, after a total of 20 games played, he snatched up 3 more points in the form of assists. [6] While Watson had a remarkable rookie season, he accompanied the Spitfires to becoming the most elite in the league, the CHL Memorial Cup champions, at the same time breaking the record and becoming the first team to ever come back for an overall win from fourth place in the finals. Also, it was the first Spitfires franchise win of the Memorial Cup. [7]
International Play
Watson was selected to play for the USA national team for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. [8] Despite the fact that the US did not win, Watson received good ice exposure and performed very nicely.
Awards
- Academic Player of the Month of the West Division for the month of December 2008. [9]
- Won the J. Ross Robertson Cup with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009.
- Won the Memorial Cup with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009.
Career Statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2008–09 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 63 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 41 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2009–10 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 22 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||
| OHL totals | 85 | 16 | 30 | 46 | 49 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||||
References
- ^ http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/player.php?id=5167
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"Watson top Spits camp draft".
The Windsor Star.
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"Spitfires fans play hooky to welcome hockey champions".
The Windsor Star.
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"high school box scores".
The Ann Arbor News.
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"Watson top Spits camp draft".
The Windsor Star.
{{ cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=( help) - ^ http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/stats/player.php?id=5167
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"Mitchell, Spitfires Mem Cup Champions". NHL.com.
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"2009 USA Under-18 Select Team Roster". McKeen’s Hockey Prospects.
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"OHL announces academic players of the month". OHL Official Website.
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