Alex Tuch

Alex Daniel Tuch (born May 10, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the first round, 18th overall, in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Alex Tuch
Tuch with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018
Born (1996-05-10) May 10, 1996
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Vegas Golden Knights
Minnesota Wild
NHL Draft 18th overall, 2014
Minnesota Wild
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

As a youth, Tuch played in the 2008 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Lemieux Academy minor ice hockey team from Phoenix, Arizona.[1] Tuch was ranked 12th by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau on their final list of the top draft-eligible North American skaters leading into the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, where he was projected to be selected in the first round.[2][3] Tuch was eventually selected by the Minnesota Wild as the draft's 18th overall pick.

Tuch trained with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team from 2012 to 2014, winning a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and gold at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships.

From 2014 to 2016, Tuch played college hockey for Boston College in the Hockey East Association. He was named to the 2014–15 Hockey East Association Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team,[4] tallying 14 goals and 14 assists his freshman year. In 2015–16, he contributed with 18 goals and 16 assists in 40 games, while heading to the NCAA Frozen Four with the Eagles.[5]

On April 13, 2016, Tuch signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild to begin his professional career.[6] In his rookie professional season, after attending the Wild's training camp, he was reassigned to the club's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Wild, for the 2016–17 season.[7] Tuch provided a power-forward presence for Iowa, recording 18 goals and 37 points in 57 games. In the second half of the season, he received his first recall to Minnesota and made his NHL debut on February 4, 2017, against the Vancouver Canucks.[8] That season, he appeared in six NHL games with the Wild, but did not score a goal.

On June 21, 2017, Tuch was traded to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights as part of an agreement with Vegas that the team would select Erik Haula in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.[9] On October 3, 2017, Tuch was assigned to the AHL's Chicago Wolves to begin the 2017–18 season.[10] He was recalled from the Wolves on October 15,[11] and he scored his first NHL goal against Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins that night.[12] Tuch went on with Vegas to the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, where they eventually lost in five games to the Washington Capitals. In Game 2 of the finals, Tuch recovered a pass across the crease and fired on the empty net. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby sprawled out and made a stick save on Tuch.

On October 19, 2018, the Golden Knights signed Tuch to a seven-year, $33.25 million contract extension.[13]

Personal life

Tuch was born to Carl and Sharon[14] in Syracuse, New York. He grew up in Baldwinsville, New York. Tuch is of Slovak ancestry through his great grandmother.[15] Tuch has a younger brother and sister that are twins; Luke Tuch was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens and is committed to play hockey for Boston University, and Leah Tuch plays field hockey.[16]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Syracuse Jr. Stars EmJHL 40 44 57 101 26 4 1 3 4 4
2012–13 U.S. National Development Team USHL 38 4 6 10 24 — — — — —
2013–14 U.S. National Development Team USHL 26 13 19 32 36 — — — — —
2014–15 Boston College HE 37 14 14 28 28 — — — — —
2015–16 Boston College HE 40 18 16 34 33 — — — — —
2016–17 Iowa Wild AHL 57 18 19 37 28 — — — — —
2016–17 Minnesota Wild NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2017–18 Chicago Wolves AHL 3 4 1 5 0 — — — — —
2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 78 15 22 37 27 20 6 4 10 12
2018–19 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 74 20 32 52 8 7 1 1 2 8
2019–20 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 42 8 9 17 8 20 8 4 12 8
NHL totals 200 43 63 106 43 47 15 9 24 28

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 United States U17 6 1 3 4 4
2014 United States WJC18 7 0 3 3 14
2015 United States WJC 5th 5 1 1 2 0
Junior totals 18 2 7 9 18

Awards and honors
Honors Year
World U-17 Hockey Challenge Bronze Medal 2013 [17]
IIHF World U18 Championship Gold Medal 2014 [18]

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  2. "Baldwinsville's Alex Tuch moves up in rankings of NHL draft prospects". Syracuse.com. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  3. "2014 NHL Draft Profile: Alex Tuch". On the Forecheck. April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  4. "HockeyEastOnline.com – Hockey East Announces 2014–15 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  5. "Baldwinsville's Alex Tuch signs pro pact with Minnesota Wild". syracuse.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  6. "Wild Signs Alex Tuch To Entry-Level Contract". Minnesota Wild. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  7. Mizutani, Dane (October 5, 2016). "Bruce Boudreau on Wild roster cuts: 'The jobs were there to be had'". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  8. "Alex Tuch to make NHL debut for Wild on Saturday". NHL.com. February 2, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  9. "It's official: Vegas inks Haula from Wild in expansion draft". Minnesota Star Tribune. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  10. "SHIPACHYOV, THEODORE, TUCH SET TO JOIN WOLVES". chicagowolves.com. October 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  11. "Tuch, Lagace Recalled From Chicago Wolves". NHL.com. October 15, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  12. "Tuch, Shipachyov shine in debuts as Vegas beats Bruins". sportsnet.ca. October 15, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  13. "Vegas Golden Knights Sign Forward Alex Tuch To Seven-Year Extension". Vegas Golden Knights. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  14. "Alex Tuch". bceagles.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  15. "Alex Tuch".
  16. Nicole Del Villano (January 31, 2018). "Luke Tuch Commits To Boston University". buffalojuniorsabres.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  17. "U.S. National U-17 Team upends Slovakia, 7–2, at 2013 World Hockey Challenge". boxscorenews.com. May 1, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  18. "Gold-Medal Game Recap: USA Wins Gold Over Czech Republic". USA Hockey. April 2, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Mathew Dumba		 Minnesota Wild first round draft pick
2014		 Succeeded by
Joel Eriksson Ek
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.