Austin Block

Austin Block (born October 10, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey center and forward.[1] He is currently an unrestricted free agent, having last played for the Manchester Monarchs in the ECHL.

Austin Block
Born (1989-10-10) October 10, 1989
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Right
team
Former teams		 Free agent
HIFK
Karlskrona HK
HC ’05 Banská Bystrica
Bakersfield Condors
Orlando Solar Bears
Cincinnati Cyclones
Worcester Railers
Manchester Monarchs
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2013–present

Early and personal life

Block was born in Denver, Colorado, but grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, and is Jewish.[1][2][3][4] His parents are Randy Block (who played football at Northern Arizona) and Shellie Jernigan.[5]

Playing career

Block played with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League for two seasons, where he had 100 points (42 goals, 58 assists) in 110 games, as he led the league in points (76) in 2008–09, as he was named the league’s top forward as NAHL Forward of the Year.[1] He was also named to the NAHL All-West Division Team and NAHL First All-Star Team.[6]

He then played for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats men's hockey program. He played four seasons at UNH, playing 136 games and putting up 25 goals and 25 assists for 50 points.[1]

On July 22, 2013, HIFK of the Finnish Liiga announced they had signed Block after a two-week tryout in June 2013.[7] Block made his Liiga debut playing with HIFK during the 2013–14 Liiga season.[8] On September 20, 2013 Block was loaned from HIFK to Mestis club, HCK until he moved to Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan club Karlskrona HK.

In the following 2014–15 season, Block moved to the Slovak Extraliga with HC ’05 Banská Bystrica, appearing in 21 games for 15 points before returning to North American to play in the ECHL with the Bakersfield Condors.[9]

On July 31, 2015, Block signed a one-year contract to remain in the ECHL with the Manchester Monarchs.[10]

On February 12, 2016, the Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and AHL’s Toronto Marlies, announced they had acquired Block from the Monarchs in exchange for future considerations.[11] He spent parts of two seasons with the Solar Bears.

Block was traded to the Cincinnati Cyclones on October 2, 2017, just prior to the 2017–18 season.[12] He made just two appearances with the Cyclones before suffering a season-ending injury.

As a free agent, Block continued his ECHL career by agreeing to contract with the Worcester Railers for the 2018–19 season on October 7, 2018.[13] He contributed with 7 assists through 25 games with the Railers, before he was traded to former club the Manchester Monarchs on December 30, 2018.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Fairbanks Ice Dogs NAHL 5210142438914518
2008–09 Fairbanks Ice Dogs NAHL 5832447696674112
2009–10 University of New Hampshire HE 2512312 — — — — —
2010–11 University of New Hampshire HE 3645918 — — — — —
2011–12 University of New Hampshire HE 365101520 — — — — —
2012–13 University of New Hampshire HE 391582344 — — — — —
2013–14 HIFK Liiga 210338 — — — — —
2013–14 HCK Mestis 32240 — — — — —
2013–14 Karlskrona HK Allsv 81234 — — — — —
2014–15 HC ’05 Banská Bystrica Slovak 2169158 — — — — —
2014–15 Bakersfield Condors ECHL 142684 — — — — —
2015–16 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 40391227 — — — — —
2015–16 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 2325710 — — — — —
2016–17 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 5112233534 — — — — —
2017–18 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 20004 — — — — —
2018–19 Worcester Railers ECHL 2507714 — — — — —
Liiga totals 210338 — — — — —

Awards and honors
Award Year
NAHL
All-West Division Team 2009
First All-Star Team 2009
Forward of the Year 2009
Most Points (76) 2009
College
Hockey East Regular Season Champions 2010

See also

References
  1. "Block returns to Solar Bears – The ECHL – Premier 'AA' Hockey League". Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. Area ice hockey team eyes a trip to state playoffs | Thousand Oaks Acorn
  3. "Austin Block – 2011–12".
  4. "Professional Hockey Review: 2017–18; The NHL". Jewish Sports Review. 11 (125): 2. January–February 2018.
  5. "Austin Block – 2012–13".
  6. "Austin Block". Elite Prospects.
  7. "Austin Block remains with HIFK" (in Finnish). HIFK. June 15, 2013. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  8. "2013–14 HIFK player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  9. Ryan Holt (February 14, 2015). "Condors sign Austin Block". Twitter. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  10. "Monarchs sign center Austin Block". Manchester Monarchs. July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  11. "SOLAR BEARS ACQUIRE AUSTIN BLOCK FROM MONARCHS". Orlando Solar Bears. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  12. "Cyclones announce training camp roster; acquire Block". Cincinnati Cyclones. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  13. "ECHL transactions October 7". ECHL. October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
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