Lawrence Nycholat

Lawrence D. Nycholat (born May 7, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche.

Lawrence Nycholat
Nycholat with the Hershey Bears in 2010
Born (1979-05-07) May 7, 1979
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Washington Capitals
Ottawa Senators
Vancouver Canucks
Colorado Avalanche
Krefeld Pinguine
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2000–2012

Playing career

As a youth, Nycholat played in the 1992 and 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Calgary Junior Flames minor ice hockey team from Crowchild, Alberta.[1]

After playing midget hockey with Notre Dame of the SMHL, he joined the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League for a four-year tenure, beginning in 1996–97. In his final year with the Broncos, 1999–2000, he recorded a junior career-high 80 points in 70 games.

Undrafted, Nycholat signed with the Minnesota Wild in August 2000. He played the following three seasons in Minnesota's farm system with the Jackson Bandits of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL) and the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL).

After scoring 11 goals and 39 points through 66 games with Houston in 2002–03, he was traded in March 2003 to the New York Rangers. Joining the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack, he completed the season with 11 points in 15 games. The following year, in 2003–04, Nycholat made his NHL debut with the Rangers, appearing in 9 games. He remained with the Rangers organization in Hartford until the end of the 2004–05 season.

In August 2005, he signed with the Washington Capitals as a free agent. He played the entirety of the 2005–06 season in the AHL with the Capitals' affiliate, the Hershey Bears, scoring an AHL career-high 57 points in 73 games. He added 14 points in 16 playoff games as the Bears captured the 2006 Calder Cup. In 2006–07, Nycholat appeared in 18 games for the Capitals and recorded his first NHL goal against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils on December 29, 2006.[2] Serving as team captain with the Bears in the AHL, he was named as a starter for Team Canada at the 2007 AHL All-Star Classic.[2]

On February 26, 2007, just before the 2006–07 NHL trade deadline, Nycholat was traded from Washington to the Ottawa Senators.[3] In the off-season, Nycholat was re-signed to a multi-year contract by the Senators.[4] He played two seasons with the Senators' organization, primarily in Binghamton. He recorded 49 points in 77 games with the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's AHL affiliate, in 2007–08.

Just prior to the 2008–09 season, he was traded once more, this time to the Vancouver Canucks.[5] Nycholat was used primarily as a depth defenceman for the Canucks in 2008–09, playing in only 14 games before being placed on waivers. Picked up by his hometown team, the Calgary Flames on March 3, 2009,[6] he was traded the next day to the Colorado Avalanche.[7] Nycholat played in 5 games with the Avalanche before his season ended after suffering a concussion in a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on March 22, 2009.[8]

On July 2, 2009, Nycholat returned to the Vancouver Canucks, signing a one-year contract.[9] He again linked up with the Canucks AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, to provide a veteran presence. He scored 22 points in 37 games in an injury affected season before he was recalled to the Canucks to cover as an extra defenseman during the 2010 playoffs.[10]

On July 8, 2010 Nycholat signed a one-year American Hockey League contract to return to the team he previously captained in 2006–07, the Hershey Bears.[11] In his final professional season, Nycholat signed for the first time in Europe with Krefeld Pinguine of the German DEL. He contributed 6 points in just 23 games to end his professional hockey career with the intention to join his family owned logistics company.[12]

Personal life

Lawrences brother, Dan Nycholat, played as a defenseman in collegiate hockey at Dartmouth College. He played with the Braehead Clan of the EIHL Lawrence also has three sisters. Lawrence is an assistant coach for Maple Grove High School hockey in Minnesota.

Awards

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Notre Dame Midget Hounds SMHL 42 10 36 46 66 — — — — —
1996–97 Swift Current Broncos WHL 67 8 13 21 82 — — — — —
1997–98 Swift Current Broncos WHL 71 13 35 48 108 1 0 0 0 0
1998–99 Swift Current Broncos WHL 72 16 44 60 125 6 2 2 4 12
1999–00 Swift Current Broncos WHL 70 22 58 80 92 2 0 0 0 0
2000–01 Jackson Bandits ECHL 5 1 2 3 5 — — — — —
2000–01 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 42 3 7 10 69 4 0 0 0 2
2001–02 Houston Aeros AHL 72 3 11 14 92 14 1 0 1 23
2002–03 Houston Aeros AHL 66 11 28 39 155 — — — — —
2002–03 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 15 2 9 11 6 2 2 0 2 0
2003–04 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 72 6 26 32 130 — — — — —
2003–04 New York Rangers NHL 9 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2004–05 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 79 5 38 43 132 6 0 3 3 11
2005–06 Hershey Bears AHL 73 13 44 57 94 16 2 12 14 12
2006–07 Hershey Bears AHL 29 3 25 28 39 — — — — —
2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 18 2 6 8 18 — — — — —
2006–07 Ottawa Senators NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Binghamton Senators AHL 77 12 37 49 74 — — — — —
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Vancouver Canucks NHL 14 0 1 1 6 — — — — —
2008–09 Manitoba Moose AHL 3 0 3 3 4 — — — — —
2008–09 Colorado Avalanche NHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Manitoba Moose AHL 37 5 17 22 49 4 0 1 1 4
2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 32 5 23 28 21 — — — — —
2011–12 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 23 1 5 6 42 — — — — —
NHL totals 50 2 7 9 24 — — — — —

Transactions

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  2. "2007 AHL All-Star roster announced". American Hockey League. 2007-01-09. Archived from the original on August 29, 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  3. "Senators acquire defenceman Lawrence Nycholat". 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  4. "Senators re-sign defenceman Lawrence Nycholat". Ottawa Senators. 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  5. "Canucks acquire Lawrence Nycholat". Vancouver Canucks. 2008-09-02. Archived from the original on 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  6. "Flames acquire depth defenseman". Calgary Flames. 2009-03-03. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  7. "Leopold returns to Calgary". CBC. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  8. "Sharks put away Avs, reclaim top overall spot". CBS Sports. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  9. "Canucks sign Baumgartner, Nycholat and Pope". Vancouver Canucks. 2009-07-03. Archived from the original on 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  10. "Canucks recall Lawrence Nycholat". Manitoba Moose. 2010-04-24. Archived from the original on 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  11. "Lawrence Nycholat returning to Chocolatetown". Hershey Bears. 2010-07-08. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  12. "Pinguines take Lawrence Nycholat under contract" (in German). Krefeld Pinguine. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
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