Spencer Knight

Spencer Knight (born April 19, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Panthers, 13th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Spencer Knight
Born (2001-04-19) April 19, 2001
Darien, Connecticut, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team Florida Panthers
NHL Draft 13th overall, 2019
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2021–present

Playing career

Ranked as the top eligible goaltender in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Knight was the first goaltender chosen, selected 13th overall by the Florida Panthers.[2] It marked the first time in franchise history that Florida chose a goaltender in the first round.[1]

Knight played collegiate hockey with the Boston College Eagles in the Hockey East.[3] He emerged during his freshman year as one of the NCAA's top netminders, earning a top-10 finish in the Mike Richter Award voting with his 1.97 GAA, .931 SV%, and 23–8–2 record over 33 games, along with 5 shutouts.[4] He also was named to the conference All-Rookie team and Second All-Star Team.[5][6]

He excelled again during his sophomore season with a 2.18 GAA and .932 SV%, going 16–4–1 in 21 games with 3 shutouts during the COVID-19 pandemic-abbreviated year. Knight's performance earned a number of accolades; he was named a CCM/ACHA First Team All-American, a top 3 finalist for the Mike Richter Award and a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.[7][8][9] He earned conference Player of the Year and Goaltending Champion honors and was a Hockey East First Team All-Star.[10][11]

Following his sophomore season with Boston College, Knight left college and signed with the Florida Panthers to a three-year, entry-level contract on March 31, 2021.[12] On April 20, Knight made his NHL debut and earned his first win with a 5–1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.[13][14] He also became the first goaltender born in the 21st century to play in the NHL.[15] After securing a 5–4 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on May 2, Knight became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to start their career 4–0.[16]

Knight made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut on May 24, in Game 5 of the Panthers' first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Down 3–1 in the series, he was given the start over both Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger in an attempt to stave off elimination. Just 53 seconds into the game, Knight allowed a goal on his first shot faced. However, he made 36 straight saves afterwards en route to a 4–1 victory.[17] In doing so, Knight became the second youngest goaltender ever to win their postseason debut, and was also the very first goaltender to appear in both the Stanley Cup playoffs and the NCAA Tournament in the same calendar year.[18] However, the Panthers would be eliminated in the next game, ultimately falling 4–2 in the series to the Lightning.[19]

International play
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  United States
World Junior Championship
2021 Canada
IIHF World U18 Championship
2019 Sweden

Knight was the starting goaltender for the United States at the 2021 World Juniors played in Edmonton, Alberta. Knight posted a 1.63 GAA and a .940 SV%, he started seven games and went 6–1 during the tournament, including wins in all three playoff rounds and a 2–0 shutout of Canada in the gold medal game to give the US its fifth title.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2017–18U.S. National Development TeamUSHL 1913409825203.18.902 ————————
2018–19U.S. National Development TeamUSHL 1615108413112.21.903 ————————
2019–20 Boston College HE 3323821,9796551.97.931————————
2020–21 Boston College HE 2116411,2964732.18.932————————
2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 4400207802.32.919 211116402.06.933
NHL totals 4400207802.32.919 211116402.06.933

International
Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2019 United States U18 6510357911.51.936
2020 United States WJC 6th 42202411002.49.913
2021 United States WJC 7610332931.63.940
Junior totals 1719509302841.87.930

Awards and honors
Award Year
College
HE All-Rookie Team 2019–20 [21]
HE Second All-Star Team 2019–20 [22]
New England D1 All-Stars 2019–20 [23]
AHCA East First Team All-American 2020–21 [24]

References
  1. "Panthers select goaltender Spencer Knight with 13th pick in NHL draft". Sun-Sentinel. June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  2. "2019 Draft Prospect Rankings". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  3. "Spencer Knight at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com.
  4. Staff, USCHO (March 25, 2020). "Ten semifinalists announced for 2020 Mike Richter Award as top goalie in D-I men's hockey". USCHO.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  5. "Hockey East Names 2019-20 All-Star Teams - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  6. "Hockey East Names 2019-20 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  7. "Three Hockey East Players Named Finalists For 2021 Hobey Baker Award - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  8. "BC's Knight Named Top-Three Finalist for 2021 Richter Award - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  9. "Seven Hockey East Players Named to 2020-21 Men's All-American Teams - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  10. "Spencer Knight Named Hockey East Player of the Year - Hockey East Association". hockeyeastonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  11. "Knight Named Goalie of the Year, Eagles Land Four on Hockey East All-Star Teams". Boston College Athletics. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  12. "Florida Panthers agree to terms with Spencer Knight". Florida Panthers. March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  13. "Goaltender Spencer Knight, 20, makes most of NHL debut, leads Florida Panthers to easy victory". ESPN.com. April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  14. Ingemi, Marisa (April 20, 2021). "Spencer Knight the latest top college goalie to get an NHL debut". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  15. @PR_NHL (April 20, 2021). "Spencer Knight of the @FlaPanthers, the first goaltender born in the 2000s to appear in an NHL game, turned aside 33 of 34 shots to earn a win in his League debut. #NHLStats" (Tweet). Retrieved April 21, 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. Gereffi, Paul. "Aleksander Barkov's goal in overtime lifts Panthers over Stars". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  17. "Goalie Spencer Knight keeps Panthers alive vs. Lightning". Reuters. May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  18. @hockey_east (May 24, 2021). "The @BCHockey product continues to make history in 2020-21, becoming the first goaltender to play @NCAAIceHockey and start in the #StanleyCup Playoffs in the same season. He made 36 saves tonight and is 5-0 in the NHL" (Tweet). Retrieved May 25, 2021 – via Twitter.
  19. Long, Corey (May 26, 2021). "Lightning eliminate Panthers with Game 6 shutout". NHL.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  20. Hockey, U. S. A. (January 5, 2021). "GOLDEN: USA Downs Canada, 2-0, To Win Title at World Juniors". Team USA Hockey. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  21. "Hockey East names 2019-20 Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team". hockeyeastonline.com. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  22. "Hockey East names 2019-20 All-Star Teams". hockeyeastonline.com. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  23. "Three eagles honored by New England writers". Boston College Eagles. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  24. "Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin lead way with three All-American college hockey players apiece for '20-21 season". USCHO.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
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