Nick Paul facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nick Paul |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
Paul with the Binghamton Senators
|
|||
| Born | March 20, 1995 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 223 lb (101 kg; 15 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Tampa Bay Lightning Ottawa Senators |
||
| National team | .svg){kind=small} Canada |
||
| NHL Draft | 101st overall, 2013 Dallas Stars |
||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Nicholas Paul (born March 20, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He plays as a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a left winger. The Dallas Stars picked him in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL entry draft. He also played for the Ottawa Senators.
Contents
About Nick Paul
His Early Life
Nick Paul was born on March 20, 1995, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. His parents are Ellwood and Melinda. He has dual citizenship, meaning he is a citizen of both Canada and the United States. This is because his mother is an American citizen.
When he was growing up, his father and half-brother Christopher built a hockey rink in their backyard. Nick and his older brother Jesse used this rink to practice their hockey skills. Nick was also friends with fellow hockey player Max Domi when they were kids. They even went to Toronto Maple Leafs games together.
His Junior Hockey Career
Nick Paul started playing minor hockey for the Mississauga Chargers. This was part of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). In the 2011–12 season, he scored three goals and two assists.
Even though he was only 5-foot-6, he scored four goals and 25 points in 37 games. He was not picked in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft at first. But later, the Brampton Battalion (which became the North Bay Battalion) chose him.
After his first season with the Battalion, he scored 12 goals and 28 points. Because of his good play, the Dallas Stars picked him in the 2013 NHL draft. He was the 101st player chosen overall.
After the draft, Paul went back to play for the Battalion. He kept scoring many points. He helped his team reach the OHL's Eastern Conference Finals. In the playoffs, he scored nine goals in 15 games.
On July 1, 2014, the Stars traded Nick Paul's rights to the Ottawa Senators. This trade also involved other players and a draft pick.
Paul played his last OHL season with the Battalion in 2014–15. By December, he had 19 goals and 34 points. He then signed a three-year contract with the Senators. This is called an entry-level contract. When he joined the Senators' training camp in 2015, he was 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 225 pounds.
His Professional Hockey Career
Playing for the Ottawa Senators
Nick Paul started his professional career with the Binghamton Senators. This team was the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. In his first season (2014–15), he scored six goals and 11 assists.
He was called up to the NHL in February 2016. He played his first NHL game on February 16, 2016, against the Buffalo Sabres. He scored his first NHL goal on February 24, 2016, in a game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Paul signed new contracts with the Senators in 2018 and 2019. He worked hard to become a regular player for Ottawa. In the 2019–20 season, he played 56 NHL games, which was his highest number at that time.
During the 2020–21 season, Paul became an alternate captain for the Senators. This means he was one of the team's leaders. He also became one of their best players for the penalty kill. The penalty kill is when a team tries to stop the other team from scoring while they have fewer players on the ice.
Joining the Tampa Bay Lightning
On March 20, 2022, Nick Paul was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This happened just before the trade deadline. He scored his first goal for the Lightning on March 22.
Paul made his Stanley Cup playoff debut with the Lightning. In Game 7 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he scored two goals. One of these goals was the game-winner, which helped the Lightning win the series!
He helped the Lightning reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the third year in a row. He scored 5 goals and 9 points in 23 playoff games. However, the Lightning lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the finals.
On July 1, 2022, Paul signed a big seven-year contract with the Lightning. This showed he wanted to stay with the team for a long time. He helped the Lightning reach the playoffs again in the 2022–23 season. They played the Maple Leafs again. Even though the Lightning were close to being eliminated, Paul scored a game-winning goal in Game 5 to keep them in the series. However, the Maple Leafs won the next game and eliminated the Lightning.
In the 2023–24 season, Paul played in all 82 regular season games. He scored 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points. He also played in 5 playoff games.
International Play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Canada |
||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2015 Canada | |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2021 Latvia | |
Nick Paul has played for Team Canada several times. He played in the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He scored three goals and helped Canada win a gold medal.
He also played for Team Canada at the senior level in the 2021 IIHF World Championship. In the gold medal game against Finland, Paul scored the winning goal in overtime! This helped Canada win its 21st gold medal in that tournament.
After the Tampa Bay Lightning finished their 2024 playoffs, Paul joined Team Canada again for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.
Career Statistics
Regular Season and Playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | Mississauga Chargers | OJHL | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Brampton Battalion | OHL | 66 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | North Bay Battalion | OHL | 67 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 39 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 10 | ||
| 2014–15 | North Bay Battalion | OHL | 58 | 37 | 29 | 66 | 49 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 45 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 24 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 72 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 54 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 43 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 56 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 56 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 59 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 21 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 2022–23 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 80 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 82 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2024–25 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 76 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 486 | 97 | 102 | 199 | 182 | 39 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 16 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Canada | WJC |  |
7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Canada | WC | |
10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2024 | Canada | WC | 4th | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 | ||||
