Jordan Eberle
Jordan Leslie Christopher Eberle is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a right winger and captain of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League. He was selected in the first round in the 2008 NHL entry draft by the Edmonton Oilers and made his NHL debut with the Oilers in 2010.
During his four-year junior career with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, he won the David Branch Player of the Year Award in 2010, the Doc Seaman Trophy as the scholastic player of the year in 2008 and was a two-time First Team East All-Star in 2008 and 2010. In his second season in the NHL, Eberle was named to the All-Star Game and led the Oilers in goals and points.
Internationally, Eberle has competed for Canada in two World Junior Championships, winning gold and silver in 2009 and 2010, respectively. He was named Tournament MVP and Best Forward at the 2010 World Junior Championships and is tied with Brayden Schenn as Canada's third all-time leading scorer at the tournament with 26 points. In 2012, The Sports Network named him the best Canadian World Junior player ever.
Early life
Eberle was born on May 15, 1990, in Regina, Saskatchewan, to Darren and Lisa Eberle. His dad coached him on his minor hockey teams growing up. He has two older sisters, Ashley and Whitney,a younger brother, Dustin and an older brother Christopher. He attended high school at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, before moving to Calgary, Alberta, at age 15 with his parents and three siblings. He returned to Regina to play junior hockey for the Regina Pats and attended Archbishop M.C. O'Neill High School during the hockey season. He went on to graduate from Bishop O'Byrne Senior High School in Calgary in June 2008.Playing career
Early career
Eberle played novice hockey with Hockey Regina's tier-1 Kings and amassed 216 goals over sixty games in 1999–2000. He then went on to play Bantam AAA hockey for the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame at the age of 14. During the 2004–05 season, Eberle scored 40 goals and 27 assists through 27 games. He was then selected by his hometown major junior team, the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, in the seventh round of the 2005 WHL bantam draft. Following the draft, Eberle joined the midget ranks with the Calgary Buffaloes of the Alberta Midget Hockey League. He scored 14 goals and 34 points through the 2005–06 season and described his success as "a microcosm of the team’s." He won a bronze medal with the Buffaloes at the 2006 Mac's Midget Hockey Tournament, scoring two goals in the bronze-medal game against the Prince Albert Mintos. He helped his team qualify for the 2006 Telus Cup national midget championship, where the Buffaloes lost a 5–4 triple-overtime game in the final against the Mintos. Eberle scored a goal and an assist in the losing effort and was awarded the Most Sportsmanlike Award for the tournament.Major junior
Eberle debuted with the Pats in the 2006–07 season, scoring 55 points and a team-high 28 goals as a rookie. He added two goals and seven points in six games against the Swift Current Broncos in the opening round of the 2007 WHL playoffs but was sidelined for the entirety of the second round against the Medicine Hat Tigers due to a virus. Eberle started his second major junior season by earning WHL Player of the Month honours for October 2007, totalling 16 goals and 26 points over 16 games for the Pats. He missed two games early in the season with tonsillitis, before scoring a hat-trick in his return on October 6, 2007, against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Eberle scored a goal while representing Team WHL against Russia in the 2007 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge to help his team secure a 4-2 series win. Midway through the season, he was chosen to compete in the 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game in Edmonton.Eberle finished the 2007–08 season with a team-high 42 goals and 75 points. His 42 goals accounted for one-fifth of his team's scoring and marked the first time a Pats player hit the forty-goal mark since Matt Hubbauer scored 48 in 2001–02. He also tied Drayson Bowman of the Spokane Chiefs for fourth in league scoring. He was selected to the WHL East First All-Star Team and received the Doc Seaman Trophy as WHL Scholastic Player of the Year.
Eberle had started the season ranked seventh among WHL skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's preliminary rankings for the 2008 NHL entry draft. At the midpoint of the season, he was ranked 24th among North American skaters, but he was dropped to 33rd in the NHL's final rankings. The Sports Network described Eberle as the "smartest offensive players in the draft." During the season, Eberle competed in his second ADT Canada–Russia Challenge for Team WHL in 2008. He was selected in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers. Having grown up in Regina, Eberle was a childhood fan of the Oilers, even after his family moved to Calgary. After completing the 2008–09 WHL season with a team-leading 74 points in 61 games, Eberle was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Oilers on March 23, 2009.
Eberle was one of the final cuts of the Oilers' 2009 training camp, and he was returned to the Pats on September 27, 2009. After being sent down, Eberle reeled off 25 points in 12 games to be named WHL Player of the Month for September and October. He was named to Team WHL for the 2009 Subway Super Series and was selected as an alternate captain to Pats teammate Colten Teubert for Game 5. Eberle finished the 2009–10 WHL season second in league scoring with 106 points in 57 games and was a unanimous selection to his second WHL East First All-Star Team in three years. He was the first member of the Pats to score 50 goals and record 100 points since Ronald Petrovicky during the 1997–98 season. Eberle finished his career with the Pats seventh all-time in franchise goal scoring with 155 and 12th in points with 310. Eberle was named the Regina Pats Player of the Year, Most Sportsmanlike Player and the Most Popular player after the 2009–10 season. Eberle was selected as the winner of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL Player of the Year, defeating Western Conference nominee Craig Cunningham of the Vancouver Giants. He was later named CHL Player of the Year, beating out the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League nominees Tyler Seguin and Mike Hoffman, respectively. It marked the third time that a Pats player won the award, after Ed Staniowski in 1975 and Doug Wickenheiser in 1980.
In recognition of his outstanding junior hockey career, the Pats retired Eberle's number 7 on December 5, 2012.
Professional
Edmonton Oilers
Soon after signing a contract with the Oilers, Eberle was assigned to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. He made his professional debut for the Falcons on March 27, 2009, against the Worcester Sharks. By his third AHL game, he had tallied two assists through two games. He then scored his first professional goal in his third game with the Falcons, a 4–3 loss to the Portland Pirates, on March 29. Eberle continued to produce and finished the regular season with nine points through nine games. Following his time in the AHL, Eberle again attended the Oilers training camp and preseason games before being reassigned to the WHL for the 2009–10 season. Coach Pat Quinn stated that Eberle was reassigned to allow him to grow and strengthen his skills and attitude. Following another outstanding WHL season, Eberle returned to the Falcons' for the last few games of the regular season. He finished the Falcons' 2009–10 season with 14 points through 11 games.During the 2010 off-season, the Oilers signed Eberle's former Canadian junior national team teammate Taylor Hall to an NHL contract. They subsequently attended the Oilers' Development Camp together in the summer of 2010. They were also one of 16 forwards named to the Oilers Young Stars roster for their tournament against the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, and San Jose Sharks Eberle then attended his third Rookie Camp with the Oilers, where the team announced that Eberle would wear the number 14 while playing for the Oilers. After impressing during rookie camp, Eberle was named to the Oilers opening night roster for the 2010–11 season. He subsequently made his NHL debut with the Oilers on October 7, 2010, against the Calgary Flames. During the game, he recorded his first NHL goal in the third period and later added an assist on the power play to lead the team to a 4–0 win. The goal was later voted by fans as the NHL's Goal of the Year on the league's Facebook page, as well as Play of the Year on The Sports Network's website. Early into his rookie season, Eberle was playing on a line with Shawn Horcoff and Taylor Hall while on pace for 50 points. By January 1, he had accumulated nine goals and 14 assists through 36 games before suffering a high ankle sprain during a game against the Flames. While sidelined with the injury, he underwent an unrelated emergency appendectomy. He ended up missing a month before being able to return to the Oilers' lineup. Upon returning from the surgery, Eberle recorded two-assists in their 5–3 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Later, in April, Eberle received a hit to the head from opposing forward Raffi Torres. While Eberle was not injured on the play, Torres received a four-game suspension for the hit. Though the Oilers finished with the worst record in the NHL for the second straight year, Eberle finished the season with 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points through 69 games.
Eberle began the 2011–12 season on the Oilers' top line with Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. By the end of October, the trio had combined for 10 goals and 26 points, while the rest of the team combined for only seven goals and 22 points. In part due to the trio's efforts, the Oilers began the season with 9–3–2 record and placed first in the Northwest Division by November 10. As such, Eberle and Hall were named as eligible players for the 2012 NHL All-Star Fan Ballot. By mid-December, Eberle ranked seventh in league scoring with 11 goals and 31 points through 29 games. However, his success was short-lived as he sustained a sprained knee after colliding with Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn during a game on January 7, 2012. At the time of the injury, Eberle was among the league's top scorers and six points behind the league's leader. Despite his success, he was left off the 2012 NHL All-Star Game roster, which was selected while he was sidelined. Several members within the Oilers organization were outspoken regarding the omission, including captain Shawn Horcoff and head Coach Tom Renney, to which the League replied that Eberle would have been selected had he not been injured. Eberle returned to the Oilers lineup after missing four games and was later named as an All-Star replacement for the injured Mikko Koivu. Almost a month later, Eberle recorded his 100th career NHL point on February 21, 2012, with a goal and two assists in a 6–1 victory over the Calgary Flames. On February 23, Eberle tallied two points in a 2–0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He subsequently became the first Oiler to hit 60 points in 56 or fewer games since Doug Weight in 2000–01. He was also considered an early favourite for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player as he recorded eight penalty minutes over 57 games. Despite his breakout season, the Oilers continued to struggle and were 26th overall in five-on-five scoring in early March. On March 14, Eberle tallied 67 points in 67 games to become the only Western Conference player in the top-20 in league scoring that was averaging a point-per-game. Four days later, he hit the 70-point plateau for the first time in his NHL career as the Oilers fell to the Phoenix Coyotes. By the end of March, Eberle ranked 11th among NHL scorers, with 32 goals and 41 assists for 73 points through 73 games. He subsequently finished his sophomore season with a team-leading 34 goals and 42 assists for 76 points through 77 games. On April 23, 2012, Eberle was nominated for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player, but lost to Brian Campbell.
Before the start of the 2012–13 season, Eberle signed a six-year, $36 million contract extension with the Oilers on August 30, 2012. However, due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Eberle was reassigned to the Oilers' new AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons until the lockout was resolved. Eberle matched his previous season's success, albeit at the AHL level, and was named the AHL Player of the Month for both November and December. The December honours were earned by leading all AHL skaters in scoring for the second consecutive month with 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points through 11 games, including two hat tricks and six multiple-point games. Once the lockout was resolved, Eberle left as the AHL's leading scorer with 25 goals and 51 points in 34 games. Upon re-joining the Oilers, Eberle quickly became tied for the team lead in points with five. While playing on the Oilers top line with Hall and Nugent-Hopkins, the trio combined to record 19 shots as the Oilers set a new franchise record for shots on goal with 56 against the Colorado Avalanche. However, the line was soon split up as they struggled to score while playing five-on-five. They were reunited for a short while as the season reached its end. Eberle finished the 2012–13 shortened season with 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points through 48 games. His 16 goals were second-best behind Hall's and his 37 points ranked him third on the Oilers in scoring.
During the 2013 off-season, the Oilers hired Dallas Eakins as their 12th head coach in franchise history and Nugent-Hopkins suffered a shoulder injury after signing an extension to remain with the team. While Nugent-Hopkins was out of the lineup, his linemates Hall and Eberle led the team in scoring for the month of October. However, Hall suffered a knee injury once Nugent-Hopkins returned at the end of October and Nail Yakupov replaced him on the first line. As Eberle struggled to produce throughout November, including experiencing an eight-game scoring drought, rumours began to spring about trade offers with the Philadelphia Flyers. Both Eberle and the Oilers struggled as the season continued and by December 9 they had fallen to 27th place in the standings. As a result of their poor performance, Eberle continued to be named in trade rumours ahead of the 2014 trade deadline. After missing an early January game due to a knee injury, Eberle was reunited with Hall and Nugent-Hopkins while Yakupov joined David Perron. Upon returning to his former line, Eberle began picking up goals and quickly tied his longest goal-scoring streak of the season. By January 22, he had accumulated 18 goals and ranked second on the team in scoring behind team co-leaders Perron and Hall. At the end of January, Eberle tallied his 200th and 201st career NHL points by scoring a goal and an assist in a 3–0 win over the San Jose Sharks. Although Eberle would miss another game in March due to his knee injury, he continued to have a productive season. While playing alongside Hall and Nugent-Hopkins, Eberle quickly eclipsed his 60-point total for just the second time in his career. In early April, the trio combined for 22 points over four games leading Eberle to have accumulated 27 goals and 37 assists for 64 points through 77 games. Although he would add one more goal before the season concluded, the Oilers again failed to qualify for the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Prior to the start of the 2014–15 season, the Oilers named Eberle an alternate captain alongside Hall. Despite being among the youngest on the team, Eakins praised their leadership qualities shown during the season and training camp. While the Oilers began their preseason play, Eakins added newly drafted Leon Draisaitl onto Eberle's line along with David Perron in an effort to boost their production. On November 14, Eberle tallied his 100th career NHL goal in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. As the Oilers continued to struggle to win games, Eakins was replaced with Todd Nelson in mid-December. Under his new head coach, Eberle tallied his 250th career NHL point on January 20 and tied with Nugent-Hopkins and Hall for the team lead in scoring. Although the Oilers continued to fall in the standings, Eberle led the team with 15 goals and 36 points through the first 54 games of the season. He continued to improve throughout February and quickly accumulated three goals and 12 assists for 15 points over 15 games. Through the latter half of the 2014–15 season, Eberle consistently played alongside Benoît Pouliot and Nugent-Hopkins. From March 8 to March 21, Eberle maintained a seven-game point streak which included five goals and seven assists. During this streak, he also led the team, having three power-play goals and 10 power-play assists since the 2015 NHL All-Star Game break. Eberle also recorded his 56th point of the season which pushed him into a tie for 30th in NHL scoring. On March 30, he played his 350th career NHL game. Despite his personal accomplishments, the 2014–15 season was one of the poorest in franchise history as the Oilers finished with 62 points.
During the 2015 offseason, Eberle represented Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Championship before returning to the Oilers for the 2015–16 NHL season. After tallying one goal and one assist in four preseason games while playing alongside Nugent-Hopkins and Pouliot, Eberle suffered a shoulder injury during a game against the Arizona Coyotes. He was expected to miss the first four to six weeks of the season to recover. During his absence, rookie Connor McDavid suffered a broken clavicle resulting in Draisaitl being called up to join Hall and Nugent-Hopkins on the Oilers' top line. Eberle subsequently missed the first 13 games of the 2015–16 season before returning to the Oilers lineup on November 8 for their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he quickly tallied his first goal of the season during a 4–2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Eberle struggled to readjust to the NHL's fast pace. As the Oilers fell to 30th place in the standings, Eberle also experienced a five-game goalless drought at the end of November. Despite his slow start, Eberle broke out offensively during the second half of the season and quickly began tallying points. On January 2, he scored two goals, including the game-tying goal, to reach 130 goals and 300 points in his NHL career. Once McDavid returned from his injury in early February, he joined Eberle and Pouliot on the Oilers' second line. Prior to McDavid's return, Eberle had tallied three goals over 18 games. In their first game together, the three forwards combined for seven points and three of the Oilers five goals in their 5–1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 2. The following week, the trio combined for 13 points in their 5–2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 11, 2016, as Eberle also recorded his first career NHL hat-trick. Although Yakupov soon replaced Pouliot due to an injury, the line continued to score. During a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the trio contributed eight of the Oilers' 14 shots in the opening period as they outshot the Flyers 14–6. Eberle hit the 40-point plateau while McDavid picked up his 32nd point in 29 games, and Yakupov earned his sixth goal and 16th point of the season. Once the Oilers traded for Patrick Maroon, the former joined Eberle and McDavid's line and the three immediately became a success. Despite their continued losses, coach Todd McLellan praised the trio as the team's best line. Eberle finished the season with 25 goals, 11 power-play points, and 173 shots on goal. However, he still finished the regular season with his lowest total in a full NHL season since his rookie campaign as the Oilers once again failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Following another low-scoring season, Eberle hired a shooting coach over the offseason to work on his one timer and overall shooting skills. Upon returning to the Oilers for the 2016–17 season, Eberle was again named an alternate captain as McDavid, who was named captain, became the youngest in NHL history. In the first game of the 2016 preseason, Eberle reunited with McDavid and newcomer Milan Lucic on the Oilers top line. They combined for seven shots-on-goal in their debut together. Their success continued into the regular season as the Oilers went undefeated through the first two games of the season. Eberle also began the season with a five-game point streak including three goals and three assists. Despite this, the team continued to struggle early in the season and Eberle and McDavid were reunited with Maroon in early November as the team attempted to stop a three-game losing streak. Once Eberle was reunited with Maroon, he maintained a three-game point-scoring streak and tallied seven points over six games. By November 17, McDavid and Eberle were tied for the team lead with five goals while Maroon led the team with six. Eberle also led the team with 51 shots on net, which ranked him 19th overall in the league. After being called out by the coach for his poor performance, Eberle was demoted to the Oilers' third line. While he was on the third line, Eberle was replaced by rookie Jesse Puljujarvi on McDavid's right wing.
During his time on the second line, Eberle experienced a nine-game goalless drought. By the time he was reunited with McDavid and Lucic in mid-December, Eberle had tallied eight goals and 15 assists to rank among the top four in scoring for the Oilers. Eberle was again moved from McDavid's wing in January and played on the right side of Drake Caggiula, with Pouliot on the left. Eberle continued to struggle to remain consistent and experienced a career-high 18-game goalless streak which he snapped on January 18, 2017. As a result of his poor performance in January, he had again been demoted to the third line. Once Eberle snapped his goalless drought, he quickly accumulated three goals and three assists over the next six games. However, he would then experience an eight-game point drought which was snapped on February 16. Despite his personal inconsistencies, the Oilers maintained a 31–19–8 record with 24 games remaining in the season. In Eberle's 501st regular-season game on March 28, the Oilers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since their 2006 Stanley Cup Finals run. Eberle finished the regular season with 20 goals and 51 points after he recorded his second career hat-trick in the Oilers' final regular season game on April 10.
Eberle played in his first NHL playoff game on April 12, 2017, in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round against the San Jose Sharks. Eberle assisted on Oscar Klefbom's goal in his debut, which would prove to be the only Oilers goal of the game. He played on the Oilers second line alongside Milan Lucic and Nugent-Hopkins, but only Lucic recorded a goal over the six-game series. Eberle led the Oilers with four shots and three hits over six games as they advanced to the second round. However, he continued to struggle to score and was called out by head coach Todd McLellan for his lack of production and his tentativeness to play in high-risk areas. When the Oilers were eliminated by the Ducks in Game 7, Eberle finished the postseason with only two assists. Following their elimination, Eberle spoke about how his lack of confidence affected his performance in the playoffs.