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Mackenzie Blackwood

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Mackenzie Blackwood
Blackwood with the New Jersey Devils in 2015
Born (1996-12-09) December 9, 1996 (age 27)
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team New Jersey Devils
National team  Canada
NHL draft 42nd overall, 2015
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2016–present

Mackenzie Blackwood (born December 9, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Blackwood was the top-rated North American goaltender ranked in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final rankings for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[1] He was selected by the Devils in the second round, 42nd overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Blackwood only began playing hockey at age nine. At age 12, he switched positions to goaltender and played in the Volunteer Pool Bearcats and Neebing Hawks AA house league teams before joining the Thunder Bay Kings AAA minor midget team in 2011.[2]

Blackwood was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Barrie Colts in the fifth round of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection.[3] His outstanding play during his first season with the Colts was rewarded when he was named to the 2013–14 OHL First All-Rookie Team.[4] The following season, Blackwood was selected as a member of the OHL All-Stars for the 2014 Subway Super Series.[5] He was also chosen to play the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, but was unavailable due to illness.[6]

On December 30, 2015, Blackwood signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils, who had drafted him in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[7] After playing for the Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, Blackwood was assigned to the Adirondack Thunder, the Devils' ECHL affiliate, on January 1, 2018.[8]

Blackwood began the 2018–19 season with the Devils' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils. He was recalled to New Jersey on December 17 after goaltender Cory Schneider was placed on injured reserve.[9] Blackwood made his NHL debut the following night in a 7–2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He replaced starter Keith Kinkaid in the third period and saved eight of ten shots.[10] On December 20, Blackwood made his first NHL start against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and although the Devils lost 2–1, Blackwood had an impressive performance, saving 36 of 38 shots.[11] On December 27, Blackwood recorded his first NHL win, a 5–2 victory over the Boston Bruins, with another strong performance, making 40 saves on 42 shots.[12] In only his third NHL start, Blackwood recorded 37 saves to earn his first shutout in a 2–0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on December 29.[13] Blackwood was named a Star of the Week following this performance.[14] Following another shutout victory on December 31 against the Vancouver Canucks, Blackwood became the first Devils rookie goaltender to post back-to-back shutouts. He also became the youngest Devils goaltender to record multiple regular season shutouts, surpassing Martin Brodeur.[15] On January 3, 2019, Blackwood was named to the North Division roster for the 2019 American Hockey League All-Star Classic.[16] On January 10, Blackwood was placed on injured reserve by the Devils due to a lower body injury he suffered on January 2.[17] He returned to the Devils lineup and played his first game since January 4 in a 3–2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on January 12.[18]

On December 23, 2020, the Devils re-signed Blackwood to a three-year contract.[19]

International play

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Slovakia

On June 24, 2015, Blackwood was one of only three goaltenders invited to attend Hockey Canada's U-20 summer development camp.[20] He was one of three goaltenders who represented the Canadian junior team at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[21]

On April 29, 2019, Blackwood was named as the third-choice goaltender to the senior Canadian roster for the 2019 IIHF World Championship held in Slovakia.[22] He made his debut for Canada in a relief appearance, replacing Carter Hart for nine minutes in a 5–0 round robin victory over Denmark on May 20. He earned a silver medal as Canada progressed through to the playoff rounds before losing the final to Finland on May 26.[23]

Personal life

Blackwood was raised in Thunder Bay. His mother, Rhonda Crocker-Ellacott, is the President and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.[24] His father was a fan of the Colorado Avalanche and encouraged his son to cheer for them.[25][26]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2011–12 Thunder Bay Kings Mn Midget AAA TBJBHL 38 15 13 2 — 121 1 3.08 — — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Elmira Sugar Kings GOJHL 24 10 8 2 — 74 0 3.39 .911 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Barrie Colts OHL 45 23 15 2 2,497 124 0 2.98 .931 10 5 4 552 24 1 2.61 .904
2014–15 Barrie Colts OHL 51 33 14 2 2,953 152 0 3.09 .931 9 5 4 562 27 0 2.88 .922
2015–16 Barrie Colts OHL 43 28 13 0 2,452 111 2 2.72 .914 13 6 5 796 36 1 2.71 .915
2016–17 Albany Devils AHL 36 17 14 3 2,048 87 3 2.55 .907 4 1 3 254 9 1 2.13 .928
2017–18 Binghamton Devils AHL 32 7 17 6 1,810 103 2 3.41 .882 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Adirondack Thunder ECHL 5 2 1 1 242 10 0 2.48 .920 5 3 1 240 4 1 1.00 .964
2018–19 Binghamton Devils AHL 20 8 10 1 1,139 56 1 2.95 .902 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 23 10 10 0 1,264 55 2 2.61 .918 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 New Jersey Devils NHL 47 22 14 8 2,685 124 3 2.77 .915 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 35 14 17 4 2,091 106 1 3.04 .902 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 105 46 41 12 6,039 285 6 2.83 .911 — — — — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2016 Canada WJC 6th 3 0 2 0 183 12 0 3.95 .858
2019 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 0.00 1.000
Junior totals 3 0 2 0 183 12 0 3.95 .858
Senior totals 1 0 0 0 9 0 0 0.00 1.000

Awards and honours

Award Year
OHL
First All-Rookie Team 2013–14 [27]
Subway Super Series OHL All-Stars 2014–15 [28]
First Team All-Star 2015–16
Goaltender of the Year 2015–16 [29]

References

  1. ^ "Four Colts ranked highlighted by G Blackwood". The Barrie Examiner. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "Blackwood set to take next step". The Chronicle-Journal. June 25, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  3. ^ nurun.com. "Blackwood embracing opportunity". Barrie Examiner.
  4. ^ "Blackwood named to OHL First All-Rookie Team". Barrie Colts. April 1, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  5. ^ "OHL announces 2014 Super Series rosters". Subway Super Series. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  6. ^ "2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game: Big third period helps Team Orr coast to 6–0 victory – Hockey's Future". January 23, 2015.
  7. ^ "Junior goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood signs 3-year entry contract with Devils". NHL.com. December 30, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "GOALTENDER MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD ASSIGNED TO ADIRONDACK". echlthunder.com. January 1, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "Devils place goaltender Cory Schneider on injured reserve". sportsnet.ca. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. ^ Stein, Amanda (December 18, 2018). "Devils fall to Maple Leafs". NHL.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  11. ^ @NJDevils (December 20, 2018). "Mackenzie Blackwood saw 38 SOG in his first @NHL start but the #NJDevils fall just short of a comeback. #NJDvsCBJ" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Kalman, Matt (December 27, 2018). "Blackwood gets first NHL win, Devils defeat Bruins". NHL.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "Blackwood's first NHL shutout lifts Devils past Hurricanes". NHL.com. December 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  14. ^ "Kane leads 3 Stars of the Week". NHL.com. December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  15. ^ "Blackwood's second straight shutout lifts Devils past Canucks". NHL.com. December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  16. ^ "AHL All-Star rosters filled with NHL first-round picks, call-ups". NHL.com. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "Ice Chips: Devils place G Blackwood on IR". tsn.ca. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  18. ^ Mike G. Morreale (January 12, 2019). "Blackwood makes 32 saves, Devils top Flyers to end skid at three". NHL.com. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  19. ^ "RELEASE: Devils Re-Sign Blackwood to Three-Year Deal". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "Thunder Bay's Mackenzie Blackwood earns national junior team invite".
  21. ^ "Team Roster for Canada, 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships" (PDF). IIHF. January 2, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  22. ^ "Hockey Canada names 22 players to 2019 IIHF World Championship roster". Hockey Canada. April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  23. ^ "Finland defeats Canada for Gold Medal at World Championship". The Sports Network. May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  24. ^ Dunick, Leith (July 19, 2016). "Patients thrilled to see Stanley Cup at hospital". tbnewswatch.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  25. ^ Leith Dunick (April 29, 2015). "Thunder Bay's Mackenzie Blackwood highly ranked heading into NHL draft". tbnewswatch.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019. As a youngster, the 18-year-old Thunder Bay goalie said he was indoctrinated by his father to cheer for the Colorado Avalanche.
  26. ^ Mike Mazzeo (January 21, 2019). "In a Lost Season, the Devils May Have Found a Goalie of the Future". The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2019. A native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Blackwood rooted for the Colorado Avalanche as a child because his father was a fan of Joe Sakic.
  27. ^ nurun.com. "Colts named to all-rookie team". Barrie Examiner.
  28. ^ "OHL offense comes alive in 5–1 win over Russia". Subway Super Series. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  29. ^ "Mackenzie Blackwood Named OHL Goaltender of the Year". Ontario Hockey League. April 1, 2016. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
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