Cody Kunyk (born May 20, 1990) is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently under contract to Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has formerly played with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League. (NHL)

Cody Kunyk
Kunyk in 2023
Born (1990-05-20) May 20, 1990 (age 34)
Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
DEL team
Former teams
Löwen Frankfurt
Tampa Bay Lightning
Gentofte Stars
SaiPa
HPK
Oulun Kärpät
Barys Nur-Sultan
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing Canada Canada West
World Junior A Challenge
Silver medal – second place 2009 Summerside

Playing career

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Kunyk played collegiate hockey for the Alaska Nanooks in the NCAA Men's Division I Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). In his senior year, Kunyk's outstanding play was rewarded when he was chosen as the WCHA Player of the Year and was named to the 2013–14 All-WCHA First Team.[1]

On April 13, 2014, Kunyk made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 1–0 shootout win against the Washington Capitals.[2]

As a free agent from the Lightning after the completion of his entry-level contract, Kunyk signed a one-year deal with German-based club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the DEL on August 18, 2015.[3] After training and competing in four pre-season games with Wolfsburg, Kunyk was released from his contract unable to reach the expectations of play on September 6, 2015.[4] Kunyk later signed with Danish club, Gentofte Stars of the Metal Ligaen for the 2015–16 season. Kunyk made an immediate impact with the Stars and in 27 games, placed second in team scoring with 13 goals and 29 points.

In the following off-season, Kunyk returned to North America as a free agent, securing a one-year AHL contract with the Utica Comets, an affiliate to the Vancouver Canucks on July 25, 2016.[5] Kunyk responded to his return to the AHL with a career year offensively in posting 15 goals and 37 points in 61 games.

As a free agent, Kunyk opted to return overseas in signing a one-year deal with top flight Finnish club, SaiPa of the Liiga on September 5, 2017.[6]

Following a lone season in the Kontinental Hockey League with Kazakh club, Barys Nur-Sultan, in 2021–22, Kunyk returned to former club, Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga on a one-year contract on July 20, 2022.[7]

In the 2023–24 season, Kunyk moved to Germany and signed a one-year contract with Löwen Frankfurt of the DEL on June 16, 2023.[8]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Sherwood Park Flyers AMBHL 31 16 20 36 19
2004–05 Sherwood Park Flyers AMBHL 39 16 15 31 46
2005–06 Sherwood Park Monarchs REMHL 32 21 37 58 26
2006–07 Sherwood Park Kings AMHL 35 16 16 32 58 8 0 6 6 22
2006–07 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 2 0 0 0 2
2007–08 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 51 13 11 24 34 5 2 3 5 2
2008–09 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 61 25 33 58 61 10 3 5 8 2
2009–10 Sherwood Park Crusaders AJHL 51 44 43 87 33 3 0 1 1 2
2010–11 U. of Alaska-Fairbanks CCHA 38 12 18 30 28
2011–12 U. of Alaska-Fairbanks CCHA 36 15 17 32 18
2012–13 U. of Alaska-Fairbanks CCHA 37 11 17 28 22
2013–14 U. of Alaska-Fairbanks WCHA 37 22 21 43 22
2013–14 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 69 10 16 26 38 2 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Gentofte Stars DEN 27 13 16 29 10
2016–17 Alaska Aces ECHL 2 0 2 2 0
2016–17 Utica Comets AHL 61 15 22 37 16
2017–18 SaiPa Liiga 51 12 18 30 51 9 2 4 6 39
2018–19 SaiPa Liiga 55 14 23 37 18 3 0 3 3 2
2019–20 HPK Liiga 59 10 39 49 18
2020–21 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 53 15 27 42 26 5 3 4 7 0
2021–22 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 33 5 9 14 10 5 1 3 4 2
2022–23 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 60 10 23 33 16 3 0 0 0 0
2023–24 Löwen Frankfurt DEL 52 17 24 41 22
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 0
Liiga totals 278 61 130 191 129 20 5 11 16 41
KHL totals 33 5 9 14 10 5 1 3 4 2

Awards and honours

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Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 2013–14 [9]
WCHA Player of the Year 2013–14 [10]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2013–14

References

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  1. ^ "UAFS Beck WCHA player of the year". adn.com. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  2. ^ "Former UAF center Cody Kunyk makes NHL debut". adn.com. April 13, 2013. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "Grizzlys Wolfsburg undertake Cody Kunyk" (in German). Grizzlys Wolfsburg. August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "Cody Kunyk leaves the Grizzlys" (in German). EHC Wolfsburg. September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  5. ^ "Comets sign Cody Kunyk". Utica Comets. July 25, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  6. ^ "Cody Kunyk to SaiPa" (in Finnish). SaiPa. September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  7. ^ "Forward Cody Kunyk returns to Kärpät" (in Finnish). Oulun Kärpät. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "Canadian center Cody Kunyk joins the Lions" (in German). Löwen Frankfurt. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  9. ^ "Kunyk, Daniels take top WCHA awards". collegehockeynews.com. March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  10. ^ "WCHA award winners announced". Western Collegiate Hockey Association. March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Player of the Year
2013–14
Succeeded by
Preceded by WCHA Scoring leader
2013–14
Succeeded by