Justin Jacob Florek (born May 18, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with Dresdner Eislöwen in the DEL2. Florek was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 5th round (135th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Justin Florek
Justin Florek in 2024
Born (1990-05-18) May 18, 1990 (age 33)
Marquette, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
ECHL team
Former teams
South Carolina Stingrays
Boston Bruins
Iserlohn Roosters
EHC Black Wings Linz
NHL Draft 135th overall, 2010
Boston Bruins
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career edit

Collegiate edit

Florek played junior hockey for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program for both the under-17 and under-18 teams before moving on to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats ice hockey program. While at Northern Michigan, Florek played 157 games, scoring 53 goals and 63 assists for 116 points. Florek was named an alternate captain of the team for the 2010–11 season and captain for the 2011–12 season.[1] During his collegiate career, he led NMU in game winning goals in the 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12 season, and led the team in power play goals with nine during the 2011–12 season. Florek was named to the CCHA Second All-Star team[2] and was named a finalist for the CCHA Best Defensive Forward Award for the 2011–12 season.[3]

Professional edit

Boston Bruins edit

Following his final season with the Wildcats, Florek signed an entry level contract with the Bruins on March 25, 2012, and was assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL for the rest of the season.[4]

Florek attended the Boston Bruins training camp prior to the 2012–13 NHL season, but was assigned to Providence on September 14, 2012.[5] Florek played 71 games with Providence scoring 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in the regular season and played 12 playoff games scoring one goal and two assists for three points before they were eliminated in the conference finals by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

On September 22, 2013, Florek was again assigned to Providence to begin the 2013–14, but played in four NHL games for Boston during the 2013–14 regular season. On January 4, 2014 Florek made his NHL debut, playing for the Bruins in a 4–1 win against the Winnipeg Jets.[6] Florek was reassigned to Providence again on January 5, 2014.[7] Florek scored his first NHL goal on January 9, 2014, against Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings, in a game the Bruins lost 4-2 to the Kings.

On April 20, 2014, Florek scored his first NHL playoff goal during the opening round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Boston defeated the visiting Detroit Red Wings 4–1 in the second game of the series.[8]

Florek attended the Bruins training camp for the start of the 2014-2015 NHL Season but was assigned to Providence on October 1, 2014.

New York Islanders edit

On July 2, 2015, Florek left the Bruins as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders.[9] He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the duration of the 2015–16 season. He appeared in every game with the Sound Tigers, producing a career low 16 points.

Milwaukee Admirals edit

As an unsigned free agent over the summer, Florek was unable to attract NHL interest. On October 8, 2016, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the Milwaukee Admirals, affiliate to the Nashville Predators.[10] In the 2016–17 season, Florek contributed with 12 goals and 30 points in 75 games for the Admirals.

Iserlohn Roosters edit

On May 19, 2017, as a free agent, he inked a one-year deal with his first European club, the Iserlohn Roosters of the German top-tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).[11]

Florek served as the Roosters captain for the 2018–19 season.

EHC Black Wings Linz edit

Florek left the Roosters to sign a one-year contract with the EHC Black Wings Linz in the neighbouring Austrian Hockey League (EBEL), on May 14, 2019.[12]

South Carolina Stingrays edit

After three seasons in Europe, Florek as a free agent opted to return to North America by agreeing to a contract with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL on September 3, 2020.[13]

Florek found success in his return to North America, scoring 19 goals and 41 assists for a professional career-high 41 points in his first season. He would help the Stingrays reach the Kelly Cup Finals, where they would lose to the Fort Wayne Komets in four games.

After being named an alternate captain of the Stingrays, Florek would break his recently-set career high in points the following season, scoring 22 goals and 25 assists for 47 points.

Dresdner Eislöwen edit

After three years with the Stingrays, Florek returned to Europe, signing with the Dresdner Eislöwen in the DEL2.

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Northern Michigan University CCHA 40 9 8 17 6
2009–10 Northern Michigan University CCHA 41 12 23 35 22
2010–11 Northern Michigan University CCHA 39 13 15 28 14
2011–12 Northern Michigan University CCHA 37 19 17 36 18
2011–12 Providence Bruins AHL 8 2 2 4 2
2012–13 Providence Bruins AHL 71 11 16 27 37 12 1 2 3 4
2013–14 Providence Bruins AHL 69 19 19 38 27 4 1 0 1 0
2013–14 Boston Bruins NHL 4 1 1 2 0 6 1 0 1 4
2014–15 Providence Bruins AHL 73 11 24 35 33 5 0 0 0 2
2015–16 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 76 7 9 16 31 3 1 0 1 0
2016–17 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 75 12 18 30 12 3 0 0 0 2
2017–18 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 51 9 12 21 22 2 0 0 0 0
2018–19 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 52 10 11 21 22
2019–20 EHC Black Wings Linz EBEL 48 8 17 25 42 3 0 1 1 0
2020–21 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 65 19 22 41 29 13 4 2 6 12
2021–22 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 69 22 25 47 34
2022–23 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 65 17 24 41 57 6 0 2 2 4
NHL totals 4 1 1 2 0 6 1 0 1 4

International edit

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 United States WJC18   7 3 0 3 4
Junior totals 7 3 0 3 4

Awards and honors edit

Award Year
College
CCHA Second All-Star Team 2012

References edit

  1. ^ Athletics Department. "NMU Hockey Records: Year-By-Year" (PDF). Northern Michigan University. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "Hockey Awards & Achievements Showing: NCAA (CCHA) Second All-Star Team". eliteprospects.com.
  3. ^ "Florek Named Finalist for CCHA Best Defensive Forward Award" (Press release). Northern Michigan University. March 8, 2012.
  4. ^ "Florek & Trotman Signed to Entry-level Contracts" (Press release). Boston Bruins. March 25, 2012.
  5. ^ "Bruins Announce Roster Transactions" (Press release). Boston Bruins. September 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "Winnipeg Jets at Boston Bruins". Boxscore. Boston Bruins. January 4, 2014.
  7. ^ "B's Assign Florek to Providence" (Press release). Boston Bruins. January 5, 2014.
  8. ^ Switaj, Caryn (April 20, 2014). "Bruins Turn the Tide in Game 2 as Florek Shines, Miller Returns". Bruins Blog. Boston Bruins. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  9. ^ "Islanders sign six to two-way deals". New York Islanders. July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Ads sign Florek, Robinson to AHL deals". Milwaukee Admirals. October 8, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  11. ^ "Justin Florek signs with Roosters" (in German). Iserlohn Roosters. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  12. ^ "Justin Florek new in the Linz attack" (in German). EHC Black Wings Linz. May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  13. ^ "Stingrays agree to terms with Justin Florek". South Carolina Stingrays. September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.

External links edit