Justin Pogge (/ˈpɡi/; born April 22, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2008–09 season. Internationally Pogge played for the Canadian national junior team at the 2006 World Junior Championship, winning a gold medal.

Justin Pogge
Pogge in 2022
Born (1986-04-22) April 22, 1986 (age 38)
Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Ritten/Renon
BIK Karlskoga
Färjestad BK
HC Slovan Bratislava
Rögle BK
Eisbären Berlin
Kölner Haie
Grizzlys Wolfsburg
NHL draft 90th overall, 2004
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2006–2023

Playing career

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Pogge played his first one-and-a-half seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Prince George Cougars before being dealt to the Calgary Hitmen at the 2004–05 trade deadline. After his rookie season with the Cougars, he was drafted in the third round, 90th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He was then signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Leafs on December 19, 2005. Playing for the Hitmen in 2005–06, Pogge was awarded the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as league MVP as well as the CHL Goaltender of the Year Award and Del Wilson Trophy as the top WHL goaltender with a 1.72 goals against average (GAA) and 11 shutouts.

Pogge turned pro in 2006–07 with the Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. He received his first call-up to the Maple Leafs on January 11, 2008, but did not suit up and was reassigned to the Marlies the next day.[citation needed] Recording 19 wins and a 3.03 GAA in his professional rookie season, he was awarded the Marlies Fan Choice Award.[1]

 
Pogge with the Toronto Marlies in 2007

The following season, on December 21, 2008, Pogge earned another call-up from the Marlies and made his first NHL start against the Atlanta Thrashers the next night, recording a win in a 6–2 victory.[2] On January 27, 2009, he suffered his first loss in the NHL versus the Minnesota Wild 6–1.[3]

On August 10, 2009, Pogge was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional 2011 draft pick.[4] On March 3, 2010, he was again traded to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a deal that sent Aaron Ward to the Ducks.

On July 27, 2011, Pogge signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes. He played for their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates for the duration of the season.[5]

On July 18, 2012, Pogge decided to leave North American professional hockey and signed his first European contract with Ritten Sport of the Elite.A, a top level team in Italy, for the duration of the 2012–13 season.

Pogge then left for Sweden and signed a one-year contract with BIK Karlskoga in the HockeyAllsvenskan for the duration of the 2013–14 season.

On April 28, 2014, Pogge opted to remain in Sweden, and at an elevated level after signing a contract with Färjestad BK of the SHL.[6] He left Färjestad after completing the 2015-16 season and signed with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in May 2016.[7]

After leaving Kölner Haie after two seasons, Pogge was signed to a one-year contract with his third DEL club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg, on July 26, 2022.[8]

Post-playing career

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On May 18, 2023, Pogge announced his retirement from professional hockey. He was in the midst of working as a goaltending consultant for Canada at the World Championship, and had earlier worked in the same role for the team at the World U18 Championships.[9]

Pogge worked as a goaltending consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2023-24 season.

On August 26, 2024, the Abbotsford Canucks hired Pogge as their goaltending coach.[10]

International play

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Medal record
Representing   Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
  2006 Vancouver
Spengler Cup
  2006 Davos

In his third and final year of major junior, Pogge was named to Canada's national junior team for the 2006 World Junior Championships as the host nation in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was initially not invited to Canada's junior summer camp and was, therefore, not expected to make the team. However, Pogge was named to the team's final selection camp in December and earned the starting position. He led Team Canada to a second straight gold medal by posting a shutout with 35 saves against Russia in the 5–0 gold medal game victory. Pogge finished the tournament with 3 shutouts and a 1.00 GAA.

Later that year, during Pogge's professional rookie season with the Toronto Marlies, he represented Canada at the 2006 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. He helped Canada to the final game, where they lost to HC Davos 3–2. Pogge was criticized for surrendering the game winning goal after misplaying the puck behind his net, giving it away to the HC Davos player Andres Ambuhl.[11]

Personal

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Pogge married his fiancé Christina Heinzel in May 2013.[12]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2003–04 Prince George Cougars WHL 44 17 18 2 2271 107 3 2.83 .900
2004–05 Prince George Cougars WHL 24 10 9 2 1198 56 4 2.80 .891
2004–05 Calgary Hitmen WHL 29 14 12 3 1727 66 2 2.29 .917 12 7 5 741 24 1 1.94 .928
2005–06 Calgary Hitmen WHL 54 38 10 6 3237 93 11 1.72 .926 13 7 6 802 34 2 2.54 .911
2006–07 Toronto Marlies AHL 48 19 25 2 2812 142 3 3.03 .896
2007–08 Toronto Marlies AHL 41 26 10 4 2415 94 4 2.34 .908 4 1 1 172 6 0 2.09 .918
2008–09 Toronto Marlies AHL 53 26 21 5 3155 142 0 2.70 .895 5 2 3 304 16 0 3.15 .901
2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 7 1 4 1 372 27 0 4.36 .844
2009–10 Bakersfield Condors ECHL 9 6 2 0 491 22 1 2.69 .902
2009–10 San Antonio Rampage AHL 23 12 7 3 1332 57 1 2.57 .920
2009–10 Albany River Rats AHL 4 1 0 2 199 8 0 2.41 .928
2010–11 Charlotte Checkers AHL 11 22 18 4 2617 136 0 3.12 .907 4 1 1 155 8 0 4.65 .803
2011–12 Portland Pirates AHL 37 14 13 4 1972 101 0 3.07 .890
2012–13 Ritten Sport ITA 44 29 15 6 2629 104 6 2.37 .925 7 3 4 429 18 1 2.25 .923
2013–14 BIK Karlskoga Allsv 51 29 22 0 3086 111 8 2.16 .920
2014–15 Färjestad BK SHL 30 13 13 0 1641 55 4 2.01 .926 1 0 1 62 4 0 3.92 .826
2015–16 Färjestad BK SHL 26 14 12 0 1512 53 1 2.10 .922 4 1 3 232 8 0 2.07 .933
2016-17 Slovan Bratislava KHL 23 7 13 1 1192 62 0 3.12 .903
2017–18 Rögle BK SHL 32 13 18 0 1793 96 1 3.21 .897
2018–19 Rögle BK SHL 37 18 17 0 2097 89 1 2.55 .911 2 0 2 132 8 0 3.65 .869
2019–20 Södertälje SK Allsv 10 6 4 0 605 24 2 2.38 .905
2019–20 Eisbären Berlin DEL 17 11 5 0 981 38 1 2.33 .918
2020–21 Kölner Haie DEL 21 8 11 0 1149 59 2 3.08 .903
2021–22 Kölner Haie DEL 38 17 18 0 2194 96 3 2.63 .901 5 2 3 288 14 0 2.92 .914
2022–23 Grizzlys Wolfsburg DEL 18 9 7 0 1029 47 1 2.74 .905
NHL totals 7 1 4 1 372 27 0 4.36 .844

International

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Year Team Event GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2006 Canada WJC 6 6 0 360 6 3 1.00 .952
Junior totals 6 6 0 360 6 3 1.00 .952

Awards and honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Marlies Fan Choice Award 2007–2008". Toronto Marlies. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Pogge Backstops Leafs To Win In His Debut". Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. 2008-12-22. Archived from the original on 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  3. ^ "Toronto Maple Leafs/Minnesota Wild Box Score Tuesday January 27, 2009". Yahoo! Sports.
  4. ^ "Leafs deal Pogge to Ducks". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  5. ^ "Coyotes sign G Pogge to one-year, two-way deal". The Sports Network. 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  6. ^ "Three new players for Färjestad" (in Swedish). Färjestad BK. 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
  7. ^ Azet.sk (3 May 2016). "Hokejový Slovan má ďalšiu posilu: Do bránky prichádza Kanaďan so skúsenosťami z NHL!". Nový Čas. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  8. ^ "Pickard ends career, Pogge comes" (in German). Grizzlys Wolfsburg. July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  9. ^ "Pogge retires, moves into role with Hockey Canada". The Sports Network. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS HIRE POGGE AS GOALTENDING COACH". Abbotsford Canucks. August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "Canada denied at Spengler Cup". CBC. 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
  12. ^ Larkin, Matt (December 15, 2016). "Justin Pogge chases Storybook Ending to his Career". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the WHL Del Wilson Trophy
2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the WHL Four Broncos Memorial Trophy
2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the CHL Goaltender of the Year Award
2006
Succeeded by