- Colby Armstrong
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Colby Armstrong Born November 23, 1982
Lloydminster, SK, CANHeight 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) Position Right wing Shoots Right NHL team
Former teamsToronto Maple Leafs
Pittsburgh Penguins
Atlanta ThrashersNational team Canada NHL Draft 21st overall, 2001
Pittsburgh PenguinsPlaying career 2002–present Colby Joseph Armstrong (born November 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, who is an alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Contents
Early life
Armstrong grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the city's northeastern neighborhood of Erindale, where he continues to live in the off-season. He played youth hockey with the Saskatoon Red Wings and the Saskatoon Blazers. Additionally, as a child he was a figure-skater. He, along with Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll, Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn and Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Luke Schenn, attended St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon.
Playing career
Armstrong was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft as the 21st pick overall.
In the 2005–06 season, he made his NHL debut, and had a superb rookie campaign, in which he played 47 games tallying 40 points (16G, 24A) and was a team-high plus-15.
Armstrong had three overtime goals for the Penguins in the 2006–07 season, beating Kari Lehtonen of the Atlanta Thrashers, Ed Belfour of the Florida Panthers, and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Armstrong avoided an arbitration hearing, in 2006–2007 off-season, by re-signing him to two year deal that paid US$1.2 million annually.[1]
Armstrong became very close friends with former teammate Sidney Crosby while playing for the Penguins.
He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship-winning team. His only goal of the tournament was the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland in Moscow, which Canada won 4–2.
Pittsburgh traded Armstrong on February 26, 2008 to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen, and a first round pick in exchange for Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.[2] He then scored 11 points in 18 games to finish out the 2007–08 season with the Thrashers.
On July 16, 2009 he re-signed with the Thrashers to a one-year $2.4 million contract. He served as one of the team's alternate captains during the 2009–10 season.
On July 1, 2010, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs for $3 million per year for 3 years.[3]
His younger brother, Riley Armstrong, was with the San Jose Sharks for 5 seasons and split between Calgary and Detroit before signing in the KHL on November 21 with Barys Astana
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Sask. Blazers SMHL 33 21 19 40 103 — — — — — 1998–99 Red Deer Rebels WHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Red Deer Rebels WHL 68 13 25 38 122 2 0 1 1 11 2000–01 Red Deer Rebels WHL 72 36 42 78 156 21 6 6 12 29 2001–02 Red Deer Rebels WHL 64 27 41 68 115 23 6 10 16 22 2002–03 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 73 7 11 18 76 3 0 0 0 4 2003–04 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 67 10 17 27 71 24 3 1 4 45 2004–05 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 80 18 37 55 89 10 4 2 6 14 2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 47 16 24 40 58 — — — — — 2005–06 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 31 11 18 29 44 — — — — — 2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 12 22 34 67 5 0 1 1 11 2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 54 9 15 24 50 — — — — — 2007–08 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 18 4 7 11 6 — — — — — 2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 82 22 18 40 75 — — — — — 2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 79 15 14 29 61 — — — — — 2010–11 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 50 8 15 23 61 — — — — — NHL totals 410 86 115 210 355 5 0 1 1 11 References
- ^ "Pens re-sign Armstrong". pittsburghlive.com. 2006-07-21. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/rss/s_516992.html. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- ^ "Penguins get Hossa, hoping he's the missing piece to their Cup". ESPN. 2008-02-27. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3265859. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ "Maple Leafs ink Colby Armstrong". The Globe and Mail. 2010-07-01. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/maple-leafs-ink-colby-armstrong/article1625767/. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
External links
Preceded by
Brooks OrpikPittsburgh Penguins first round draft pick
2001Succeeded by
Ryan WhitneyCategories:- 1982 births
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Canadian ice hockey right wingers
- Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
- Living people
- Memorial Cup winners
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- People from Saskatoon
- Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Red Deer Rebels alumni
- Sportspeople from Saskatchewan
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players
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