Lawrence Nycholat

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
team = Vancouver Canucks
former_teams = New York Rangers
Washington Capitals
Ottawa Senators
league = NHL
position = Defence
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 192
nickname =
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1979|05|07
birth_place = Calgary, AB, CAN
draft = undrafted
draft_year =
draft_team =
career_start = 2000

Lawrence Nycholat (born May 7, 1979 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Vancouver Canucks organization of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

After playing midget hockey with Notre Dame of the SMHL, he joined the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League for a four-year tenure, beginning in 1996-97. In his final year with the Broncos, 1999-2000, he recorded a junior career-high 80 points in 70 games.

Undrafted, Nycholat was signed as a free agent on August 31, 2000, by the Minnesota Wild. He played the following three seasons in Minnesota's farm system with the Jackson Bandits of the ECHL, the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL and the Houston Aeros of the AHL.

After scoring 11 goals and 39 points through 66 games with Houston in 2002-03, he was traded midway through the season by Minnesota, on March 11, 2003, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Johan Holmqvist. Joining the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack, he completed the season with 11 points in 15 games.

The following year, in 2003-04, Nycholat made his NHL debut with the Rangers, appearing in 9 games. He remained with the Rangers organization in Hartford until the end of the 2004-05 season.

On August 9, 2005, he was signed by the Washington Capitals as a free agent. He played the entirety of the 2004-05 season with the Hershey Bears of the AHL, scoring an AHL career-high 57 points in 73 games. He added 14 points in 16 playoff games as the Bears captured the 2006 Calder Cup.

In 2006-07, Nycholat appeared in 18 games for the Capitals and recorded his first NHL goal against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils on December 29, 2006.citeweb|title=2007 AHL All-Star roster announced|url=http://www.theahl.com/news/league/index.html?article_id=7350|accessdate=2008-09-02|date=2007-01-09|publisher=American Hockey League] Serving as team captain with the Bears in the AHL, he was named as a starter for Team Canada at the 2007 AHL All-Star Classic. Just before the 2006-07 NHL trade deadline, Nycholat was traded from Washington to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Andy Hedlund and a sixth-round draft pick in 2007 on February 26, 2007. [citeweb|title=Senators acquire defenceman Lawrence Nycholat|url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Ottawa-Senators-Hockey-Club-637495.html|accessdate=2008-09-02|date=2007-02-26] In the off-season, Nycholat was re-signed to a multi-year contract by the Senators. [citeweb|title=Senators re-sign defenceman Lawrence Nycholat|url=http://www2.ottawasenators.com/eng/news/redirect.cfm?sectionID=/hockey/hockeyNewsDetails.cfm&newsItemID=2746|accessdate=2008-09-02|date=2007-07-13|publisher=Ottawa Senators]

After recording 49 points in 77 games with the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's AHL affiliate, in 2007-08, he was traded once more to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Ryan Shannon. [citeweb|title=Canucks acquire Lawrence Nycholat|url=http://canucks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=380953|accessdate=2008-09-02|date=2008-09-02|publisher=Vancouver Canucks]

Awards & achievements

*AHL All-Star Classic - 2005, 2006, 2007 (starter)
*Calder Cup championship (Hershey Bears) - 2006

Transactions

*August 31, 2000 - Signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Wild
*March 11, 2003 - Traded from Minnesota to the New York Rangers in exchange for Johan Holmqvist
*August 9, 2005 - Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals
*February 26, 2007 - Traded from Washington to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Andy Hedlund and a sixth round draft pick in 2007
*July 13, 2007 - Re-signed to a multi-year contract by the Ottawa Senators
*September 2, 2008 - Traded from Ottawa to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Ryan Shannon

Career statistics

ee also

*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players

References

External links

* [http://www2.ottawasenators.com/eng/stats/redirect.cfm?sectionID=hockey/hockeyPlayer.cfm&playerID=1133 Ottawa Senators.com - Career Notes]