Jake Guentzel

Born in Omaha, Nebraska on October 6, 1994, Guentzel grew up in Woodbury, Minnesota. He played two years of varsity hockey at the Hill-Murray School (finishing 2nd in the 2012 MN State Hockey Tournament)[2] in Maplewood, Minnesota, before committing to the University of Nebraska Omaha after his senior season.[3]

In his freshman year at the University of Nebraska Omaha, Guentzel was named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team, the NCHC All-Conference Rookie Team and was a finalist for NCHC Rookie of the Year.[4] In his sophomore season, he helped guide the Mavericks to their first showing in the Frozen Four, scoring the team's only goal in a 4–1 loss to the Providence Friars.[5]

On August 27, 2015, before Guentzel's junior year, he was named a co-captain along with Brian Cooper after a vote by the team.[6] After the 2015–16 season, Guentzel signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 23, 2016.[7]

Guentzel, Nick Bonino, and Kris Letang celebrating the Penguins' Stanley Cup win in 2017

Guentzel began the 2016–17 season with the Penguins American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[8] After a recall, Guentzel made his NHL debut on November 21, 2016, against the New York Rangers, where he scored two goals on his first two shots.[9] Despite this, the Penguins lost the game 5–2.[10]

On March 21, 2017, Guentzel suffered a concussion on a check from Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. He missed the next 4 games, while Ristolainen was suspended by the league for 3 games.[11] On April 16, 2017, he scored a hat-trick, which included the game-winning goal in overtime, to put the Penguins up 3–0 in their first-round playoff series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He became the first Penguins rookie to score a playoff hat-trick, and only the second rookie in NHL history to score a hat-trick and overtime goal in the same game of the playoffs.[12] On June 11, 2017, Guentzel won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Nashville Predators in six games. During the run, Guentzel recorded 21 points, tying Dino Ciccarelli and Ville Leino for points by a rookie in a single post-season. His 13 goals was one off of Ciccarelli's record.[13]

Guentzel began the 2017–18 season in the NHL, putting up a career high 48 points in 82 games to help the Penguins qualify for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. During the first round of the playoffs, Guentzel recorded four goals in an 8–5 Game 6 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.[14] He became the third Penguins player, behind Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens, to record four goals in a playoff game.[15]

Guentzel with his family following the Penguins' Stanley Cup win in 2017

The 2018–19 season marked the last year Guentzel was on his entry level rookie contract. The Penguins began the season with a slow start, landing near the bottom of the league in early November.[16] On November 24, 2018, Guentzel recorded his first regular season hat trick in a 4–2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.[17] The following month, on December 27, the Penguins re-signed Guentzel to a five-year, $30 million contact.[18] Guentzel recorded his second regular season hat trick in a 7–4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on January 11, 2019.[19] His hat trick was the first by a Penguins player ever against the Anaheim Ducks.[20] After a two-goal game the following night against the Los Angeles Kings, Guentzel was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week.[21]

In the 2019–20 season, Guentzel put up 20 goals and 23 assists in 39 games for the Penguins, and was voted in to play in the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.[22] On December 30, 2019, Guentzel recorded his 200th career point as he scored a goal against the Ottawa Senators. However, immediately after scoring the goal, Guentzel tripped over the stick of Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot, and crashed shoulder first into the boards behind the net . The next day, Guentzel underwent successful shoulder surgery that sidelined him for 6 months.[23] Guentzel was expected to miss the remainder of the season, but with the NHL pushing the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs into early August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was able to recover and join his teammates for the postseason.[24]

Guentzel comes from a hockey family.[25] His father, Mike, was a standout athlete for Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minnesota, and subsequently played hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Later on Mike became the associate head coach at the University of Minnesota.[26] Guentzel was a stick boy for the team when future Penguins teammate Phil Kessel played for Minnesota.[27] His older brother, Ryan, played collegiately and professionally.[28][29] Another older brother, Gabe, played in the North American Hockey League and the United States Hockey League before embarking on a four-year NCAA career at Colorado College.[30]

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database