Jujhar Khaira

Jujhar Khaira (born August 13, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Edmonton Oilers.

Jujhar Khaira
Khaira with the Bakersfield Condors in 2016
Born (1994-08-13) August 13, 1994
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team Edmonton Oilers
NHL Draft 63rd overall, 2012
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2014–present

Family heritage

Khaira comes from a family with a history of accomplishment in athletics. Khaira's parents were prominent volleyball players in British Columbia during the 1980s. His brother Sahvan Khaira attends the University of Calgary and plays on the men's ice hockey team.

Khaira is only the third player of Punjabi descent, following Robin Bawa (starting in 1989) and Manny Malhotra (starting in 1998), to play in the NHL.[1]

Playing career

Khaira was drafted by the Oilers after his second season in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Prince George Spruce Kings. Shortly after the draft, Khaira committed to play collegiate hockey with Michigan Tech of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.[2]

At the completion of his freshman season in 2012–13 with Huskies, Khaira left college to pursue a major junior career closer to home in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips. On August 7, 2013, he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[3] In the following 2013–14 season, Khaira posted 43 points in 59 games with the Silvertips. At the elimination in first-round of the post-season, Khaira then made his professional debut with the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, joining the club for their post-season run.[4]

In the second year of his entry-level contract, Khaira and the Oilers AHL affiliation moved to the new Bakersfield Condors.[4] During this 2015–16 NHL season, Khaira was called up to the Oilers on November 26, 2015, playing his first NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 28, 2015.[5][6] This made Khaira only the third player of Punjabi Indian descent to play in the NHL, after Robin Bawa, and half-French, half-Indian Manny Malhotra.[1][7] Khaira played 15 games at the NHL level that season, earning 2 assists.

Khaira was a regular with the Condors for the 2016–17 season, and occasional call up to the NHL Oilers. During his second NHL game that season, on January 16, 2017, Khaira scored his first NHL goal, against Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes.[8] On December 9 of the same year, Khaira earned his first multi-goal game, scoring twice against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.[9][10]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Prince George Spruce Kings BCHL 58 10 32 42 21 — — — — —
2011–12 Prince George Spruce Kings BCHL 54 29 50 79 69 4 0 2 2 2
2012–13 Michigan Tech WCHA 37 6 19 25 49 — — — — —
2013–14 Everett Silvertips WHL 59 16 27 43 59 5 3 1 4 8
2013–14 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 6 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 1 0
2014–15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 51 4 6 10 62 8 3 1 4 4
2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 49 10 17 27 69 — — — — —
2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 15 0 2 2 13 — — — — —
2016–17 Bakersfield Condors AHL 27 8 12 20 31 — — — — —
2016–17 Edmonton Oilers NHL 10 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Edmonton Oilers NHL 69 11 10 21 47 — — — — —
2018–19 Edmonton Oilers NHL 60 3 15 18 43 — — — — —
2019–20 Edmonton Oilers NHL 64 6 4 10 38 4 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 218 21 31 52 143 4 0 0 0 2

References
  1. Wyshynski, Greg (2015-11-28). "Jujhar Khaira becomes just 3rd ever Punjabi player in NHL history". Puck Daddy. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  2. "Bulldogs defenceman Hyland commits to michigan tech". BCHL.ca. Alberni Valley Bulldogs. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2017. Hyland is the third current BCHL player to commit to Michigan Tech along with Jujhar Khaira and Alex Petan.
  3. edmontonoilers.com staff (2013-08-07). "Oilers agree to terms with Jujhar Khaira". Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  4. Wescott, Chris (5 December 2015). "Khaira a good sign of Oilers development". NHL.com. Edmonton, AB: Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  5. Matheson, Jim (2015-11-26). "Oilers Nail Yakupov out two to four weeks with sprained ankle". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  6. Staples, David (2015-10-31). "Edmonton Oilers next best bet at Bakersfield: JJ Khaira". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  7. Clinton, Jared (2015-11-27). "Oilers' Jujhar Khaira aiming to become third Punjabi player to suit up in NHL". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  8. Tychkowski, Robert (2017-01-17). "Oilers put Coyotes out of their misery". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  9. NHL (2017-12-09), Khaira strikes twice in Oilers' 6-2 win against Habs, retrieved 2017-12-10
  10. The Canadian Press (9 October 2017). "Khaira scores twice as Oilers chase Price, rout Habs". TSN.ca. Montreal: TSN. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
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