Jonathon Merrill (born February 3, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in the NHL for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, and Montreal Canadiens. The Devils selected Merrill in the second round, 38th overall, of the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

Early life

Merrill was born February 3, 1992, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family moved to Grand Blanc, Michigan, three years later, and Merrill began playing ice hockey with his older brother at the age of four. He went on to play minor ice hockey with the Detroit Little Caesars youth team, appearing with the team at the 2004 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. A childhood fan of the National Hockey League's (NHL)

, Merrill was selected as one of the team's flag bearers during the

2006 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League (NHL) championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 regular season. This was the first playoffs since 2004 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that cancelled the previous ...

. In high school, Merrill spent two years with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP), based not far from his home in Brighton, Michigan. During the 2009–10 season, Merrill had one goal and eight assists in 22 games for the NTDP. During his time at the NTDP, he and three other players, including

Matt Nieto Matthew Evan Nieto (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the San Jose Sharks. He was drafted by the Sharks in the second ...

, were suspended for sexual harassment and lewd behaviour.

Playing career

College

Prior to turning professional, Merrill played NCAA college hockey with the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team. Merrill was suspended for the first 12 games of the 2011–12 season by the University of Michigan for "violating team rules."

Professional

New Jersey Devils (2013–2017)

On March 27, 2013, the New Jersey Devils signed Merrill to a three-year entry-level contract, and he began the 2013–14 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Albany Devils. In the 2013–14 season, Merrill made his NHL debut on November 3, 2013, skating with the Devils in a game against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center, but less than five minutes into he game he fell into the boards, sustaining severe facial lacerations and a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

. He scored his first NHL goal on February 7, 2014, a game winner in overtime against Ilya Bryzgalov of the Edmonton Oilers, making him the first Devil to score his first NHL goal in overtime.

Vegas Golden Knights (2017–2020)

On June 21, 2017, Merrill was selected in the NHL Expansion Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights. On January 16, 2018, Merrill signed a two-year, $2.75 million contract extension with the Golden Knights.

Detroit Red Wings (2020–2021)

After three seasons as an original member of the Golden Knights, Merrill left the club as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $925,000 contract with the

on October 9, 2020. In the shortened 2020–21 season, Merrill registered five assists in 36 games from the blueline for the Red Wings before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Hayden Verbeek and a fifth-round pick in the

2021 NHL Entry Draft The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was the 59th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL se ...

on April 11, 2021.

Montreal Canadiens (2021)

Merrill made 13 further regular season appearances with the Canadiens, going scoreless, before featuring in 13 playoff games in helping Montreal reach the

2021 Stanley Cup Finals The 2021 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2020–21 season and the culmination of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series was between the Montreal Canadiens and the defending champion Tamp ...

before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Minnesota Wild (2021–present)

As a free agent from the Canadiens, Merrill joined his fifth NHL organization in agreeing to terms with the Minnesota Wild on a one-year, $850,000 contract on July 29, 2021. On January 11, 2022, Merrill was signed to a three-year, $3.6 million extension with the Wild.

International play

Merrill first represented the United States internationally at the

2009 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. The championships ran from April 9 to April 19, 2009. Games were played at the Urban Plains Center in Fargo and the Moorhead Sports Cen ...

, where he recorded two assists in seven games en route to a gold medal victory over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He won another gold medal the next year at the

2010 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships was the 12th edition of the IIHF World U18 Championship. The tournament was held in Minsk and Babruysk, Belarus, between April 13 and April 23, 2010. Tournament games were played at the Minsk Sports Palace in ...

, recording one assist in seven games and being named one of the top three Team USA players in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Personal life

Jon is married to Jessica Merrill. Together, they are advocates for the LGBTQ community.

Awards and honors

Jon and Jessica were named "2024 Allies of the Year" for Twin Cities Pride.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Jon 1992 births Living people Albany Devils players American men's ice hockey defensemen Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Oklahoma Ice hockey players from Michigan Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Minnesota Wild players Montreal Canadiens players New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players People from Brighton, Michigan Sportspeople from Livingston County, Michigan Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Vegas Golden Knights players 21st-century American sportsmen