Justin Falk (born October 11, 1988) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He last played with the

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League team, the Ottawa Senators. Based in Bellevill ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). He made his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

debut in the 2009–10 season with the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

, and has since played for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

, and

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. Justin is the current General Manager and Head Coach for the

Winkler Flyers The Winkler Flyers are a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team playing out of the Winkler Arena in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. The Flyers entered the MJHL as an expansion team for the 1980-81 season and have won three Turnbull Cup Championships as M ...

in the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

Playing career

Falk was a member of the

Spokane Chiefs The Spokane Chiefs are a major junior ice hockey team that plays in the Western Hockey League based out of Spokane, Washington. The team plays its home games at the Spokane Arena. Their uniforms are similar to those of the NHL's Montreal Canadi ...

team that won both the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

championship and the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

in 2008, and was named to the tournament all-star team. He was drafted by the

in the

2007 NHL Entry Draft The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at Nationwide Arena in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007. The draft ...

, 110th overall. Falk began his professional career in 2008 with the Houston Aeros. Falk made his NHL debut in the 2009–10 season, appearing in three games with the Wild. He scored his first NHL goal against J-S Giguere of the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

on January 24, 2012. On June 30, 2013, Falk was traded by the Wild to the

in exchange for

Benn Ferriero Benn Trevor Ferriero (born April 29, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks. Ferriero was born in Boston, Massa ...

and a 2014 sixth round draft pick. After spending one season with the Rangers, Falk returned to the Minnesota Wild as a free agent on August 1, 2014, signing a one-year, two-way contract. In the 2014–15 season, Falk was unable to secure a regular role on the Blueline and was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was f ...

for the majority of the season. On March 2, 2015, Falk was traded on request along with a fifth round pick in the

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...

to the Columbus Blue Jackets for

Jordan Leopold Jordan Douglas Leopold (born August 3, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was drafted in the second round, 44th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1999, though never making an appearance with the team. In h ...

. On July 1, 2016, Falk signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the

. On February 6, 2017, the Sabres signed Falk to a one-year, $650,000 extension. In his tenure with the Sabres, Falk carved out his position on the roster as the club's depth defenceman in a rotating role. In the 2017–18 season, he played in 46 games for the cellar dwelling Sabres recording a goal and an assist while logging 16 minutes per night in ice time, his highest ATOI since 2011–12. As a free agent from the Sabres, Falk went un-signed over the summer. With limited offers, he accepted a professional try-out contract to attend the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

training camp, citing familiarity with former junior now Flames head coach Bill Peters. After attending camp and participating in pre-season, Falk was later released from his tryout without a contract from the Flames. With the 2018–19 season underway, Falk agreed to a professional try-out contract with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, affiliate to the

, on October 29, 2018. On November 30, 2018, Falk signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. On January 21, 2019, Falk was placed on waivers by the

and assigned to their

affiliate.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Falk, Justin 1988 births Belleville Senators players Buffalo Sabres players Calgary Hitmen players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Colorado Eagles players Columbus Blue Jackets players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Iowa Wild players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players New York Rangers players Ottawa Senators players Rochester Americans players Spokane Chiefs players Swan Valley Stampeders players