Justin Jacob Florek (born May 18, 1990) is an American 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 ...

player. He is currently playing with the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Co ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. Florek was selected by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in the 5th round (135th 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 ...

Playing career

Florek played

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

for the

USA Hockey National Team Development Program The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) was started in 1996 by USA Hockey as a way to identify elite ice hockey players under the age of 18, and centralize their training. There are two teams in the program: under-17 and under- ...

for both the under-17 and under-18 teams before moving on to the Northern Michigan University Wildcats ice hockey program. While at Northern Michigan, Florek played 157 games, scoring 53 goals and 63 assists for 116 points. Florek was named an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

of the team for the 2010–11 season and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for the 2011–12 season. During his collegiate career, he led NMU in game winning goals in the 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12 season, and led the team in power play goals with nine during the 2011–12 season. Florek was named to the CCHA Second All-Star team and was named a finalist for the CCHA Best Defensive Forward Award for the 2011–12 season. Following his final season with the Wildcats, Florek signed an entry level contract with the Bruins on March 25, 2012, and was assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL for the rest of the season. Florek attended the Boston Bruins training camp prior to the

2012–13 NHL season The 2012–13 NHL season was the 96th season of operation (95th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on January 19, 2013 and ended on April 28, 2013, with the playoffs to follow until June. The season s ...

, but was assigned to Providence on September 14, 2012. Florek played 71 games with Providence scoring 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in the regular season and played 12 playoff games scoring one goal and two assists for three points before they were eliminated in the conference finals by the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

. On September 22, 2013, Florek was again assigned to Providence to begin the 2013–14, but played in four NHL games for Boston during the 2013–14 regular season. On January 4, 2014 Florek made his NHL debut, playing for the Bruins in a 4–1 win against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

. Florek was reassigned to Providence again on January 5, 2014. Florek scored his first NHL goal on January 9, 2014, against

Jonathan Quick Jonathan Douglas Quick (born January 21, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Quick was selected in the third round, 72nd overall, by Los Angeles at the 2005 NHL ...

of the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

, in a game the Bruins lost 4-2 to the Kings. On April 20, 2014, Florek scored his first NHL playoff goal during the opening round of the

2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs The 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 16, 2014, and ended June 13, 2014 when the Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers four games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Bruins made the ...

, as Boston defeated the visiting

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 ...

4–1 in the second game of the series. Florek attended the Bruins training camp for the start of the 2014-2015 NHL Season but was assigned to Providence on October 1, 2014. On July 2, 2015, Florek left the Bruins as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

for the duration of the 2015–16 season. He appeared in every game with the Sound Tigers, producing a career low 16 points. As an unsigned free agent over the summer, Florek was unable to attract NHL interest. On October 8, 2016, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

, affiliate to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. In the 2016–17 season, Florek contributed with 12 goals and 30 points in 75 games for the Admirals. On May 19, 2017, as a free agent, he inked a one-year deal with his first European club, the

Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as '' ...

of the German top-tier

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL). Following two seasons with the Roosters, serving as captain in the 2018–19 campaign, Florek left the club to sign a one-year contract with the

EHC Black Wings Linz The Steinbach Black Wings Linz are a member of the Austrian Hockey League. They play their home games in Linz, Austria at the Keine Sorgen EisArena. History The EHC Black Wings Linz was founded in 1992. After several years in the Austrian minor ...

in the neighbouring

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

(EBEL), on May 14, 2019. After three seasons in Europe, Florek as a free agent opted to return to North America by agreeing to a contract with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL on September 3, 2020.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florek, Justin 1990 births American men's ice hockey left wingers EHC Black Wings Linz players Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Iserlohn Roosters players Living people Milwaukee Admirals players Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players People from Marquette, Michigan Providence Bruins players South Carolina Stingrays players