Jakob Chychrun ( ; born March 31, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and

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 ...

for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted sixteenth overall by the Coyotes at the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine ...

Early and personal life

Chychrun was born and raised in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, when his father, Jeff, was a member of the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

organization.Boca Raton's Jakob Chychrun selected 16th by Arizona in NHL draft – Sun Sentinel
/ref> He is also the nephew of

Luke Richardson Luke Glen Richardson (born March 26, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. Prior to his coaching career, Richardson played as a defenceman in the NHL for ...

. Both his father and uncle are former National Hockey League defencemen. His mother is Nancy Chychrun, and he has a sister, Taylor. He is a dual American-Canadian citizen of Ukrainian and Jewish descent. He attended American Heritage School in Boca Raton from

Pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

to ninth grade.

Playing career

Minor hockey

Chychrun started playing hockey in his home state of Florida with the Junior Everblades and the Florida Jr. Panthers organizations. When Chychrun was 13, he joined the Little Caesars hockey organization in Detroit, Michigan, where he played very well during his major bantam season. At the time, he continued living and practising in Florida, travelling to Michigan on the weekends to play. The following season he remained with Little Caesars, playing for their U16 team. In 2013, Chychrun was drafted by the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL draft. USA Hockey implemented a rule requiring 15-year-old players to receive a special exemption to play junior hockey. Chychrun applied for one but was denied. As a result, Chychrun moved to Toronto and played his minor midget season for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

Major junior

Chychrun was selected first overall by the Sarnia Sting in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection. He had a strong rookie season for the Sting and at the end of the season was nominated for the OHL rookie of the year award, i.e. the Emms Family Award; OHL defenceman of the year, i.e. the Max Kaminsky Trophy; and OHL Player of the Year, ''i.e.'', the Red Tilson Trophy. Leading up to the

, Chychrun was highly regarded by scouts and was considered one of the top defencemen available. He was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the first round, sixteenth overall. This was far lower than expected; prior to the start of the 2015–16 season, Chychrun was regarded as a top three selection.

Professional

On July 30, 2016, Chychrun signed a three-year, NHL entry-level contract with the Coyotes. He scored his first NHL goal on October 20, 2016, against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. After a month with the Coyotes, the Coyotes announced Chychrun would remain with the team for the rest of the season. He finished the season with seven goals and 20 points in 68 games. On August 3, 2017, Chychrun underwent knee surgery after suffering an injury during offseason training. On November 28, he was assigned to the Coyotes' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners for conditioning purposes. Chychrun made his NHL season debut on December 3, scoring a goal in a 3–2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. He was ruled out for the remainder of the season on April 4 after suffering a lower-body injury. He finished the season with four goals and 14 points in 50 games. Chychrun underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in the 2018 offseason. Prior to his season debut on November 13, the Coyotes signed Chychrun to a six-year, $27.6 million contract extension. He finished the season with five goals and 20 points in 53 games. On April 4, 2021, Chychrun scored his first career

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in a 3–2 overtime victory against the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

International play

Chychrun competed with Team Ontario at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge where he scored four points in five games. He was the first minor midget player to play for Team Ontario at the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chychrun, Jakob 1998 births 21st-century Canadian Jews American men's ice hockey defensemen American people of Ukrainian descent Arizona Coyotes draft picks Arizona Coyotes players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Florida Jewish ice hockey players Living people National Hockey League first-round draft picks Sarnia Sting players Sportspeople from Boca Raton, Florida American Heritage School (Florida) alumni