Sam Lafferty (born March 6, 1995) 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

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 ...

(NHL). Born and raised in

Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania Hollidaysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the Juniata River, south of Altoona and is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, metropolitan statistical area. In 1900, 2,998 ...

, Lafferty attended

Hollidaysburg Area High School Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School is the midsized, suburban public high school for the Hollidaysburg Area School District. The Senior High School is located at 1510 North Montgomery Street in Hollidaysburg, Blair County. The high school serve ...

before a spot opened at

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admissi ...

in Massachusetts. During his time at Deerfield, Lafferty tallied 38 goals and 57 assists for a total of 95 points in 74 games. Following his graduation in 2014, Lafferty was drafted by the Penguins in the

2014 NHL Entry Draft The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia), Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, ...

and began his collegiate hockey career with the

Brown Bears men's ice hockey The Brown Bears men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Brown University. The Bears are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Meehan Auditorium in Prov ...

team. Throughout his four seasons at Brown, Lafferty was selected for the All-ECAC Third Team and named to the Second and Third Team All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

. Lafferty concluded his collegiate career on March 7, 2018, and joined the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

organization.

Early life

Lafferty was born on March 6, 1995, in

to parents Jill and Andy. His parents later divorced and his mother re-married to Dave Weaver, who coached Lafferty growing up. He was inspired to begin playing hockey following the

2000–01 NHL season The 2000–01 NHL season was the 84th regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, 30 teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanc ...

where

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...

returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After attending a skating clinic ran by Dave, Lafferty and his younger brother Charlie played for the Mid-State Mustangs and the Altoona Trackers of the Pittsburgh Area Hockey League.

Playing career

Amateur

Lafferty spent his freshman and most of his sophomore year at

before applying to prep schools. He originally committed to attend Shady Side Academy before a spot opened at

in Massachusetts. During the 2013–14 season, Lafferty tallied a career-best 21 goals and 34 assists for 55 points in 25 games and was named to the 2014 Prep School All-New England team. Over his three seasons with the Deerfield Academy, Lafferty tallied 38 goals and 57 assists for a total of 95 points in 74 games. Following his graduation in 2014, Lafferty was drafted by the Penguins in the

Collegiate

In spite of being drafted, Lafferty played four seasons of college hockey with the

team from 2014 to 2018. During his freshman season, Lafferty played in all 31 games and finished fourth on the team with eight assists and fifth with four goals. While playing hockey as a freshman, Lafferty also competed in Division I golf and qualified for the 2015 Ivy League Men's Golf Championship. The following year, Lafferty decreased offensively and finished the season with four goals and six assists for 10 points. Lafferty returned to the Brown Bears for his junior season and experienced a breakout year. By January 2017, his eight goals and 19 assists ranked fourth in ECAC in scoring and third in points per game. He finished the season leading the Bears in scoring with 35 points in all 31 games played and ranked first on the team in assists. Lafferty also posted nine multiple-point games which included two four-point performances. At the conclusion of the season, Lafferty was selected for the All-ECAC Third Team and named to the Third Team All-

. He was also named Team MVP and selected as a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award as the best American-born college hockey player in New England. Lafferty's scoring prowess continued through his senior season as he recorded eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points. As a second-time assistant captain, he began the season being named one of 20 candidates for the 2017–18 Senior CLASS Award. Following this, Lafferty was named the ECAC Player of the Week in February after he recorded four points in two games to help Brown to sweep

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and Dartmouth. In the same month, Lafferty also scored his first collegiate

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on February 23, 2018, against Harvard. He finished the 2017–18 season being selected for the Second Team All-Ivy and ECAC All-Academic Team.

Professional

On March 7, 2018, Lafferty concluded his collegiate career by signing an amateur tryout agreement with the Penguins for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. He also signed a two-year,

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Penguins that began in the 2018–19 season. Upon joining the WBS, Lafferty recorded his first professional goal on April 3, 2018, against the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

. After attending their 2018 training camp, he was re-assigned to their

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) affiliate, 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 ...

(WBS). In his first professional season, Lafferty scored 49 points in 70 games to become the teams' second-leading scorer. Lafferty made his NHL debut on October 8, 2019, in Pittsburgh's game 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 ...

. Lafferty scored his first NHL goal and assist a few days later on October 12, 2019, in a 7–4 win over 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 ...

. On January 5, 2022, Lafferty was traded to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in exchange for

Alexander Nylander Alexander Maximiliam Michael Junior Nylander Altelius (born 2 March 1998) is a Canadian-born Swedish professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under cont ...

. During the following

2022–23 NHL season The 2022–23 NHL season is the 106th season of operation (105th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on October 7, 2022, when the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators played the first of two games ...

, while in the midst of breakout season in establishing new offensive highs, Lafferty was traded by the rebuilding Blackhawks to the

, along with Jake McCabe, and two future draft selections in exchange for Toronto's 2025 first-round pick (Conditional), Toronto's second-round pick in 2026, Joey Anderson and Pavel Gogolev on February 27, 2023.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafferty, Sam 1995 births Living people American men's ice hockey right wingers Brown Bears men's ice hockey players Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey players from Pennsylvania People from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Toronto Maple Leafs players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players