Austin Block (born October 10, 1989) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

and forward. He is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, having last played for the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...

in 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 ...

Early and personal life

Block was born in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, but grew up in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

, and is Jewish. His parents are Randy Block (who played football at Northern Arizona) and Shellie Jernigan.

Playing career

Block played with the

Fairbanks Ice Dogs The Fairbanks Ice Dogs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. The Ice Dogs play home games at the 2,200-seat Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. History Originally started in 1997 ...

of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

for two seasons, where he had 100 points (42 goals, 58 assists) in 110 games, as he led the league in points (76) in 2008–09, as he was named the league’s top forward as NAHL Forward of the Year. He was also named to the NAHL All-West Division Team and NAHL First All-Star Team. He then played for the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

men's hockey program. He played four seasons at UNH, playing 136 games and putting up 25 goals and 25 assists for 50 points. On July 22, 2013,

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

of the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

announced they had signed Block after a two-week tryout in June 2013. Block made his Liiga debut playing with HIFK during the

2013–14 Liiga season The 2013–14 Liiga season is the 39th season of the Liiga (formerly SM-liiga), the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. The title was won by Kärpät who defeated Tappara in the finals. This was the first sea ...

. On September 20, 2013 Block was loaned from HIFK to

Mestis Mestis (from fi, Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division'). ...

club,

HCK Tyrosine-protein kinase HCK is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''HCK'' gene. Function The protein encoded by this gene is a protein-tyrosine kinase that is predominantly expressed in hemopoietic cell types, and belongs to the Src f ...

until he moved to Swedish

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system (after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL). Since the 2009–10 ...

club

Karlskrona HK Karlskrona HK is a Swedish ice hockey club located in Karlskrona, Sweden, established in 2001. They played three seasons in the top-tier Swedish Hockey League (SHL) between the 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons. Their home arena is NKT Arena Karls ...

. In the following 2014–15 season, Block moved to the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

with HC ’05 Banská Bystrica, appearing in 21 games for 15 points before returning to North American to play in the

with the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home g ...

. On July 31, 2015, Block signed a one-year contract to remain in the ECHL with the

. On February 12, 2016, the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s

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 ...

and AHL’s

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, announced they had acquired Block from the Monarchs in exchange for future considerations. He spent parts of two seasons with the Solar Bears. Block was traded to the

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Cen ...

on October 2, 2017, just prior to the 2017–18 season. He made just two appearances with the Cyclones before suffering a season-ending injury. As a free agent, Block continued his ECHL career by agreeing to contract with the

Worcester Railers The Worcester Railers (also called Worcester Railers HC) are a professional ice hockey team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. The team began play in the 2017–18 ECHL season, and is a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference of t ...

for the 2018–19 season on October 7, 2018. He contributed with 7 assists through 25 games with the Railers, before he was traded to former club the Manchester Monarchs on December 30, 2018.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Austin 1989 births Jewish American sportspeople Jewish ice hockey players American men's ice hockey centers Bakersfield Condors (1998–2015) players Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Fairbanks Ice Dogs players HC '05 Banská Bystrica players HIFK (ice hockey) players Ice hockey players from California Karlskrona HK players Living people Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) players Mestis players New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) players People from Thousand Oaks, California Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Ice hockey people from Denver Worcester Railers players 21st-century American Jews American expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia American expatriate ice hockey players in Finland American expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden