Nathan Gerbe (Boston College) retired from professional hockey as an active player last week.
The 5-foot-4 forward from Oxford, Mich., believed to be shortest skater in NHL history, led BC to the 2008 NCAA title. He later appeared in 435 career NHL regular-season games with Buffalo, Carolina and Columbus, and tallied a total of 63 goals and 88 assists for 151 points to go with 196 penalty minutes as an NHL player.
Drafted 142nd overall by Buffalo in 2005 from the U.S. National Team Development Program in his native Michigan, Gerbe went on to play three seasons at BC, where he registered 71-62—133 points in 123 appearances as an Eagle, culminating in the 2008 national championship. He was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Frozen Four in Denver that season, after recording a total of five goals and three assists in wins over North Dakota and Notre Dame to secure BC's first national title in seven years. He also won the Jim Johannson Award as USA Hockey College Player of the Year that season, and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award after recording 35 goals and 68 points overall to lead the nation in scoring.
Internationally, Gerbe helped the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2004 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, followed by a gold medal in the same event the next year. He also helped the Americans to a bronze medal at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
Gerbe, 35, who missed all of the 2021-22 season following hip surgery a year ago, was also a veteran of 209 AHL regular-season contests with Portland and Cleveland, with whom he posted 67-112-179 points and 223 PIM in 209 outings overall. He also played two seasons in Switzerland (2017, 2018) before retiring, and recently joined Nashville as a development coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment