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Spencer Knight

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Spencer Knight
Knight with the Florida Panthers in 2022
Born (2001-04-19) April 19, 2001 (age 23)
Darien, Connecticut, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team Florida Panthers
NHL draft 13th overall, 2019
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2021–present

Spencer Knight (born April 19, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Panthers selected him in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Born and raised in Darien, Connecticut, Knight became a goaltender after watching Henrik Lundqvist play for the New York Rangers. He spent one year at Darien High School and another at Avon Old Farms before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2018. After setting a program record by winning 59 games in two seasons, Knight, who was the first goaltender to be drafted by the Panthers in the first round, played college ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles. In his sophomore year with Boston College, he was named both the Hockey East Goaltending Champion and the Player of the Year, and he was a two-time finalist for the Mike Richter Award.

Knight left Boston College in 2021 to join the Panthers for the end of their 2020–21 season. He debuted with the team the day after his 20th birthday, becoming the first goaltender born in the 21st century to play in the NHL. Although he made 36 saves in his playoff debut, the Panthers were eliminated from the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Knight started the 2021–22 season as part of a goaltending tandem with Sergei Bobrovsky, but Bobrovsky's strong performance and Knight's unevenness led him to become a backup as the season progressed.

Early life

[edit]

Knight was born on April 19, 2001, in Darien, Connecticut,[1] to Chris and Lilly Knight. He began playing ice hockey at the age of two, and he started playing as a goaltender when he was ten years old. A fan of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League, Knight was partially motivated to goaltend by watching Henrik Lundqvist.[2] He attended Darien High School for one year before transferring to Avon Old Farms,[3] where he became the hockey team's starting goaltender in his first season.[4] Playing alongside Trevor Zegras, Knight posted a 1.89 goals against average (GAA) and .935 save percentage (SV%) at Avon in 22 games as a sophomore.[5][6]

Knight left Avon Old Farms after the 2016–17 season to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Michigan.[7] In his first season with the team, Knight went 27–6–0 in 39 games, with a .911 SV%, 2.56 GAA, and one shutout.[8] The following year, he posted a 32–4–1 record, 2.36 GAA, .913 SV%, and two shutouts in 39 games. In 78 games with the NTDP, Knight set the program record with 59 wins across two seasons.[9]

Playing career

[edit]

College

[edit]

Going into the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Knight the No. 1 available goaltender in North America.[10] The Florida Panthers selected him 13th overall, the first time they had taken a goaltender in the first round of the NHL draft,[11] and he was the highest-drafted goaltender of any team since the Dallas Stars selected Jack Campbell 11th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[12] Before joining the Panthers, however, Knight attended Boston College to play hockey for the Eagles.[13]

Knight made his college hockey debut and recorded his first win in the Eagles' opening-night win over Wisconsin. Boston College won the game 5–3, with Knight making 23 saves in the process.[14] After posting a 1.12 GAA and .959 SV% in November, he was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Month.[15] This was followed by a Hockey East Goaltender of the Month honor in December, when he finished the month on a nine-game winning streak. In 15 starts by the end of December, Knight led the conference with four shutouts and was second with a .940 SV% and 1.73 GAA.[16] The Eagles won the Hockey East regular-season title with their 4–1 defeat of rival Boston University on February 29, 2020. Knight made 30 saves to help Boston College to their victory.[17] Boston College would have entered the 2020 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but the tournament was cancelled due to concerns over the emergent COVID-19 pandemic.[18] Knight finished his freshman season with a 23–8–2 record, .931 SV%, and 1.97 GAA, and he was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award.[19] Although the award ultimately went to Jeremy Swayman of the Maine Black Bears,[20] Knight was named to both the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and the Second All-Star Team.[21][22]

Knight and his teammate Matthew Boldy both received Hockey East Player of the Week Honors for their two-game sweep of the Providence Friars on December 4 and 5, 2020. Knight shut out the Friars in both games, stopping all 66 shots that he faced in the series.[23] He was named the Hockey East Goaltender of the Month as a combined award for November and December after beginning the season 4–0–0 with a .955 SV% and 1.50 GAA.[24] He finished the season with a 15–2–1 record in 18 starts, accompanied by a .937 SV% and 1.99 GAA. Hockey East named Knight both a First Team All-Star and their 2021 Goaltender of the Year.[25] He was also named the Hockey East Player of the Year, becoming the first goaltender to win the award since Thatcher Demko in 2016.[26] A finalist for both the Mike Richter Award and the Hobey Baker Award, the American Hockey Coaches Association named Knight a Division I All-American.[27][28] Despite making a season-high 43 saves in Boston College's semifinal game against UMass Lowell in the semifinal rounds of the 2021 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Boston College lost the game 6–5 in double overtime.[29] The Eagles advanced to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, where they lost 4–1 to St. Cloud State in the Northeast Regional Finals. Knight made 32 saves, but the Huskies outshot the Eagles 36–27 to win the game.[30] After the Eagles' 2020–21 season came to a close, Knight agreed to finish his college career to sign with the Panthers.[31] He finished his career with a 39–12–3 record, a 2.05 GAA, and eight shutouts in 54 starts.[32]

Professional

[edit]

Knight signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Panthers on March 31, 2021, joining the team for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[33] He made his NHL debut on April 20, 2021, and made 33 saves on 34 shots of the Panthers' 5–1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition to becoming the youngest goaltender to record a win for the Panthers, he was the first in franchise history to win his debut game.[34] Debuting the day after his 20th birthday, Knight was the first goaltender born in the 21st century to appear in an NHL game.[35] He made four regular-season appearances with the Panthers, winning all of them and posting a .919 SV% and 2.32 GAA.[36] In doing so, he became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to begin his career 4–0.[37] The Panthers entered the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs facing the Tampa Bay Lightning. Facing elimination in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series, coach Joel Quenneville gave Knight the start over Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger.[38] He allowed a goal on the first shot of the game, from Blake Coleman, but made 36 saves to win the game 4–1 for Florida. At 20 years and 35 days of age, Knight was the second-youngest NHL goaltender to win his playoff debut, following Don Beaupre, who was 19 years and 202 days old when he won for the Minnesota North Stars in the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs.[39] The Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs in the next game with a 4–0 shutout loss.[40] Knight allowed three goals, with Alex Killorn scoring the fourth on an empty net.[41]

The Panthers lost Driedger to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft,[42] and so they entered the 2021–22 season with a goaltending tandem of Bobrovsky and Knight. Florida opened the season 10–0–1, with Knight posting a .918 SV% and 2.51 GAA in his first five starts.[43] Knight's playing time decreased as the season progressed, both due to inconsistent performances on his end and due to Bobrovsky's resurgence.[44] On January 29, 2022, the Panthers sent Knight to the Charlotte Checkers, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, to "keep his cadence" and continue to receive playing time through the NHL All-Star Game break.[45] He spent all of February in Charlotte, going 7–3–0 with a .917 SV% before he was recalled back to Florida on March 6.[46] After going 6–1–0 with a 2.16 GAA and .925 SV% in seven games that month, including a shutout, Knight was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for April 2022.[47] In 32 games during his sophomore NHL season, Knight finished with a 19–9–3 record, a .908 SV%, and a 2.79 GAA.[48] He entered the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs as a backup to Bobrovsky, not appearing at all in the Panthers' first-round series against the Washington Capitals.[49]

On September 27, 2022, Knight signed a three-year contract extension with the Panthers.[50]

International play

[edit]
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  United States
World Junior Championship
Gold medal – first place 2021 Canada
IIHF World U18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Sweden

Knight won a bronze medal with the NTDP at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championships in Sweden. He had a 1.51 GAA and .936 SV% in six tournament games, winning five and losing to the Russian team in a semifinal round shootout. That same year, he traveled to the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships with the silver medalist USA junior team as their third goaltender.[51]

After not receiving any playing time in the 2019 tournament, Knight hoped to play a larger role for the United States team at the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[52] The team was eliminated in the quarterfinals after a 1–0 loss to Finland, but Knight personally played well, with two wins, a 2.49 GAA, and .913 SV% in the four games in which he appeared.[53] Following his team's early elimination in 2020, Knight and the United States won gold at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, shutting out Canada 2–0 in the championship match. Knight finished the tournament with a 5–1–0 record, 1.63 GAA, .940 SV%, and three shutouts, and Team USA named him the Player of the Game for the gold medal match.[54]

Career statistics

[edit]

Information on career statistics derived from Elite Prospects.[55]

Regular season and playoffs

[edit]
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2017–18 U.S. National Development Team USHL 19 13 4 0 982 52 0 3.18 .902 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 U.S. National Development Team USHL 16 15 1 0 841 31 1 2.21 .903 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Boston College HE 33 23 8 2 1,979 65 5 1.97 .931 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Boston College HE 21 16 4 1 1,296 47 3 2.18 .932 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 4 4 0 0 207 8 0 2.32 .919 2 1 1 116 4 0 2.06 .933
2021–22 Florida Panthers NHL 32 19 9 3 1,740 81 2 2.79 .908 — — — — — — — —
2021–22 Charlotte Checkers AHL 11 7 4 0 611 30 2 2.95 .905 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 Florida Panthers NHL 21 9 8 3 1,169 62 1 3.18 .901 — — — — — — — —
2022–23 Charlotte Checkers AHL 2 1 1 0 120 4 1 2.00 .918 — — — — — — — —
2023–24 Charlotte Checkers AHL 45 25 14 5 2,584 104 5 2.41 .905 2 1 1 128 4 0 1.87 .925
NHL totals 57 32 17 6 3,116 151 3 2.91 .906 2 1 1 116 4 0 2.06 .933

International

[edit]
Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2019 United States U18 6 5 1 0 357 9 1 1.51 .936
2020 United States WJC 4 2 2 0 241 10 0 2.49 .913
2021 United States WJC 7 6 1 0 332 9 3 1.63 .940
Junior totals 17 19 5 0 930 28 4 1.87 .930

Awards and honors

[edit]
Award Year
College
Hockey East All-Rookie Team 2020 [21]
Hockey East Second All-Star Team 2020 [22]
Hockey East First All-Star Team 2021 [25]
Hockey East Goaltending Champion 2021 [25]
Hockey East Player of the Year 2021 [26]
AHCA Division I All-American 2021 [28]
AHL
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award 2024 [56]
NHL
Rookie of the Month April 2022 [47]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Spencer Knight Stats and News". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  2. ^ Olsen, Becky (March 20, 2018). "For Spencer Knight, Love of Goaltending Started With Equipment". USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  3. ^ Burnside, Scott (July 30, 2021). "'He's definitely unique': Spencer Knight marches to his own drum en route to NHL stardom". The Athletic. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Kaplan, Emily (April 26, 2021). "How Florida Panthers rookie Spencer Knight remains grounded amid his meteoric rise". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  5. ^ Malafronte, Chip (June 21, 2019). "Darien's Spencer Knight taken 13th by Florida Panthers". New Haven Register. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  6. ^ McFarland, Shawn (January 6, 2021). "Before they starred on the global hockey stage, Spencer Knight and Trevor Zegras got their start at Avon Old Farms". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Amore, Dom (June 17, 2019). "Dom Amore: From Darien and Avon Old Farms, Spencer Knight has the stuff to be a first-round pick, franchise goalie in NHL". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "U.S. National Under-17 Team – 2017–18 Regular Season – Roster – #35 – Spencer Knight – G". USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  9. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (June 17, 2019). "Knight could be rare goalie chosen in first round of NHL Draft". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "Florida Panthers Select Goaltender Spencer Knight 13th Overall". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. June 21, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Olive, Jameson (June 22, 2019). "Going Big: Panthers Draft 'Franchise-Type Goalie' Spencer Knight". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  12. ^ Woodley, Kevin (June 22, 2019). "Knight rare goalie selected in top 13 of NHL Draft". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  13. ^ Dusenbury, Wells (June 21, 2019). "Florida Panthers select goalie Spencer Knight with 13th pick in NHL draft". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "Cotton and Mattila Lead #6 Eagles Past #15 Badgers on Opening Night". Boston College Eagles. October 12, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  15. ^ "Knight Recognized as Hockey East Rookie of the Month". Boston College Eagles. December 5, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "Knight Named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month". Boston College Eagles. January 6, 2020. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  17. ^ "No. 4 Eagles Beat BU 4–1 to Capture 17th Regular Season Title". Boston College Eagles. February 29, 2020. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  18. ^ Mahoney, Andrew (March 12, 2020). "Hockey East cancels postseason tournament". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  19. ^ "Knight Announced as Finalist for Mike Richter Award". Boston College Eagles. March 30, 2020. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  20. ^ "Maine goalie Jeremy Swayman wins 2020 Mike Richter Award". National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 12, 2020. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Boldy, Knight and Newhook Named to Hockey East All-Rookie Team". Boston College Eagles. March 17, 2020. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Five Eagles Represented on Hockey East All-Star Teams". Boston College Eagles. March 18, 2020. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  23. ^ "Boldy, Knight Share Hockey East Player of the Week Honors". Boston College Eagles. December 7, 2020. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  24. ^ "Knight Recognized as Hockey East Goaltender of the Month". Boston College Eagles. January 4, 2021. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  25. ^ a b c Ingram, Alastair (March 12, 2021). "Knight Named Goalie of the Year, Eagles Land Four on Hockey East All-Star Teams". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Ingram, Alastair (March 16, 2021). "Knight, Nesterenko and York Receive Major Hockey East Awards". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  27. ^ Ingram, Alastair (March 26, 2021). "Knight Named Top-3 Finalist for Mike Richter Award". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  28. ^ a b Ingram, Alastair (April 9, 2021). "Boston College Trio Named Division I All-Americans". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  29. ^ Ingram, Alastair (March 17, 2021). "No. 1 Eagles Suffer Double Overtime Heartbreaker in Semifinal to UMass Lowell". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  30. ^ Ingram, Alastair (March 28, 2021). "Eagles Fall to St. Cloud State 4–1 in NCAA Regional Final". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  31. ^ Olive, Jameson (March 31, 2021). "Knight Elated After Signing with Panthers: 'It Doesn't Seem to be Real'". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  32. ^ Ingram, Alastair (May 24, 2021). "Knight Recognized as Male Eagle of the Year". Boston College Eagles. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  33. ^ "Florida Panthers Agree to Terms with Goaltender Spencer Knight". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. March 31, 2021. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  34. ^ Vanoni, Maggie (April 21, 2021). "Darien's Spencer Knight spectacular in NHL debut for Florida Panthers". Connecticut Post. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  35. ^ Woodley, Kevin (April 23, 2021). "Knight latest U.S.-born goalie success after NHL debut with Panthers". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  36. ^ Satriano, David (May 9, 2021). "Lightning will play Panthers in first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  37. ^ Gereffi, Paul (May 3, 2021). "Aleksander Barkov's goal in overtime lifts Panthers over Stars". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  38. ^ Furones, David (May 24, 2021). "Panthers' suspenseful Game 5 goalie announcement results in rookie Spencer Knight getting the start". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  39. ^ Poupart, Alain (May 25, 2021). "Knight helps Panthers avoid elimination with Game 5 win against Lightning". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  40. ^ Gretz, Adam (May 26, 2021). "Lightning put an end to Panthers' surprising season with Game 6 shutout". Pro Hockey Talk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  41. ^ Olive, Jameson (May 27, 2021). "5 Takeaways: Despite Playoff Exit, Panthers Prideful in Resurgent Season". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  42. ^ Condor, Bob (July 21, 2021). "Seattle Kraken Make Their Picks". National Hockey League. Seattle Kraken. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  43. ^ Shilton, Kristen (November 9, 2021). "How the Panthers make one of the NHL's best goalie tandems work". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  44. ^ Wilson, David (January 19, 2022). "Is it time for concern about Spencer Knight? 'We're not worried about him,' Panthers say". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  45. ^ Wilson, David (January 29, 2022). "Could Knight's trip to the minors go beyond All-Star break? It may not be the worst idea". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  46. ^ Olive, Jameson (March 7, 2022). "Preview: Knight starts as Reihnart, Montour return to Buffalo". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  47. ^ a b "Knight of Panthers named NHL Rookie of the Month for April". National Hockey League. NHL Public Relations. April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  48. ^ Tingley, Grant (May 1, 2022). "Panthers' 3 Keys to Success in 2022 Playoffs". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  49. ^ Gulitti, Tom (May 16, 2022). "2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Panthers vs. Lightning second-round series preview". National Hockey League. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  50. ^ "Spencer Knight Agrees to Terms on Contract Extension with Panthers". NHL.com. September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  51. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (May 23, 2019). "Knight's athleticism, focus could make him first-round pick at 2019 Draft". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  52. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (December 25, 2019). "Knight ready to prove himself, play larger role for U.S. at 2020 WJC". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  53. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (January 2, 2020). "United States got away from identity in loss at World Junior Championship". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  54. ^ "Spencer Knight Wins Gold with USA at 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship". National Hockey League. Florida Panthers. January 6, 2021. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  55. ^ "Spencer Knight". Elite Prospects. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  56. ^ "Spencer Knight wins Fred T. Hunt Award for Sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey". Charlotte Checkers. April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Florida Panthers first round draft pick
2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Hockey East Player of the Year
2020–21 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Hockey East Goaltending Champion
2020–21 		Succeeded by
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