Jeff Skinner

At 31 years old, Jeff Skinner has this physical status:

Jeffrey Scott Skinner (born May 16, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He previously played for the Carolina Hurricanes for eight seasons, and was an alternate captain of the Hurricanes from 2016 to 2018.

Selected seventh overall by the Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Skinner was the youngest player in the NHL during the 2010–11 season and is the youngest player ever to play in the NHL All-Star Game, as well as any All-Star game within the four major North American sports leagues.

He won the Calder Memorial Trophy for best rookie in the 2010–11 season, becoming the first Hurricanes' player to do so.

Early life

Skinner was born on May 16, 1992, to lawyers Andrew Skinner and Elisabeth Campin. He has five siblings, each of whom either are or have been involved with hockey. He is the second-youngest among those siblings, four of which are sisters: Jennifer, Andrea, Erica, and the youngest of the Skinner family, Jillian. Andrea formerly served as captain of the Cornell University women's hockey team and was named to Hockey Canada's board of directors in 2020, and later appointed as interim chair, the first woman to lead the organization He also has one brother, Benjamin, who was in the Kitchener Rangers system, but now plays for the Herforder EV in Germany.

Personal life

During his tenure with the Hurricanes, Skinner launched the '53's Difference Makers' Program, aimed to recognize local teachers at home games.

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Playing career

He gained bronze medals in the junior division of the 2004 Canadian Junior National Figure Skating Championships, being involved in both ice hockey and figure skating. He made the decision to solely concentrate on hockey soon after. Skinner played minor ice hockey for the Toronto Jr. Canadians and the Toronto Young Nationals of the Greater Toronto Hockey League and the Ontario Minor Hockey Association's Markham Waxers. Skinner spent his midget hockey career with future Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. Markham was a participant in the 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.

Skinner was drafted 20th overall in the 2008 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft by the Kitchener Rangers, coming off a fruitful season with the Toronto Young Nationals. In the 4–2 victory over the Plymouth Whalers, he made his OHL debut on September 18, 2008, where he scored two goals and an assist. Skinner was chosen by November 13, 2008, to compete with Team Canada in the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where he helped the team win a gold medal by scoring the game-winning goal. Skinner was awarded the Rangers Academic Player of the Month Award for his academic success while attending Eastwood Collegiate a few days later.

Skinner helped the Rangers win the gold medal with Team Canada, leading the Rangers in scoring during his rookie season. He was named Assistant Captain alongside Mike Mascioli after returning to the Ontario Hockey League for his sophomore season. Skinner scored 50 goals and led all CHL draft-eligible forwards in goal scoring during the season. He was the first Ranger in 23 years to reach the 50-goal mark. However, despite leading the way in goals at the time, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau named Skinner as the 47th best North American skater during their midterm rankings and only 34th in the final rankings. This contrasted with other businesses' ratings, such as ISS and TSN's Bob McKenzie, who had him ranked much higher.

Skinner was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. "There's nothing in the draft that scores goals like Jeff Skinner" at the time of his selection. On September 21, 2010, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Hurricanes during his first NHL training camp, worth $2.7 million. In the Hurricanes' 4–3 win over the Minnesota Wild during the NHL Premiere Series in Helsinki, Finland, Skinner made his NHL debut with the opening roster on October 7, 2007. He had two shots in 16 minutes of ice time. Skinner's assist on Tuomo Ruutu's goal was his first NHL point in his career. He also scored on a game-winning shootout goal, becoming the third-youngest player in NHL history to score a shootout goal. In his fifth game of the season, Skinner scored his first NHL goal against Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings.

Skinner was voted in the 2011 All-Star Game roster as a back-up for Sidney Crosby, the first member of the 2010 draft class to be named in the All-Star Game and the first 18-year-old NHL All-Star since Steve Yzerman, midway through his rookie career. He was chosen by fellow Hurricane Eric Staal, captain of Team Staal, to be a leader. He was later named Rookie of the Month in January 2011. Skinner was named at the NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 22, 2011, defeating fellow rookies Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks and Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders. At the time, he was the NHL's youngest player as well as the first Hurricanes player to ever win the Calder.

Skinner was selected to Team Canada's National Team to compete in the 2011 IIHF World Championship, making him the youngest participant in the tournament after a fruitful rookie campaign. After Canada came fifth, he rejoined the Hurricanes without a medal for his sophomore season. Skinner began the season with 12 goals and 12 assists in 30 games to lead the team in scoring, but the team's scoring was cut short due to Andy Sutton's injury. Skinner missed time due to a concussion after crashing during a game against the Edmonton Oilers on December 7, 2011. After missing 16 games on January 5, 2012, he has rejoined the Hurricanes lineup. On March 15, 2012, Skinner was banned from playing again after kicking Scott Nichol of the St. Louis Blues.

Skinner and the Hurricanes have agreed to a six-year contract extension, which will keep him under control through the 2018-19 season. Skinner's third season in the NHL was plagued with injuries as on February 14, 2013, the inflammation was identified as an upper-body injury and later classified as a concussion.

Skinner led the team from nine games in the 2013–14 season. Skinner claimed his first hat trick against the Nashville Predators on December 4, 2013. However, his high scoring play came to an end during the 2014–15 season, when he sustained a concussion on a hit from Washington Capitals defenceman Matt Niskanen. He only gained 31 points this season and had an eight-game pointless streak.

Skinner defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 on December 11, 2015, for his second hat trick. He scored his second hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers three games later, on December 15, 2015. For the 2016–17 and the 2017–18 seasons, Skinner was named alternate captain of the Hurricanes.

After eight seasons with the Hurricanes, Skinner was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Cliff Pu, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, as a third-round pick in the second round. Skinner was the second player in Sabres' history to score 20 goals before December and the seventh player to score at least 20 goals in fewer than 27 games. Skinner scored twice in the season's finale against the Detroit Red Wings on April 6, the first time he has reached that number.

Skinner re-signed with the Sabres on an eight-year, $72 million deal extension, with an annual average of $9 million. In 102 games over the next two seasons, he struggled under new head coach Ralph Krueger, scoring just 21 goals and 37 points.

Skinner enjoyed a bounce back season under new head coach Don Granato, scoring 33 goals and tying his career-high of 63 points for the fourth time in 2021-22. However, the Sabres and Skinners didn't make the playoffs this season.

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