Zach Hyman

At 32 years old, Zach Hyman has this physical status:

Playing career

Hyman appeared for the Hamilton Red Wings from 2008 to 2011. He had 13 goals and 24 assists in 49 regular season games, as well as two goals in five playoff games. He was named Rookie of the Year by the Red Wings. Hyman was named team captain during his sophomore season. In 49 regular season games, he scored 35 goals and 40 assists, while nine others had seven goals and nine assists in 11 playoff games.

Hyman was the leading scorer for the Red Wings in 43 regular season games, with 42 goals and 60 assists in 43 regular season games, as well as three goals and five assists in seven playoff games. Hyman came in second in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) in scoring, scoring 102 points in 43 games and leading all players with 2.37 points per game.

Hyman was named to the OJHL's North-West Conference First All-Star Team after an outstanding season with the Red Wings, and Hockey Canada named him the CJHL Player of the Year Award. Following Trent Walford's 1995-96 win of the OJHL, he became just the second player from the OJHL to win the award. Hyman was voted the Most Gentlemanly Player of the OJHL in 2010. The OHA selected him as the BJ Monroe Trophy recipient in a two-time Red Wings MVP. Zach Hyman was named the Association's Top Pro Prospector Award. Hyman's jersey was on display in the Hockey Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the 2010–11 season.

During the 2010–11 season, Hyman decided to play ice hockey for Princeton University. However, he was fired after Princeton Tigers head coach Guy Gadowsky left the school to begin the Division I hockey program at Pennsylvania State University. Following Gadowsky's transfer to Penn State, there was not a choice, as the program did not have a varsity team at the time. In May 2011, Hyman was given an athletic scholarship and pledged to play for the University of Michigan for the 2011-2012 season.

Hyman appeared in 41 games for the Michigan Wolverines in his freshman season. In a game against Northern Michigan University on October 21, 2011, he scored his first career goal. In his sophomore season, he had 4 goals and 5 assists in 38 games. In 35 games during his junior season, he scored 7 goals and 10 assists. Hyman was named the 2014 Bates/Deskins Award recipient, an award given to the University of Michigan's Top Junior Student Athlete.

Hyman was named alternate captain during his senior season. He was Michigan's top scorer and the Big Ten Scoring Champion, scoring 22 goals and 32 assists in just 37 games. Hyman became the first Michigan player to record 20 goals in a season since Louie Caporusso, and the first player to score 50 points or more since Carl Hagelin in the 2009–2010 season. Hyman led the team to 17 multiple-point games, six of which had three or more points, out of a total of 17 multiple-point games. Hyman had a career-high five points against the University of Massachusetts Lowell on October 24, 2014, his first hat-trick in career.

Hyman was selected to the 50th Great Lakes Invitational Tournament team in December 2014, where he helped Michigan win its 16th Tournament title against Michigan Technological University and Michigan State University.

Hyman was named to the 2014–15 All-Big Ten First Team after a stellar senior season with the Wolverines, and named as an AHCA First Team All-American. Hyman was also selected as a top-ten finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. He was also voted the SB Nation College Hockey Most Valuable Player of the SB Nation College Hockey Big Ten Media Most Valuable Player.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA) and EAS Sports Nutrition presented Hyman with the 2015 All-American Athlete Award on March 27, 2015. Hyman's athletic accomplishments and his dedication to strength and conditioning were recognized by the award.

Hyman was named as one of five finalists for the 11th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup Awards at the Atlanta History Center on April 27, 2015, and was named one of the most outstanding role models among athletes.

Hyman graduated from Michigan with a history major in Literature, Science, and the Arts. He was a three-time Big Ten All-Academic Award winner and a two-time winner of the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award, with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

Former standout Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh and Tom Brady were named as a Senior Athlete of the Year Award winner for the 2014–15 season at Michigan's Bob Ufer Quarterback Club's Annual Banquet on May 4, 2015. Heisman Winner Desmond Howard in 1992, Brian Wiseman in 1994, Marty Turco in 1998, Kevin Porter in 2008, and Carl Hagelin in 2011.

Hyman was selected from a group of University of Michigan students named as part of the Capital One First Team Academic All-District Selects on May 14, 2015, and his name was submitted for Academic All-American consideration by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). As selected by CoSIDA, Hyman was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Men's At-Large team on June 11, 2015. Following Jeff Jillson's demise in 2001, Hyman became the first to be named a member of the First Team Academic All American, and the second to be named First Team Academic All American.

The University of Michigan Athletic Department named Hyman the 2014-2015 Michigan Athlete of the Year on June 22, 2015. Following Brendan Morrison in 1997 and Kevin Porter in 2008, Hyman became the third ice hockey player to be honoured, after Brendan Morrison in 1997 and Kevin Porter in 2008.

In the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Hyman was drafted 123rd overall by the Florida Panthers. The Panthers gave Hyman a guaranteed NHL deal at the end of his college career, but the Panthers denied him and went to a free agency.

Hyman's playing rights were purchased by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Florida Panthers in exchange for center Greg McKegg and a conditional draft pick (conditions not fulfilled), ahead of his scheduled release date on July 1, 2015. Hyman began working with Toronto on June 23, extending his two-year-perspective contract.

On October 9, 2015, Hyman made his professional debut for the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, where he scored his first professional point and assisted on a Byron Froese goal in the second period. On November 7, Hyman scored his first professional goal, a short-handed goal against Binghamton Senator Matt O'Connor.

The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Hyman on February 29, 2016. He scored 13 goals and 20 assists in 54 games for the Marlies this season and led the AHL in short-handed goals prior to being recalled. In a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning later that night, he made his NHL debut, clocking 15:58 minutes, 22 shifts, two shots, and one miss. He scored his first NHL goal against Chad Johnson of the Buffalo Sabres on March 7, just a week later.

In preparation for the AHL Calder Cup playoffs, Hyman was loaned to the Marlies on March 31, 2016. The team was disqualified in the third round as one of the Calder Cup's favorites. In the team's 15-game run, Hyman earned 6 points. Despite sustaining an injury (broken nose) in a game against the Hershey Bears, Hyman played every game.

Hyman earned a permanent spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs' front page roster on October 11, 2016, and he was on the 2016–17 regular season Centennial team's opening day roster. On a line with fellow rookies Auston Matthews and William Nylander, he served for the season opener against the Ottawa Senators on October 12, 2010. Hyman assisted on Auston Matthews' first-ever NHL goal in the first period of play.

During the 2016–17 NHL season, a number of Toronto Maple Leafs team records were either tied or broken by Hyman. Hyman scored his third short-handed goals of the season on February 6, 2017, beating the previous Maple Leafs record for the number of short-handed goals scored by a rookie, which had been suspended by Gus Mortson since 1946–47. With an assist, Hyman tied for the most games with an assist by a rookie, Bob Nevin, and Frank Nigro, who all played six games. When playing for the Florida Panthers on March 28, 2017, Hyman set the Toronto Maple Leafs record for most short-handed goals in a single season by a rookie with four.

Hyman's first multi-point game was on March 15, 2016. In an eventual 8–5 victory over the New York Rangers, he played another multi-point game with two points on October 7, 2017.

The Maple Leafs' Ron Hyman signed a four-year, $9 million contract extension on July 5, 2017.

During the 2017–18 season, Hyman skated on the Maple Leafs' top line. He set career highs in goals as well as assist and points. Hyman's fourth goal on December 29, 2017, his fifth goal in his career. The goal is the third highest goal by a Maple Leafs' player in their first three NHL seasons, behind only Rick Valiant (seven) and Lanny McDonald (six). For the second year in a row, the Maple Leafs qualified for the postseason, losing in the first round in seven games to the Boston Bruins.

After recovering from Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, Hyman missed the 2019-20 season. In a 5–4 loss to the New York Islanders on November 13, he made his season debut on November 13. In only 51 games, Hyman finished the season with 21 goals and 37 points.

Before the 2020–21 season, Hyman was named as an Alternate Captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Following his RFA deal, Hyman initially hoped to remain in Toronto with the Maple Leafs. Nonetheless, it was also clear that the team's salary cap concerns had put a contract out of reach after preliminary talks, making a decision out of reach. He began discussions with the Edmonton Oilers shortly after. Hyman agreed to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract with the Oilers on July 28, 2021. When Hyman signed, he cited the opportunity to work alongside players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as one of the team's most valuable draws.

Hyman scored a power play goal on his first return to the Oilers against the Vancouver Canucks in October 15's season opener. In his first 26 games, Hyman scored 11 goals and 8 assists before missing three games due to a minor shoulder injury resulting from an altercation with Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Brady Skjei. One of the games he missed was against the Leafs, to his dissatisfaction, before the league itself came to a halt due to the Omicron version. The Oilers' good start to the season were greeted by a dramatic decrease in results, which culminated in a 2–11–2 stretch of games in December and January. By early February, the team had fallen out of a playoff position. General manager Ken Holland fired coach Dave Tippett and swapped him with Jay Woodcroft, former coach of the Oilers AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors, amid extensive media coverage of the Oilers' lack of depth scoring and questionable goaltending. Woodcroft's early experiments with the lineup included playing Hyman more on the top lines with McDavid and Draisaitl. After the coaching change with a 26–9-3 record, the Oilers regained their form under Woodcroft, finishing the season in second place in the Pacific Division to qualify for the playoffs. With 27 goals and 27 assists, Hyman had his best regular season in career. The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, winning the series in seven games and allowing Hyman to progress to the second round for the first time in his career. In the second round of the playoff "Battle of Alberta," the Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames in the first playoff "Battle of Alberta" in 31 years. In 5 games, Hyman had an outstanding run, scoring 6 goals and 8 points, the first Oiler to score a goal in every game of a playoff series. The Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Final, meeting the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche, where the Oilers lost the series in four straight. Hyman had his best playoff run of his career, scoring 11 goals and 16 points in 16 games.

Writing career

Under Penguin Random House's contract, Hyman is also a best-selling author.

George, a young Yankees fan who especially admires Babe Ruth and wears his baseball card everywhere, is his award-winning children's book The Bambino and Me, which earned a starred Kirkus Review, evokes 1920s New York. Hockey Hero, his second book, was released in October 2015 and is about a shy hockey player who is overcoming his brother's shadow and eventually fulfills his dream.

The Magician's Secret, his latest book, which was published on April 3, 2018, is a best seller. In his Magic Story Chest, Charlie's adventures unfold as he listens to tales from his grandfather that have been saved in his Magic Story Chest. Charlie comes to learn that believing in dreams can make them come true. The Ontario Library Association has also selected The Magician's Secret for the 2019 Blue Spruce Award.

He is currently working on his fourth children's book for Penguin Random House, this time about basketball.

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