Jason Polin

Jason Polin
Born (1999-06-17) June 17, 1999 (age 25)
Holt, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Eagles (AHL)
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2023–present

Jason Polin (born June 17, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Polin played college ice hockey at Western Michigan.

Playing career

Junior

Polin played three seasons for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League (USHL). During this time he attended Washington High School. During the 2018–19 season, he ranked second on the team in scoring with 50 points on 30 goals and 20 assists.[1] During his career with the RoughRiders, he recorded 55 goals and 38 assists in 163 games.[2]

College

Polin began his collegiate career for the Western Michigan Broncos during the 2019–20 season, where he recorded seven goals and two assists in 31 games. During the 2020–21 season in his sophomore year, he recorded seven goals and seven assists in 23 games, in a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2021–22 season in his junior year, he recorded 16 goals and ten assists in 39 games.[2]

On September 15, 2022, he was named captain for the 2022–23 season.[3] On December 29, 2022, during the championship game at the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI), Polin recorded his fifth hat trick of the season to help the Broncos win the GLI, and was subsequently named the tournament MVP.[4] He became the first player in GLI history to score six goals in a single tournament, surpassing the previous record of five held by six different players.[5] His five hat tricks ranked second all-time in Western Michigan program history, one short of the record of six set by Ross Fitzpatrick in 1982.[6] During his senior year he had career highs in points (47), goals (30), assists (17), shots (152), power-play goals (6), game-winning goals (4), shorthanded goals (2) and plus-minus (+26). His 30 goals tied for the NCAA lead, with Adam Fantilli, and set a National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) single-season record, surpassing the previous record of 29 goals set by Josh Archibald in 2014.[7] He also led the NCAA in hat tricks and set an NCHC record with five. Following an outstanding season, he was named NCHC Player of the Year and NCHC Forward of the Year and an AHCA West Second Team All-American. He became the first Broncos player to win the award.[8] He was also named a top-ten finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.[9] He finished his collegiate career with 60 goals and 36 assists in 132 games.[10]

Professional

On March 29, 2023, Polin signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche for the 2023–24 season.[11] He was subsequently assigned to the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles on a professional tryout.[12]

After overcoming an early season injury, Polin earned a recall to the Avalanche at the mid-point the season and made his NHL debut in a fourth-line role against the Boston Bruins on January 8, 2024.[13] He later registered his first NHL goal and point, scoring to level the game at 2-2 in an eventual 7-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on January 16, 2024.[14][15] Returning the Eagles following 7 appearances, Polin played out the remainder of the season in the AHL, posting 4 goals and 10 points through 42 regular season games.

As a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season, Polin was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Avalanche for the 2024–25 season on July 6, 2024.[16]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 60 8 5 13 12 — — — — —
2017–18 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 38 12 9 21 12 — — — — —
2018–19 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 59 30 20 50 37 6 5 4 9 4
2019–20 Western Michigan University NCHC 31 7 2 9 8 — — — — —
2020–21 Western Michigan University NCHC 23 7 7 14 4 — — — — —
2021–22 Western Michigan University NCHC 39 16 10 26 4 — — — — —
2022–23 Western Michigan University NCHC 39 30 17 47 13 — — — — —
2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 7 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 2
2023–24 Colorado Eagles AHL 42 4 6 10 21 2 0 0 0 0
2023–24 Colorado Avalanche NHL 7 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 7 1 0 1 2 — — — — —

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
All-NCHC First Team 2023 [17]
NCHC Player of the Year 2023 [18]
NCHC Forward of the Year 2023
AHCA West Second Team All-American 2023 [19]

References

  1. ^ "Jason Polin to Bring Grit, Determination and a Touch of Scoring to WMU Hockey". wmubroncos.com. May 9, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Jason Polin Bio". wmubroncos.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Jason Polin Named Captain for 2022-23 Season". wmubroncos.com. September 15, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Polin's Fifth Hat Trick Helps Lead WMU to Great Lakes Invitational Glory". wmubroncos.com. December 29, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Nothaft, Patrick (December 28, 2022). "WMU hockey captain makes history in GLI championship win over Ferris State". MLive.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Sikes, Ryan (January 3, 2023). "Polin Makes History at GLI". collegehockeynews.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  7. ^ Epstein, Ben (March 5, 2023). "WMU hockey captain Jason Polin ties NCHC record for goals in a season". Western Herald. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Epstein, Ben (March 17, 2023). "Polin awarded both NCHC Player and Forward of the Year, Ferschweiler named Coach of the Year". Western Herald. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Hobey Baker Award finalists include 4 with ties to state of Michigan". The Detroit News. March 15, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "Avalanche Signs Jason Polin". NHL.com. March 29, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Durando, Bennett (March 29, 2023). "NCAA goals leader Jason Polin signs one-year deal with Avalanche, joins AHL Eagles on professional tryout". The Denver Post. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  12. ^ "Jason Polin Signs Entry-Level Contract With Colorado Avalanche". wmubroncos.com. March 29, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "Colorado Avalanche's Jason Polin makes NHL debut". The Denver Gazette. January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  14. ^ "Avalanache pull away in third period in 7-4 win over Senators". ESPN. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Polin's first NHL goal". National Hockey League. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "Avalanche signs Jason Polin". Colorado Avalanche. July 6, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  17. ^ "NCHC Reveals 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". nchchockey.com. March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  18. ^ "Quartet of NCHC Players Named 2022-23 CCM/AHCA All-Americans". nchchockey.com. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  19. ^ "2022-23 Men's CCM Hockey Division I All-Americans". ahcahockey.com. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by NCHC Forward of the Year
2022–23 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NCHC Player of the Year
2022–23 		Succeeded by