Kevin Lynch (ice hockey)

Kevin Lynch
Lynch with the Laval Rocket in 2020
Born (1991-04-23) April 23, 1991 (age 33)
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Center
Shot Right
Played for Syracuse Crunch
Manitoba Moose
Laval Rocket
NHL draft 56th overall, 2009
Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career 2013–2021

Kevin Lynch (born April 23, 1991) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the American Hockey League (AHL). Lynch was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2nd round (56th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Lynch attended the University of Michigan where he played four seasons (2009 – 2013) of NCAA hockey with the Michigan Wolverines. He was a member of the 2008–09 CCHA champion Wolverines.[1]

Kevin Lynch with the Michigan Wolverines at Joe Louis Arena on January 11, 2012.

On September 10, 2013, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League signed Lynch to a one-year contract.[2] After attending the Griffins training camp, he was reassigned to ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Walleye to begin the 2013-14 season. Lynch spent the duration of the season in the ECHL, and after 53 games with the Walleye was reassigned to the Evansville IceMen.

On September 11, 2014, Lynch decided to continue in the ECHL, signing a one-year deal with the Florida Everblades.[3] On December 15, 2014, Lynch was signed to an AHL contract for the remainder of the season with the Everblades affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.[4]

On July 7, 2016, Lynch's rights were traded by the Everblades to the Indy Fuel. He then agreed to a one-year deal with the Fuel.[5]

On January 21, 2017, the Crunch signed Lynch to a PTO.[6] He spent the remainder of the season with the Crunch and the entirety of their Calder Cup playoff run to the finals. Following the finish of the season, the Crunch signed Lynch to a one-year AHL contract for the 2017–18 season.[7]

Following the season, Lynch was signed to a one-year, two-way contract by NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning.[8] He missed the entirety of the 2018–19 season due to many injuries sustained throughout the season and three surgeries.[9] He had suffered a concussion and leg injury in preseason action with the Lightning, a groin injury in October 2018, and they were all followed by three surgeries dealing with his injuries.

Lynch earned an offer to 2019 Lightning Training camp despite being a pending free agent. He was later released without a contract and signed to a one-year AHL contract with the Laval Rocket on October 1, 2019.[10] He would spend the 2019–20 season with Laval before being released after appearing in 7 regular season games to start the 2020–21 season.[11]

As a free agent into the off-season, Lynch continued his professional career in agreeing to a one-year AHL contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins on August 9, 2021.[12]

International play

As a junior, Lynch played the USA Hockey National Team Development Program from 2007 – 2009.[13] He won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships,[14] and was recognized for his outstanding performance during the tournament when he was named a Top 3 Player for his team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 U.S. National Development Team NAHL 43 11 4 15 24 3 2 0 2 0
2008–09 U.S. National Development Team NAHL 16 8 7 15 14 — — — — —
2009–10 University of Michigan CCHA 45 6 10 16 44 — — — — —
2010–11 University of Michigan CCHA 44 11 5 16 36 — — — — —
2011–12 University of Michigan CCHA 39 8 5 13 30 — — — — —
2012–13 University of Michigan CCHA 40 10 17 27 46 — — — — —
2013–14 Toledo Walleye ECHL 53 10 18 28 10 — — — — —
2013–14 Evansville IceMen ECHL 14 3 4 7 6 — — — — —
2014–15 Florida Everblades ECHL 11 2 5 7 12 — — — — —
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 53 3 1 4 20 1 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Florida Everblades ECHL 62 22 36 58 32 6 2 2 4 6
2015–16 Manitoba Moose AHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2016–17 Indy Fuel ECHL 35 11 13 24 37 — — — — —
2016–17 Syracuse Crunch AHL 37 5 2 7 18 19 3 2 5 10
2017–18 Syracuse Crunch AHL 57 14 12 26 48 7 2 3 5 8
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 54 7 14 21 36 — — — — —
2020–21 Laval Rocket AHL 7 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
AHL totals 215 30 30 60 124 27 5 5 10 18

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 United States U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 3 1 4 6
2009 United States U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 5 5 10 6
Junior totals 13 8 6 14 12

Awards and honors

Award Year
International
IIHF World U18 Championship Gold Medal with Team USA 2009 [15]
2009 IIHF World U18 Championships Top 3 Player on Team 2009

References

  1. ^ "Kevin Lynch Bio". University of Michigan. December 12, 2012. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  2. ^ "Griffins sign Lynch to AHL deal". Grand Rapids Griffins. September 10, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  3. ^ "'Blades add center Kevin Lynch". Florida Everblades. September 11, 2014. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "Kevin Lynch signed to AHL pact". Syracuse Crunch. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  5. ^ "Fuel receive top 20 scorer in trade with Florida". Indy Fuel. July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "Syracuse Crunch sign forward Kevin Lynch to PTO". Syracuse Crunch. January 21, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "Syracuse Crunch sign forward Kevin Lynch to AHL contract". Syracuse Crunch. June 21, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Forward Kevin Lynch to One-Year, Two-Way Contract". Syracuse Crunch. July 1, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "It's been the cruelest of seasons for 3 Crunch players". syracuse.com. April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  10. ^ "Rocket agree to terms with Kevin Lynch". Twitter. October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  11. ^ "Minor Transactions: 03/01/21". prohockeyrumors.com. March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  12. ^ "Kevin Lynch signs one-year deal with Griffins". Grand Rapids Griffins. August 9, 2021. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Griffins sign Wolverines alum Kevin Lynch". MiHockeyNow & Michigan Hockey Magazine. September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  14. ^ "Coyotes draft Chris Brown". michiganhocke.net. June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  15. ^ "Team USA takes gold at U18's. Finland takes bronze". Hockeys Future.com. December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
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