John - Michael Liles John - Michael Liles ( born November 25 , 1980 ) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL . He is also a minority owner of the Indiana Ice of the USHL . Playing career . Amateur career . Born in Indianapolis , Indiana and raised in Zionsville , Indiana , Liles played most of his minor hockey in nearby Carmel before entering the Culver Military Academy in Culver , Indiana . Liles attended Culver Military Academy and lettered in hockey and golf . In hockey , he was the varsity " B " team ' s MVP . He also played on the Varsity " A " team as a sophomore . Liles was then invited and selected to play in the U . S . National Team Development Program based in Ann Arbor in which he was an integral part of the blueline in both the Under 17 ' s and Under 18 ' s . In the 1999 – 00 season he was recruited to play collegiate hockey with Michigan State University of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and as a Freshman led the defensemen in scoring with an impressive 28 points in 40 games . Emerging as an offensive talent but hindered by size , Liles was drafted in the 5th round , 159th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche . Alongside Brad Fast he formed a star offensive duo among Spartan defencemen and in his sophomore year scored 25 points in 42 contests to be named to the All - CCHA Second Team . In the 2001 – 02 season , Liles led the entire MSU team in scoring with 35 points to be selected in the All - CCHA First Team and Second All - American Team . On October 6 , 2001 he also took part in the famous Cold War outdoor game , which at that time held the attendance record for an ice hockey game , against the University of Michigan . During his senior season with the Spartans , Liles again led the team in scoring with 50 points in just 39 games while helping Michigan State to a 23 – 14 – 2 record . Earning the CCHA Best Offensive Defensemen Award for the second consecutive year he scored an average of 1 . 28 points per game for Michigan State and was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award . Professional career . After completing his Collegiate career he was then signed to a two - year entry level contract with the Avalanche on March 29 , 2003 . Signing an amateur try - out contract the following day with Colorado ' s AHL affiliate , the Hershey Bears , Liles made his professional debut against the Grand Rapids Griffins on March 30 and played in 10 games to end the 2002 – 03 season . In the 2003 – 04 season , Liles made the Avalanche straight out of College and scored his first NHL goal and point , a game - winner , against the Minnesota Wild on October 16 , 2003 . John - Michael led all rookie defensmen with 10 goals and 34 points in 79 games to be named to the NHL All - Rookie Team while also becoming highest point scoring rookie defenceman in Avalanche history and second in franchise history since Bruce Bell ' s 37 with the Quebec Nordiques in 1984 – 85 . During the NHL lockout the next season , he enjoyed a brief stint in the German DEL for the Iserlohn Roosters playing in 17 contests for 11 points . Liles returned to the Avalanche for the 2005 – 06 season and established himself within the Avalanche D - corps appearing in all 82 games and finished tied first with Rob Blake for 14 goals on the team . Improving his offensive numbers in every category Liles also set a new club record among Colorado defensemen with 14 points in the Month of October . Following another impressive season he was then re - signed to a new two - year contract on July 12 , 2006 . With the arrival of rookie Paul Stastny surprisingly making the team in 2006 – 07 he gave up his No . 26 jersey , that of former Nordiques great Peter Stastny , for Paul to wear to honour his father . With the change to the No . 4 jersey he led the Avalanche defense in scoring with 14 goals and 44 points , placing tenth in the NHL . In reaching his 10th goal against the Dallas Stars on December 27 , 2006 , Liles became the first defensemen in the NHL since Steve Duchesne in 1987 – 88 to score 10 plus goals in his first three years in the NHL . After suffering the disappointment of failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in Avalanche History , Liles helped lead the team return to the post season in 2007 – 08 . On December 17 , 2007 , he recorded two helpers against the Los Angeles Kings to surpass 100 career assists in the NHL . Despite leading the defense in scoring for a second consecutive year he recorded a career low 6 goals for 32 points in 81 games . With free - agency hours from approaching Liles was re - signed to a new four - year contract with the Avalanche on June 30 , 2008 . In the 2008 – 09 season , Liles rebounded offensively to again top all Avalanche defensemen in goals with 12 , and ranked 4th on the team in points with 39 as the struggling Avalanche finished a club worst 27th in the NHL . Transitioning into a senior role the Colorado defense , he scored his 50th career goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 29 , 2009 to become only the 5th defender in Quebec / Colorado history to achieve the feat . Hampered by a re - occurring shoulder injury midway through the 2009 – 10 season , he also struggled with returning to form and was a healthy scratch for a brief period of time for the first time in his career . Despite playing in a career low 59 regular season games for 31 points , he still led the resurgent youth - laden Avalanche team in scoring as a defenseman for a fourth consecutive season . To begin the 2010 – 11 season , Liles made NHL and franchise history when he recorded an assist in a 4 - 3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 24 , 2010 , giving him assists in 9 consecutive games to open the season . Despite the Avalanche failing to qualify for the playoffs , Liles accumulated a career high 40 assists in 76 games . On June 24 , 2011 Liles was traded by the Avalanche to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2nd round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft . He scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets International play . Initially Liles was selected to play for Team USA in the 2000 World Junior Championships in Umea , Sweden but suffered an injured shoulder in the last minute of the last exhibition game to rule him out of the tournament . During the 2004 – 05 NHL Lockout , Liles finally made his international debut when he was recalled prior to his European stint with Islerhohn Roosters as an injury replacement for Hal Gill for the 2004 World Cup . After scoring in his first exhibition game against Russia , he played in 2 games during the World Cup . His place was retained within Team USA when he was named , along side future teammate Jordan Leopold , as apart of the young nucleus in the squad to appear at the 2005 World Championships . Liles went pointless in 7 games before finishing in 6th place after elimination in the quarterfinals to eventual Gold medalists , the Czech Republic . During the 2005 – 06 season , John - Michael was named to the United States Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino , Italy . He appeared in all 6 games for the underwhelming United States team recording 2 assists before suffering elimination in an quarterfinal loss to Finland 4 - 3 . Three years later he returned to the National Team when he was added to play in the 2009 World Championships following Colorado ' s cellar dwelling season in 2008 – 09 . He finished the tournament with the most points on the team , and second most points for a defenseman in the entire tournament , earning nine points in nine games . Team USA ended up fourth overall , losing the bronze medal to Sweden .