Jeff Skinner

**Jeff Skinner** (born Jeffrey Scott Skinner on May 16, 1992 on Markham, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL.

Skinner was drafted 7th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Involved in both ice hockey and figure skating growing up, Jeff won a bronze medal in the juvenile division at the 2004 Canadian Junior National Figure Skating Championships. Soon after, he made the decision to focus solely on hockey.

He played minor ice hockey with the Toronto Jr. Canadians and Toronto Young Nationals of the Greater Toronto Hockey League and the Markham Waxers of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association.

In his midget hockey career, Jeff played on the wing with future Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. He played in the 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with Markham.

Coming off a successful season with the Toronto Young Nationals, he was drafted 20th overall in the 2008 Ontario Hockey League draft by the Kitchener Rangers. He made his OHL debut on September 18, 2008 where he recorded two goals and an assist in the 4–2 win over the Plymouth Whalers.

By November 13, 2008, Jeff was selected to compete with Team Canada at the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge where he helped the team win a gold medal by scoring the game-winning goal.

A few days later, he was presented with the Rangers Academic Player of the Month Award for his academic success while attending Eastwood Collegiate.

After leading the Rangers in scoring through his rookie campaign, Jeff participated in the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, scoring 6 goals for 6 points, while winning the gold medal with Team Canada. Upon his return to the Ontario Hockey League for his sophomore season, he was named an Assistant Captain alongside Mike Mascioli.

During the season, he scored 50 goals and led all CHL draft-eligible forwards in goal scoring, becoming the first Ranger in 23 years to reach the 50-goal milestone.

Despite leading the league in goals at the time, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Jeff as the 47th best North American skater during their midterm rankings and only 34th during the final rankings; this contrasted ratings from other organizations such as ISS and TSN's Bob McKenzie who had him much higher.

### Professional

In his first year of eligibility, Jeff was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. During his first NHL training camp, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Hurricanes on September 21, 2010, worth $2.7 million.

On October 7, 2010, he made his NHL debut with the opening roster in the Hurricanes' 4–3 win against the Minnesota Wild during the NHL Premiere Series in Helsinki, Finland. In 16 minutes of ice time, he had two shots.

The following day, Jeff recorded his first career NHL point with an assist on Tuomo Ruutu's goal. He also scored the game winning shootout goal to become the third-youngest player in NHL history to score a shootout goal.

On October 20, 2010, he scored his first NHL career goal against Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings in his fifth game of the season.

Midway through his rookie campaign, Jeff was named to the 2011 All-Star Game roster as an injury replacement for Sidney Crosby, making him the first member of the 2010 draft class to be named to the All-Star Game and the first 18-year-old NHL All-Star since Steve Yzerman.

He was chosen by fellow Hurricane Eric Staal, captain of Team Staal. He was later named January 2011's NHL Rookie of the Month.

At the NHL Awards ceremony on June 22, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jeff was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie, beating-out fellow rookies Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks & Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders. At that time, he was the NHL's youngest player as well as the first Hurricanes player to ever win the Calder.

After his successful rookie campaign, Jeff was named to Team Canada's National Team to compete at the 2011 IIHF World Championship, becoming the youngest player in the tournament;hHowever, he returned to the Hurricanes lineup for his sophomore season without a medal after Canada placed fifth.

Jeff began the season strong, recording 12 goals and 12 assists in 30 games to lead the team in scoring, yet it would be cut short due to a hit by Andy Sutton; the hit which occurred during a game against the Edmonton Oilers on December 7, 2011, caused him to miss time due to a concussion. He eventually returned to the Hurricanes lineup after missing 16 games on January 5, 2012.

As he slowly accumulated to playing again, Jeff was suspended two games for kicking Scott Nichol of the St. Louis Blues on March 15, 2012.

During the offseason, and the final year of his entry-level contract, Jeff and the Hurricanes agreed to a six-year contract extension worth $34.4 million which would keep him under contract until the 2018–19 season.

Jeff's third season in the NHL was once again plagued with injuries; on February 14, 2013, he was diagnosed with an upper-body injury, later deemed a concussion, after a game in Toronto.

To begin the 2013–14 season, Jeff recorded nine points in nine games to lead the team. On December 4, 2013, he earned his first career hat trick against the Nashville Predators; however, his high scoring play ended during the 2014–15 season when he sustained a concussion on a hit from Washington Capitals defenceman Matt Niskanen. He accumulated only 31 points that season and had an eight game long pointless streak.

On December 11, 2015, Jeff recorded his second hat trick against the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-1 victory. Three games later, on December 15, 2015, he scored another hat trick, this time against the Philadelphia Flyers.

He was named the alternate captain of the Hurricanes for the 2016–17 and the 2017–18 seasons.

On August 2, 2018, after eight seasons with the Hurricanes, Jeff was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Cliff Pu, a second-round selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and a 3rd & 6th-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

In November 2018, he became the second player in Sabres' history to score 20 goals before December and the seventh player to score at least 20 goals in less than 27 games.

On April 6, 2019, he scored twice in the season finale against the Detroit Red Wings, upping his total to 40 goals scored on the season, making it the first time in his career that has reached that mark.

On June 7, 2019, Jeff re-signed with the Sabres on an eight-year, $72 million contract extension with an annual average of $9 million.

## Personal Life

Jeff is the son of Andrew Skinner and Elisabeth Campin, who are lawyers. He has five siblings: brother Benjamin and sisters: Jennifer, Andrea, Erica & Jillian; Benjamin currently plays hockey for the Herforder EV in Germany.

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