Jonathan Huberdeau

**Jonathan Huberdeau** (born on June 4, 1993 in Saint-Jerome, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain of the Florida Panthers in the NHL.

Huberdeau was drafted third overall by the Panthers in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Jonathan played Midget AAA hockey with the Ste. Eustache Vikings of the Quebec Midget League. He led the league in scoring during the 2008–09 season.

After his performance, he was drafted in the first round, 18th overall, in the 2009 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Midget draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs. He scored a goal in his first QMJHL game, against the Acadie–Bathurst Titan.

Jonathan was the leading scorer among 16-year-olds in the QMJHL for the 2009–10 season, and scored on all six of his shootout attempts. In January 2010, he was named the QMJHL's scholastic player of the month. The Sea Dogs reached the QMJHL finals during his rookie season.

Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, Jonathan was one of 33 prospects selected to attend the NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp in August. The prospects were invited to participate to try out potential rule changes the NHL was considering, and also to be briefed with information on security and professionalism to assist with their future careers in the public eye.

He was considered a solid prospect for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft at the start of the 2010–11 QMJHL season, and his strong play helped him move up the rankings. He scored 43 goals and added 62 assists in 67 games for the Sea Dogs.

At the end of the 2010–11 season, NHL Central Scouting ranked Jonathan third among North American skaters, moving up one spot from the mid-season rankings.

Ahead of the NHL draft, Russian-based club Vityaz Chekhov made him the fifth overall selection in the 2011 Kontinental Hockey League Junior Draft. After being informed of his selection, he said, "For sure, I don't want to go there. I didn't talk to anybody about that."

The Sea Dogs captured the 2011 QMJHL championship and represented the league at the 2011 Memorial Cup. At the Memorial Cup tournament, the Sea Dogs earned a bye to the final game after victories in their first two round-robin games.

In the final against the Mississauga Majors, Jonathan recorded a goal and an assist, helping the Sea Dogs to a 3–1 victory. He was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament's Most Valuable Player and was named to the tournament's All-Star Team

Jonathan was nominated for three QMJHL awards at the end of the season (including the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player, the Mike Bossy Trophy as top professional prospect and the Paul Dumont Trophy as the QMJHL's personality of the year), but did not win any of the awards. He was named to the league's First All-Star Team.

### Professional

On September 20, 2011 (while playing in his second NHL pre-season game for the Florida Panthers), Jonathan scored a goal against the Nashville Predators.

He played five pre-season games with the Panthers, tallying three goals and one assist to lead the team in pre-season scoring before being sent back to Saint John on October 3, 2011.

Following the conclusion of the2012–13 NHL lockout, he made the Panthers starting roster for the 2012–13 season. He scored his first NHL goal on January 19, 2013, against Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes on the second shift and first shot of his NHL career.

He would add two assists in the 5–1 victory to earn the first star of the game in his NHL debut. NHL regulations allowed the Panthers to keep Jonathan in their lineup for a maximum of five games before they could either return him to his junior team or keep him in Florida.

On January 28, 2013, after registering a goal and two assists in five games, the Panthers announced that he would remain with the Panthers for the remainder of the NHL season. As a result of his outstanding rookie season, Jonathan won the 2013 Calder Memorial Trophy.

In the 2014–15 season, Jonathan scored a career-high 15 goals and 39 assists (54 points) in 77 games played.

After Florida's late-season acquisition of forward Jaromir Jagr from the New Jersey Devils, who was placed on Florida's top line alongside Jonathan and Aleksander Barkov. He recorded 6 goals and 15 assists (21 points) in 20 games played to finish the season.

Jonathan's assists total (39) was the most for a Panther since Stephen Weiss in 2008–09.

At the conclusion of the season, Jonathan was set to become a restricted free agent. On September 6, 2016, the Panthers signed him to a six-year, $35.4 million contract averaging $5.9 million per season.

On November 16, 2019, he surpassed Stephen Weiss to become the all-time leader for the Florida Panthers in assists.

## International Play

Jonathan's first experience with Hockey Canada came when he represented Team Quebec at the 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. He scored two goals and added a single assist in five games.

He represented Canada at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, recording three assists as Canada captured the gold medal.

Jonathan continued his international success by representing Canada at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He scored one goal and four assists in Canada's 8–1 victory over Finland to open the tournament.

## Personal Life

Jonathan was born and raised in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada. His first language is French.

He chose to attend St. Malachy's Memorial High School in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, an English-speaking high school in order to better prepare himself for the NHL.