Keith Aucoin

Keith Aucoin
Aucoin with the Islanders during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Born (1978-11-06) November 6, 1978 (age 46)
Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 171 lb (78 kg; 12 st 3 lb)
Position Center
Shot Right
Played for Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals
New York Islanders
St. Louis Blues
HC Ambrì-Piotta
EHC München
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2001–2018

Keith M. Aucoin (born November 6, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, and St. Louis Blues.

Playing career

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He was raised in Waltham and then Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and attended Chelmsford High School.[citation needed] Aucoin spent four seasons with Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, where he was the leading scorer in the 1999 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament,[1] before turning professional in 2001. Aucoin made his NHL debut during the 2005–06 NHL season with the Carolina Hurricanes. It was at the end of this season that he was a member of the "Black Aces," a group of players kept on the roster as healthy scratches for the Hurricanes' playoff run that ended with the Hurricanes being crowned Stanley Cup champions. Aucoin did not have his name added to the cup as he did not play in any of the playoff games, but can be seen on the ice during the celebration and did receive a championship ring. He would go on to play 53 regular season games for the Hurricanes over three seasons, scoring 5 goals and 15 points.

Aucoin in action with the Chicago Wolves in 2014.

On July 3, 2008, Aucoin signed with the Washington Capitals. After attending the Capitals training camp for the 2008–09 season, the Capitals sent Aucoin to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. Aucoin's presence with Hershey had an immediate impact as he won the Reebok Player of the Week honors on October 12, 2008, and then the AHL Player of the Month for October 2008. In his first 20 games of 2008, he scored 8 goals with 21 assists. In December 2008, Aucoin was called up to the NHL with the Capitals, playing in 12 games, scoring two goals and assisting on four. He was reassigned back to the Bears for the playoffs where he won the Calder Cup in six games over the Manitoba Moose.

During the 2009–10 season, Aucoin was re-signed to a two-year contract extension on March 8, 2010. In helping the Bears capture a second consecutive Calder Cup, he was awarded the Les Cunningham Award as the league's most valuable player during the regular season.[2]

For the 2011–12 season, Aucoin made the Capitals opening night roster due to injuries of other forwards.[3] He played in 27 games for 11 points over the course of the season and was a regular in the playoffs. It was the most time he spent in the NHL since 2008.

On July 21, 2012, Keith signed a one-year two-way deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.[4] With the intention to bolster the offense of Maple Leafs affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, Aucoin was directly assigned to the AHL to start the 2012–13 season. After the resolution of the NHL lockout, Aucoin was recalled to the Maple Leafs training camp. On reassignment to the Marlies, he was claimed off waivers from the New York Islanders on January 17, 2013.[5] Despite the shortened season, Aucoin played his first full season in the NHL. In 41 games, he produced 6 goals and 12 points in a checking line role and helped the Islanders return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

On July 5, 2013, Keith signed as a free agent to a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues organization.[6] Aucoin's contract with the Blues was not renewed at the end of the season.

Keith Aucoin with Ambrì in 2014

On June 13, 2014, after failing to secure a tryout with any other NHL team, Aucoin signed a two-year deal with Swiss club, HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League A.[7] Aucoin enjoyed a successful debut season in Europe with Piotta, contributing with 31 points in 41 regular season games. Unable to progress to the playoffs, Aucoin left Switzerland after one season, to sign a one-year contract in Germany with EHC München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) on June 19, 2015. He remained with EHC München for his final three seasons before officially retiring in 2018.[8]

Having played the majority of his career in the AHL, Aucoin finishing seventh all-time in league scoring was later inducted as a part of the 2022 Class to the AHL Hall of Fame.[9]

Post playing career

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Aucoin returned to Massachusetts following his 17 year professional career, spending four seasons (2018–2022) within the coaching ranks of the EHL with the Boston Jr. Rangers and Worcester Jr. Railers.

Prior to the 2022–23 season, Aucoin accepted a professional scouting position with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.[10]

Personal

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Keith's younger brother, Phil Aucoin (born 1981), also played professional ice hockey.[11]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Chelmsford High School HS–MA
1996–97 Chelmsford High School HS–MA
1997–98 Norwich University ECAC East 26 19 14 33 16 — — — — —
1998–99 Norwich University ECAC East 31 33 39 72 14 — 3 7 10 —
1999–2000 Norwich University ECAC East 31 36 41 77 14 — — — — —
2000–01 Norwich University ECAC East 28 26 30 56 26 — — — — —
2001–02 B.C. Icemen UHL 44 23 35 58 42 10 3 5 8 4
2001–02 Florida Everblades ECHL 1 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2001–02 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 30 6 10 16 8 — — — — —
2002–03 Providence Bruins AHL 78 25 49 74 71 4 0 1 1 6
2003–04 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 80 18 30 48 64 9 0 3 3 4
2004–05 Memphis RiverKings CHL 5 4 5 9 10 — — — — —
2004–05 Providence Bruins AHL 72 21 45 66 49 17 4 14 18 18
2005–06 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 72 29 56 85 68 — — — — —
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 6 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2006–07 Albany River Rats AHL 65 27 72 99 108 5 1 3 4 7
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 8 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Albany River Rats AHL 38 8 37 45 38 — — — — —
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 38 5 8 13 10 — — — — —
2008–09 Hershey Bears AHL 70 25 71 96 73 21 5 18 23 16
2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 12 2 4 6 4 — — — — —
2009–10 Hershey Bears AHL 72 35 71 106 49 21 2 23 25 2
2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 9 1 4 5 0 — — — — —
2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 53 18 54 72 49 6 2 6 8 2
2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Washington Capitals NHL 27 3 8 11 0 14 0 2 2 2
2011–12 Hershey Bears AHL 43 11 59 70 34 — — — — —
2012–13 Toronto Marlies AHL 34 10 27 37 40 — — — — —
2012–13 New York Islanders NHL 41 6 6 12 4 6 0 3 3 10
2013–14 Chicago Wolves AHL 62 11 32 43 24 9 2 4 6 2
2013–14 St. Louis Blues NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 HC Ambrì–Piotta NLA 41 7 24 31 18 — — — — —
2015–16 EHC München DEL 51 13 28 41 34 14 2 12 14 2
2016–17 EHC München DEL 52 15 34 49 52 14 4 8 12 10
2017–18 EHC München DEL 52 11 52 63 18 17 4 11 15 2
AHL totals 769 244 613 857 675 92 16 72 87 57
NHL totals 145 17 32 49 22 20 0 5 5 12
DEL totals 155 39 115 154 104 45 10 31 41 14

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
ECAC East First All-Conference Team 2000, 2001
ECAC East Player of the Year 2000, 2001
NCAA Division III Champion 2000
AHL
All-Star Game 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
Second All-Star Team 2006, 2007, 2011 [12]
First All-Star Team 2009, 2010, 2012 [13]
Calder Cup Champion 2009, 2010
John B. Sollenberger Trophy 2010 [14]
Les Cunningham Award 2010
DEL
Champion 2016, 2017, 2018
Forward of the Year 2018
Player of the Year 2018

References

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  1. ^ "Division III Men's Ice Hockey Record Book" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved Mar 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Keith Aucoin named AHL's Most Valuable Player". Hershey Bears. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  3. ^ "2011-12 NHL Opening Rosters". National Hockey League. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  4. ^ Carrera, Katie (2012-07-21). "Keith Aucoin signs with Toronto Maple Leafs". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  5. ^ "Islanders claim Aucoin off waivers". New York Islanders. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
  6. ^ "Blues sign Aucoin, Lapierre". National Hockey League. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  7. ^ "Keith Aucoin new center for Ambri" (in Italian). HC Ambrì-Piotta. 2014-06-13. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  8. ^ "AUCOIN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM PRO HOCKEY". theAHL.com. April 30, 2018.
  9. ^ "Long road leads Aucoin to AHL Hall of Fame". American Hockey League. February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Chelmsfords Keith Aucoin back in pro hockey as scout for Colorado Avalanche". telegram.com. October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  11. ^ "Phil Aucoin profile". eliteprospects.com. 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  12. ^ "2010-11 First and Second All-Stars named". AHL. 2011-03-28. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  13. ^ "First and Second All-Stars named". American Hockey League. 2012-04-05. Archived from the original on 2012-04-08. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  14. ^ "Aucoin, Giroux win AHL scoring races". American Hockey League. April 11, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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