Tom Preissing

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
team = Los Angeles Kings
former_teams = San Jose Sharks
Ottawa Senators
league = NHL
position = Defense
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 205
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1978|12|03
birth_place = Arlington Heights, IL, USA
draft = Undrafted
career_start = 2003
website = [http://www.TomPreissing.com TomPreissing.com]

Thomas Joseph Preissing (born December 3, 1978 in Arlington Heights, Illinois) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. He was raised in Rosemount, Minnesota.

Junior and college career

Out of high school where he played four years on the varsity team at Rosemount High School as a forward Preissing played two seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL where then coach Mark Osiecki converted Preissing to a defenceman, paving the way for his future hockey successes. Preissing was signed as a free agent out of college. He played for Colorado College and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, he also captained CC his senior year. He earned NCAA - West First All-American honors. He holds the NCAA record for most goals by a defenseman in a season.

Pro career

Preissing was the San Jose Sharks' rookie of the year in the 2004 season, where he had two goals and seventeen assists in 69 games. He was praised for making the step directly from college to the NHL without stopping in the AHL. In the 2006 season, he has taken a huge step, scoring 43 points in seventy-four games to have the second-highest-scoring season by a defenseman in Sharks history (first being Sandis Ozolinsh).

On July 9, 2006, Preissing and Josh Hennessy were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for power forward Mark Bell. The Hawks immediately traded the two, along with Michal Barinka and a second round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to the Ottawa Senators for Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski.

On July 2, 2007, Tom Preissing signed a four-year contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Los Angeles Kings worth $11 million US. [TSN.com, [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=4965 2007 Free Agent Signings] ]

Awards

*2002–2003: NCAA - West First All-American Team
*2002–2003: Hobey Baker Memorial Award-finalist
*2003–2004: San Jose Sharks Playstation rookie of the year

Career statistics

References

External links

*hockeydb|49763
*TSN-NHL-profile|3382