Colby Armstrong

Colby Armstrong
Born	November 23, 1982 (1982-11-23) (age 28) Lloydminster, SK, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Toronto Maple Leafs Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	21st overall, 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	2002–present

Colby Joseph Armstrong (born November 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, who is an alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Early life

Armstrong grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the city's northeastern neighborhood of Erindale, where he continues to live in the off-season. He played youth hockey with the Saskatoon Red Wings and the Saskatoon Blazers. Additionally, as a child he was a figure-skater. He, along with Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll, Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn and Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Luke Schenn, attended St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon.

Playing career

Armstrong was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft as the 21st pick overall.

In the 2005–06 season, he made his NHL debut, and had a superb rookie campaign, in which he played 47 games tallying 40 points (16G, 24A) and was a team-high plus-15.

Armstrong had three overtime goals for the Penguins in the 2006–07 season, beating Kari Lehtonen of the Atlanta Thrashers, Ed Belfour of the Florida Panthers, and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Armstrong avoided an arbitration hearing, in 2006–2007 off-season, by re-signing him to two year deal that paid US$1.2 million annually.^[1]

Armstrong became very close friends with former teammate Sidney Crosby while playing for the Penguins.

He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship-winning team. His only goal of the tournament was the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland in Moscow, which Canada won 4–2.

Pittsburgh traded Armstrong on February 26, 2008 to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen, and a first round pick in exchange for Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.^[2] He then scored 11 points in 18 games to finish out the 2007–08 season with the Thrashers.

On July 16, 2009 he re-signed with the Thrashers to a one-year $2.4 million contract. He served as one of the team's alternate captains during the 2009–10 season.

On July 1, 2010, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs for $3 million per year for 3 years.^[3]

His younger brother, Riley Armstrong, was with the San Jose Sharks for 5 seasons and split between Calgary and Detroit before signing in the KHL on November 21 with Barys Astana

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Sask. Blazers	SMHL		33	21	19	40	103		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		1	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		68	13	25	38	122		2	0	1	1	11
2000–01	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		72	36	42	78	156		21	6	6	12	29
2001–02	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		64	27	41	68	115		23	6	10	16	22
2002–03	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		73	7	11	18	76		3	0	0	0	4
2003–04	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		67	10	17	27	71		24	3	1	4	45
2004–05	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		80	18	37	55	89		10	4	2	6	14
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		47	16	24	40	58		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		31	11	18	29	44		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		80	12	22	34	67		5	0	1	1	11
2007–08	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		54	9	15	24	50		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		18	4	7	11	6		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		82	22	18	40	75		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		79	15	14	29	61		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		50	8	15	23	61		—	—	—	—	—
	NHL totals			410	86	115	210	355		5	0	1	1	11

References

1. ^ "Pens re-sign Armstrong". pittsburghlive.com. 2006-07-21. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/rss/s_516992.html. Retrieved 2007-01-12. 
2. ^ "Penguins get Hossa, hoping he's the missing piece to their Cup". ESPN. 2008-02-27. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3265859. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
3. ^ "Maple Leafs ink Colby Armstrong". The Globe and Mail. 2010-07-01. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/maple-leafs-ink-colby-armstrong/article1625767/. Retrieved 2010-07-02. 

External links

• Colby Armstrong's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Colby Armstrong on Twitter

Preceded by Brooks Orpik

Pittsburgh Penguins first round draft pick 2001

Succeeded by Ryan Whitney

Persondata
Name	Armstrong, Colby
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 23, 1982
Place of birth	Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada
Date of death
Place of death