Philip Gogulla

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
team = Kölner Haie
league = DEL
position = Left Wing
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 176
nickname =
nationality = DEU
birth_date = Birth date and age|1987|7|31|mf=y
birth_place = Düsseldorf, West Germany
draft = 48th overall
draft_year = 2005
draft_team = Buffalo Sabres
career_start = 2004

Philip Gogulla (born July 31, 1987, in Düsseldorf, West Germany) is a German ice hockey player of Polish decent. He is 6 ft 2 in tall, weighs 176 lb, shoots left and plays left wing. Despite being born in Dusseldorf. He chose to play for Kölner Haie of the DEL arch rivals of his hometwon team DEG Metro Stars of Dusseldorf. Gogulla wears the jersey number 87 due to the year of his birth.

Gogulla was drafted in the second round, 48th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Gogulla signed an entry-level contact with the Buffalo Sabres on June 1 2007, to prevent them from re-entering the NHL entry draft in 2007, although there was some confusion as to whether had signed. NHL rules state prospects must be signed before 5:00pm EDT on June 1 or the team's rights to the player expire and he is free to re-enter the draft or become a free agent. Gogulla was signed by this deadline, but the contract had to be approved by the NHL. There was a delay in the approval process meaning the deal could not be announced and so it was assumed that the management had failed to sign Gogulla in time. On June 2 2007, the deal was approved and announced as a three-year entry-level contract.

Gogulla is playing in his native Germany for the first year of his contract and will have a choice of playing in Germany or North America for the second year of the contract. This will likely be determined by his performance at the preseason training camp. If he makes the NHL roster out of camp, he will remain in the North America for the year and may spend time in the Sabres' AHL affiliate. The third year will be played in North America in a similar scenario. These unusual terms of the contract are likely what caused the delay, combined with the fact that it is a naturally busy deadline day.

Gogulla played for Germany at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships getting a team-leading 6 assists in the tournament. Gogulla represented Germany at the 2007 IIHF World Championship scoring 5 assists.

Career statistics

External links

*hockeydb|80718
*eurohockey|62177
* [http://hockeysfuture.com/prospect/philippe_gogulla Hockey's Future]