Alex Auld

Infobox Ice Hockey Player

---

image_size= 225px
team = Ottawa Senators
former_teams = Boston Bruins
Phoenix Coyotes
Vancouver Canucks
Florida Panthers
league = NHL
position = Goaltender
catches = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 4
weight_lb = 200
nickname =
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|1|7
birth_place = Cold Lake, AB
draft = 40th overall
draft_year = 1999
draft_team = Florida Panthers
career_start = 2001

Alexander Auld (born January 7, 1981 in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, but raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey goaltender who plays for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. Auld has also played for the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes and Boston Bruins of the NHL. He has appeared internationally for Team Canada on three occasions – the 2001 World Junior Championships, the 2004 Spengler Cup, and the 2006 World Championships.

Playing career

Junior career

Auld started his junior career with the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League at the tail end of the 1997–98 season, appearing in six games without registering a win. After appearing in 38 games the following season, Auld was selected in the second round, 40th overall, of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, by the Florida Panthers. Auld would finish out his junior career with the Centennials, spending two more seasons as their starting netminder. In his final season, Auld was named to Team Canada for the 2001 World Juniors, where he backed up Maxime Ouellet. Later that same season, Auld was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third round pick in 2002 and a compensatory pick in 2001.

Professional career

Auld turned professional in the 2001–02 season, joining the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. An ankle sprain knocked Auld out during training camp, however, and upon his return he was assigned to the Columbia Inferno of the East Coast Hockey League. Solid play in six games at that level returned Auld to the AHL, where he showed steady improvement, despite competition for playing time from veterans Alfie Michaud and Wade Flaherty. [ [http://www.moosehockey.com/history/2001-02/statistics.php Manitoba Moose roster for 2001–02 Season] ] Following injuries to Canucks goaltenders Dan Cloutier and Peter Skudra, Auld got a start at the NHL level, a 4–2 victory over the Dallas Stars on January 23, 2002, after which he returned to the AHL.

The 2002–03 season afforded Auld more opportunity for growth, although he again split playing time at the AHL level, this time with Tyler Moss. With Cloutier and Skudra entrenched at the NHL level, Auld still managed to appear in seven games as an injury-replacement, and even played one playoff game in relief. Most importantly, he received extensive playing time, and improved his statistics considerably.

During the off-season, backup Peter Skudra signed with a Russian team, raising the possibility that Auld might claim the backup role for the Canucks. As the 2003–04 season approached, however, Canucks GM Brian Burke traded a draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Johan Hedberg, all but ensuring Auld another season in the minors. Again, Auld began the season sharing netminding duties with Tyler Moss. Auld again saw brief NHL action, appearing in six games. However, during the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Dan Cloutier was injured early on in the Canucks' first round series with the Calgary Flames. Hedberg, who had been shaky ["The Sports Forecaster 2005–06", p. 101] as a backup, failed to impress coach Marc Crawford in two appearances, and Auld claimed the starting role in Game 5, pushing Calgary the distance in the series, eventually losing in the seventh game.

Auld spent the 2004–05 NHL lockout back with the Manitoba Moose, this time pairing with veteran netminder Wade Flaherty. Despite holding on to the starting role for much of the season, Auld disappointed in the playoffs, and Flaherty took over as starter, helping the team reach the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs. He also appeared for Canada at the Spengler Cup in December 2004, carrying the team to a third place finish. [ [http://www.moosehockey.com/news/press_releases2.php?press_id=500 Manitoba Moose press release] ]

Auld returned to the NHL when play resumed for the 2005–06 season, initially as the backup to Dan Cloutier. However, on November 20, 2005, Cloutier injured an anterior cruciate ligament in a collision with Mighty Ducks of Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer. [ [http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/cloutierd.html Cloutier's injury history] ] The hope initially was that the injury would heal during the season, but on December 15, Cloutier opted for surgery, leaving Auld as Vancouver's starting goaltender. He would not play in another game for the Moose, leaving the AHL team as its franchise leader in wins and shutouts.

As the Canucks' starter, Auld was re-united with former World Junior teammate Maxime Ouellet, who was one of three goaltenders the Canucks used to back him up (Mika Noronen and Rob McVicar were the others). Filling in admirably, Auld went on to capture the Cyclone Taylor trophy as team MVP, although the Canucks would miss the playoffs. Auld then joined Team Canada again, this time at the 2006 World Championships, where Canada finished a disappointing 4th, losing the bronze medal game to Finland.

In June 2006, Auld was involved in a multi-player trade that sent him, Todd Bertuzzi, and Bryan Allen to Florida for Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek, and a sixth round draft pick. [ [http://www.canucks.com/news/pressreleases.asp?sectionID=31&id=595 Canucks Acquire Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek & Sixth Round Pick In 2006 Draft From Florida In Exchange For Allen, Auld & Bertuzzi] ] Initially, Auld was expected to be the undisputed starter in Florida. However, the July 25 signing of Ed Belfour introduced some competition, and Belfour eventually won the job as starting goalie. Controversially, in October, Auld was hospitalized while "horsing around" with Belfour, with suspicions that Belfour had assaulted him. [ [http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=0f79a93d-5a0f-490f-ae31-76d03c1b97a2 Nov. 2, 2006 National Post article] ]

After an unsuccessful season with Florida, Auld signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes on August 13, 2007. [cite news|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/95051?source=rss&dest=STY-95051 | title=Coyotes sign backup goalie | publisher="East Valley Tribune" | last=Paulson | first=Matt | date=2007-08-13 | accessdate=2007-08-14] However, on a team with already with a wealth of goaltenders — Auld would compete for a job with David Aebischer and Mikael Tellqvist at the beginning of the season — Phoenix would pick up Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers from Anaheim, leaving Auld as one of the odd goalies out. After nine appearances with Phoenix, on December 6, 2007, Auld was traded to the Boston Bruins for right winger Nate DiCasmirro and the Bruins' 5th round pick in 2009.

Playing backup to Tim Thomas for the majority of 2007-08, Auld would post the best statistics of his career (excluding his first few seasons with the Canucks, in which he appeared in no more than seven games in a season) with a personal-best 3 shutouts.

On July 1, 2008, Auld signed a two-year, $2 million deal with the Ottawa Senators. [citeweb|title=Senators sign Alex Auld to two-year contract|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Ottawa/2008/07/01/6036871-cp.html|accessdate=2008-10-05|date=2008-07-01|publisher=Canadian Press] He came within one second of recording a shutout in his Senators debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden, surrendering a powerplay goal in the final moments of the game. [citeweb|title=Heatley, Auld give Sens a split in Sweden|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/10/05/hockey-ottawa-pittsburgh-sweden.html|accessdate=2008-10-05|date=2008-10-05|publisher=CBC]

Personal life

Auld was born in Cold Lake, Alberta when his father was stationed out of CFB Cold Lake. However, he spent the majority of his adolescence in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Auld and his wife, Melanie, have one son named Sam Alexander. [cite web|title=NHL player Alex Auld and wife welcome a son|url=http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2008/01/alex-auld.html|publisher=Celebrity Baby Blog, Inc.|date=2008-01-08|accessdate=2008-05-09] The couple owns a home in the Thunder Bay area. [cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=760aba52-c204-496d-b324-17b41e980b73 |title='It has to be a team-first mentality,' Auld says |last=Adami |first=Hugh |publisher=Ottawa Citizen |date=July 24, 2008 |accessdate=2008-07-24]

Awards

*OHL Second All-Rookie Team - 1999
*OHL Third All-Star Team - 2001
*Cyclone Taylor Trophy (Vancouver Canucks MVP) - 2006
*Molson Cup (Vancouver Canucks three-star selection leader) - 2006

Career statistics

Regular season

International play

Played for Team Canada in:

*2001 World Junior Championships (bronze medal)
*2004 Spengler Cup (3rd place)
*2006 World Championships (4th place)

ee also

*List of NHL players
*List of NHL seasons

References

External links

* [http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/auld.html Auld's biography at Hockeygoalies.org]
*TSN-NHL-profile|1892
*nhlprofile|8467913
*hockeydb|31798