Nick Cousins
Cousins with the Adirondack Phantoms in 2013
Born (1993-07-20) July 20, 1993 (age 30)
Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Florida Panthers
Philadelphia Flyers
Arizona Coyotes
Montreal Canadiens
Vegas Golden Knights
Nashville Predators
NHL Draft 68th overall, 2011
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2012–present

Brian Nicholas Cousins[1][2] (born July 20, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cousins was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round (68th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Cousins played four seasons (2009–2013) of major junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 102 goals and 189 assists for 291 points, while earning 261 penalty minutes in 264 games played. On March 26, 2012, Cousins was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[3]

Professional

Philadelphia Flyers

During the 2014–15 season, on March 17, 2015, Cousins made his NHL debut in a game against the Vancouver Canucks.[4]

Arizona Coyotes

On June 16, 2017, Cousins' five-year tenure with the Flyers ended as he was traded alongside Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Brendan Warren and a fifth-round choice in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[5]

In establishing a bottom-six role, providing an agitating two-way presence within the Coyotes organization, Cousins recorded a career-high 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists), in 81 games in the 2018–19 season. On June 25, 2019, as an impending restricted free agent, Cousins was not tendered a qualifying offer from the Coyotes, releasing him as a free agent.[6]

Montreal Canadiens

On July 5, 2019, Cousins signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[7] He skated in 58 games for the club, recording nine goals and 13 assists.

Vegas Golden Knights

On February 24, 2020, Montreal traded Cousins to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.[8] Only two weeks after the trade was finalized, the NHL season was suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pause, Cousins returned to Canada and bonded with his teammates through daily FaceTime calls and other forms of long-distance communication.[9]

Nashville Predators

Leaving the Golden Knights as a free agent, on October 9, 2020, Cousins was signed to a two-year, $3 million contract with the Nashville Predators.[10]

Florida Panthers

Having concluded his contract with the Predators, Cousins joined his sixth NHL club, in signing as a free agent to a two-year, $2.2 million contract with the Florida Panthers on July 13, 2022.[11] On May 12, 2023, He scored the series-winning goal in overtime of game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, sending the Panthers to their first Conference Final since 1996.[12]

Personal life

In 2012, while playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Cousins and two teammates were arrested and charged with sexual assault of an Ontario woman.[13] Cousins spent 12 hours in jail, followed by two weeks at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre before the charges were dropped by the prosecution.[14]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 67 11 21 32 34 5 0 1 1 2
2010–11 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 68 29 39 68 56 — — — — —
2011–12 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 65 35 53 88 88 — — — — —
2011–12 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2012–13 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 64 27 76 103 83 6 3 3 6 12
2012–13 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 7 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2013–14 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 74 11 18 29 47 — — — — —
2014–15 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 64 22 34 56 73 — — — — —
2014–15 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 11 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 38 12 26 38 45 — — — — —
2015–16 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 36 6 5 11 4 6 0 0 0 2
2016–17 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 60 6 10 16 31 — — — — —
2017–18 Arizona Coyotes NHL 71 12 7 19 31 — — — — —
2018–19 Arizona Coyotes NHL 81 7 20 27 35 — — — — —
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 58 9 13 22 33 — — — — —
2019–20 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 7 1 2 3 2 17 0 5 5 22
2020–21 Nashville Predators NHL 52 5 13 18 41 4 2 0 2 2
2021–22 Nashville Predators NHL 68 9 13 22 31 3 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Florida Panthers NHL 79 9 18 27 38 21 2 5 7 16
NHL totals 523 64 100 164 248 51 4 10 14 42

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Canada U18 4th 7 4 4 8 10
Junior totals 7 4 4 8 10

References

  1. ^ Charron, Cam (August 26, 2012). "Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players charged in sexual assault; team defers on whether they'll attend training camp". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  2. ^ "Police charge three Greyhounds' players with sexual assault". The Sports Network. August 26, 2012. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  3. ^ "Nick Cousins agrees to entry-level contract with Flyers". broadstreethockey.com. March 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  4. ^ "Philadelphia Flyers at Vancouver Canucks". Philadelphia Flyers. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  5. ^ "Coyotes acquire Cousins and Madsen from Flyers". Arizona Coyotes. June 16, 2017. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "After Ben Hutton, who are the top players not to receive QO's". The Hockey News. June 26, 2019. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Habs sign F Cousins to one-year, $1M contract". The Sports Network. July 5, 2019. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "Nick Cousins traded to Vegas". National Hockey League. Montreal Canadiens. February 24, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Emerson, Jusin (July 30, 2020). "How Golden Knights' midseason acquisitions bonded with rest of roster during shutdown". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "Predators add Nick Cousins on 2-year deal". thescore.com. October 9, 2020. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Florida Panthers agree to terms with Nick Cousins". Florida Panthers. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  12. ^ "Cousins scores in OT to send Panthers into Eastern Conference final after 3-2 win over Maple Leafs". ESPN. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Carchidi, Sam (August 27, 2012). "Flyers prospect Nick Cousins charged with sexual assault". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Miller, Randy (May 27, 2013). "Close call with law changes prospect's outlook". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nick Cousins.
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