Billy Sweezey (born February 6, 1996) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Sweezey played high school hockey with

Noble and Greenough School The Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and five-day boarding school in Dedham, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. It educates 638 boys and girls in grades 7–12. The school's campus border ...

within the

Independent School League Independent School League or ISL may refer to: * Independent School League (Illinois), a group of nine Chicago-area preparatory schools * Independent School League (New England), a group of 16 New England preparatory schools * Independent School ...

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

before spending the conclusion of the 2014–15 season with the

Dubuque Fighting Saints The Dubuque Fighting Saints are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and are based in the city of Dubuque, Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi River at the intersection of Iowa, Illinois, and Wis ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL). In his only full season in the USHL in 2015–16, Sweezey appeared with the

Chicago Steel The Chicago Steel are an ice hockey team that plays in the United States Hockey League since 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in ...

before committing to a collegiate career with

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

of the ECAC. As a stay-at-home physical defensive defenseman, Sweezey played a full four seasons within the Bulldogs from 2016 to 2020, completing his collegiate career having appeared in 127 games for 3 goals and 29 points. As an undrafted free agent, Sweezey began his professional career in the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, having signed a one-year AHL contract with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...

, the primary affiliate to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

, on April 24, 2020. In the pandemic shortened seasonm, Sweezey in a third-pairing role made 22 appearances with the Penguins, collecting 4 assists. In the following 2021–22 season, Sweezey continued in the AHL, securing a one-year contract with the Cleveland Monsters on July 12, 2021. Sweezey scored his first professional goal in his debut and season opening game for the Monsters, in a 4–0 victory over the

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators (colloquially known as the B-Sens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belleville, Ontario. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ottawa Senators. The Senators pl ...

on October 22, 2021. Establishing himself within the Monsters blueline, Sweezey was later signed to his first NHL contract after agreeing to a two-year, two-way contract with affiliate, the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

on March 7, 2022. With the Monsters unable to make the post-season, Sweezey notched new career highs with 4 goals and 11 points through 70 games. In the first season of his contract with the Blue Jackets in , Sweezey was reassigned to continue his tenure with the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL. Continuing to impress with his physical presence, Sweezey in his second recall to the Blue Jackets, made his NHL debut during a 3–2 shootout defeat to the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

on February 26, 2023. He was reassigned to the Monsters following his debut on February 28, 2023. Following three seasons within the Blue Jackets organization, Sweezey left as a free agent and was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Boston Bruins on July 1, 2024.

Personal

Sweezey's father, Ken Sweezey, enjoyed played collegiate hockey with

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

in 1988–89. His mother Lorie Blair also played at Providence College.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweezey, Billy 1996 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Chicago Steel players Cleveland Monsters players Columbus Blue Jackets players Dubuque Fighting Saints players Providence Bruins players Undrafted National Hockey League players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey players 21st-century American sportsmen