Dakota Mermis (born January 5, 1994) 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

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

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

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

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

Undrafted, Mermis originally played in 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 ...

with the

Lincoln Stars The Lincoln Stars are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box on the former Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Histo ...

before developing within the

USA Hockey National Team Development Program The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) represents the United States in the IIHF World U18 Championship. Additionally the team plays domestically against opponents in the United States Hockey League (under-17 and under-18 t ...

in the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season. He left the U.S. Junior program the following season in linking up with the

Green Bay Gamblers The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). They play in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center. History Professional hockey in Green Bay The first p ...

in his last season in the USHL. Mermis committed and began his freshman year of college hockey at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

in the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, before leaving the Pioneers after just 19 games to progress to major junior hockey in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

and

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

. Following the conclusion of his major junior career with the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

winning Generals after the 2014–15 season, Mermis' unconventional development path was rewarded as he was signed as a free agent to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 2, 2015. In the 2017–18 season, having played in the opening 7 games of the season with AHL affiliate, the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

, Mermis received his first recall by the Coyotes on November 1, 2017. With an injury to fellow Coyotes defenseman

Niklas Hjalmarsson Niklas Hjalmarsson (born 6 June 1987) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes of the National Ho ...

, Mermis made his NHL debut the following day in a defeat to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

. Having appeared in 10 NHL games with the Coyotes during his four seasons within the organization, Mermis left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way $700,000 contract with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

on July 1, 2019. He initially joined the

Binghamton Devils The Binghamton Devils were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2017 to 2021 as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils. During the 2017–18 and 2 ...

in the AHL to begin the 2019–20 season, leading the blueline in scoring with 19 points through 53 games. Recalled by New Jersey to the NHL, Mermis scored his first career NHL goal against the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

on March 6, 2020. He registered his first multi-point game the following night against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. Mermis appeared in 10 games with the Devils, posting four points, before their season was ended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Mermis left the Devils as a free agent after the season and signed to a one-year, two-way contract with 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 October 9, 2020. Mermis won the

Yanick Dupre Memorial Award The Yanick Dupre Memorial Award is presented annually to the American Hockey League's man of the year for service to his local community. The award winner is chosen by the league president. The award is named after former Hershey Bears player Ya ...

while playing for the Wild's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, in the 2021–22 season. Following four seasons within the Wild organization, Mermis left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $775,000 contract with the

on July 2, 2024. Mermis was injured to start the season, and played three games on a conditioning stint with AHL affiliate, the

. Placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs in his return to health, Mermis was claimed by the

Utah Hockey Club The Utah Mammoth are a professional ice hockey team based in Salt Lake City. The Mammoth compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise joined the league as an expansion ...

on December 12, 2024. After playing only one game for Utah, Mermis was waived again on January 2, 2025, and subsequently re-claimed by Toronto the following day.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mermis, Dakota 1994 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Arizona Coyotes players Binghamton Devils players Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Green Bay Gamblers players Ice hockey players from Illinois Iowa Wild players Lincoln Stars players London Knights players Minnesota Wild players New Jersey Devils players Oshawa Generals players Rapid City Rush players Springfield Falcons players Toronto Marlies players Toronto Maple Leafs players Tucson Roadrunners players Undrafted National Hockey League players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players Utah Hockey Club players 21st-century American sportsmen