John Kurtz (born May 16, 1989) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He last played for the

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...

in the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

(EIHL).

Playing career

Before turning professional, Kurtz played four seasons of 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

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

and

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

. For his play during the

2009–10 OHL season The 2009–10 OHL season was the 30th season of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2009 and ended on March 14, 2010. On September 9, 2009, all 20 te ...

, Kurtz was unanimously selected to receive the

Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy The Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy is an award in the Ontario Hockey League which is given to one team captain every year. The award was introduced on February 4, 2009, at the 2009 OHL All-Star Classic hosted at the WFCU Centre in Windsor. The a ...

as the “OHL team captain that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice, with a passion and dedication to the game of hockey and his community”. Immediately following the conclusion of his final OHL season, Kurtz began his professional career with the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

, joining the AHL team for their closing games of the

2009–10 AHL season The 2009–10 AHL season was the 74th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 regular-season games each from October 2 to April 11. This season featured the addition of one new team, the relocation of two others, and th ...

. Kurtz was later signed to a one-year entry-level contract with NHL affiliate, the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

on April 10, 2013. After two seasons within the Ducks organization, Kurtz left as a free agent and later accepted an invitation to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

training camp on a professional try-out contract on September 11, 2015. On February 23, 2016, Kurtz signed a professional tryout contract with 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 AHL, where he played out the season with 4 points in 14 games. Un-signed over the following summer, Kurtz belatedly signed a contract for the 2016–17 season, in agreeing to a return with the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hockey ...

, now of the ECHL, on November 10, 2016. He appeared in 26 games with 14 points before he was signed to a professional try-out deal in a second stint with the Syracuse Crunch. On March 18, 2017, Kurtz was signed by the Crunch to a standard playing contract for the remainder of the campaign. On 30 August 2017, Kurtz agreed to move to the

on a one-year deal.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtz, John 1989 births 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Belfast Giants players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Northern Ireland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players Living people Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) players Norfolk Admirals players Sudbury Wolves players Syracuse Crunch players Toronto Marlies players Utica Comets players Windsor Spitfires players