Josh Healey (born July 12, 1994) is a Canadian 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 ...

defenceman 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 ...

who is currently an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He most recently played for the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

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). He is also the founder of The Sports Aux hockey recruiting platform.

Playing career

Healey began his career in the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. The 2023–24 season began with 16 teams, however 5 ...

(AJHL), playing parts of three seasons for the

Sherwood Park Crusaders The Sherwood Park Crusaders are a Junior ice hockey team in the BCHL. They play in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre. The team was part of the AJHL, until 2024 when it switched mid-season to ...

between 2010 and 2013. While Healey went unselected in the NHL Entry Draft, he attracted American college interest and committed to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

to play for the Buckeyes beginning with the 2013–14 Division I season. Healey played with Ohio State for four years, emerging as one of the top players on the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

team. He was named to the Big Ten's year-end all-star teams twice: to the first team in 2015–16 Division I season, and to the second team in 2016–17. During his final season with the team, on February 13, 2017, Healey was suspended two games by the Big Ten for a high hit against the

University of Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

. One NHL scout remarked of Healey that he "hits too hard for college hockey," but that "his game will be better suited for pro." Just over a month later, Healey turned professional by signing a two-year entry-level deal with the

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

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). At the conclusion of his entry-level deal with the Flames, Healey was not tendered a qualifying offer on June 25, 2019, enabling him to become a free agent. He was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

, affiliate to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

on August 2, 2019. Healey continued to play through Predators affiliations, joining the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

for the pandemic-delayed

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. After 20 regular season contests, Healey was signed by the

to add depth to the blueline on a two-way contract for the remainder of the year on April 11, 2021. With the AHL season completed, Healey continued within the Predators organization, returning to the Milwaukee Admirals on a one-year AHL contract on May 19, 2021. Moving to the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Anaheim Ducks. The team plays its home games at Pechanga Arena. History On Jan ...

for the

2022–23 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, Healey made 12 appearances as an alternate captain with the club before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. On July 4, 2023, Healey continued his tenure in the AHL, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Rockford IceHogs, the primary affiliate of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

, for the 2023–24 season. He appeared in 48 games for the team, recording 1 assist.

Personal life

Healey was born to Tim and Pam Healey and has a younger sister,

Jess Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica, Jesse, Jessie, Jessy, Jesswin and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football player * Jess Cain (1926–2008), American radi ...

. Jess is a former professional ice hockey player. His grandfather, Rich Healey, is a former professional ice hockey player who played one NHL game for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Josh 1994 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Milwaukee Admirals players Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Sherwood Park Crusaders players Ice hockey people from Edmonton Stockton Heat players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen