Josh Unice (born June 24, 1989) is an American 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. Unice was selected by 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 ...

in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Youth career

Unice began his career playing two seasons with 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 ...

(2005–07), before playing three seasons 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 ...

playing with both the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

and

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� ...

(2007–09). While with the Spitfires, the team won the Ontario Hockey League Championship after the 2008-09 season.

University career

After his junior career ended, Unice spent his

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

career playing for the University of Western Ontario Mustangs of

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

for five seasons (2009–2014). While at the University of Western Ontario, Unice studied

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

Senior career

On March 6, 2014, Unice began his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

career by signing with the

Gwinnett Gladiators Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, being located about northeast of Atlanta city limits. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. On August 7, 2014, Unice signed with the

Missouri Mavericks Missouri (''see pronunciation'') is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, a ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. On October 7, 2014, it was announced that the

had folded and had joined the

, nullifying Unice's

contract with the team. On October 9, 2014, Unice re-signed with the Mavericks under an

contract. That same day, he was traded by the Mavericks to the

Rapid City Rush The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise. History On June 2, 2 ...

of the

for undisclosed considerations. On October 15, 2014, Unice was released by the Rush. 24 January 2015, Unice signed with

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 ...

side

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...

on a short-term contract to cover the injured first-choice netminder Frank Doyle. Josh slotted into the first team well at the Steelers and finished the season by winning the league with the best save percentage out of any

in the

EIHL 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 ...

. Following his success with the Steelers in April 2015 retiring goaltender Frank Doyle made a public statement endorsing Unice by saying he felt Josh would be the ideal replacement for him at the Steelers for the next EIHL season. 1 May 2015, Josh Unice signed with the CBR Brave and became the club's starting goaltender. Unice is the first

NHL 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 ...

drafted player to play for the Brave. Josh made his CBR Brave debut between the pipes in round one of the

2015 AIHL season The 2015 AIHL season was the 16th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). It ran from 25 April 2015, until 23 August 2015, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 29 and 30 August. The Newcastle North Stars won both the H Newman R ...

as the Brave beat the

Sydney Bears The Sydney Bears (formerly ''Macquarie Bears'') is an Australia, Australian semi-professional ice hockey team from Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1982, the Bears are the only remaining founding member of the Australian Ice Hockey League ...

4–2 in front of a sold-out crowd at Phillip Ice Centre. 14 July 2015, Josh Unice was named CBR Brave interim

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the last seven games of the 2015 AIHL regular season and any finals matches. Josh was installed head coach after being approached by Brave chairman Peter Chamberlain following the mutual separation between the club and former head coach Brad Hunt. Joining Josh in the coaching department as Josh's right-hand man is veteran Brave defenceman and alternative captain Aaron Clayworth who has taken the assistant coaching position. On 9 March 2016, Josh Unice was named as the permanent 2016 CBR Brave head coach for the 2016 AIHL season. Josh was once again joined by experienced assistant coach Dave Rogina and strength and conditioning trainer Stuart Philps.

Awards and honors

2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge The 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament for under-17 players held in Saskatchewan, Canada between December 29, 2005 and January 4, 2006. Canada Quebec defeated the United States 5–2 in the final to claim the gold medal, ...

Silver Medal *

2007 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships was an ice hockey tournament held in Rauma, Finland, Rauma and Tampere, Finland. The championships began on April 11, 2007, and finished on April 22, 2007. Games were played at Äijänsuo Arena in Rauma and Ta ...

All-Star *

Best Goaltender *

Silver Medal * 2007–08 CHL Goaltender of the Week (October 28, 2007) * 2007–08 F.W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy Winner (best rookie

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

) * 2007–08

First All-Rookie Team * 2008–09

J. Ross Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, an ...

Champion (OHL champions) - Windsor Spitfires *

2009 Memorial Cup The 2009 Memorial Cup was a four-team round-robin format ice hockey tournament played during May 2009 in Rimouski, Quebec. It was the 91st annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Ho ...

Champions - Windsor Spitfires *2011–12 CIS ( OUA West) First All-Star Team *2011–12 CIS University Cup All-Tournament Team *2012–13 CIS ( OUA West) Second All-Star Team *2013–14 CIS ( OUA West) First All-Star Team *EIHL League Champion 14/15

Career statistics

References:

Regular season

Playoffs

Memorial Cup

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unice, Josh 1989 births Living people American men's ice hockey goaltenders CBR Brave players Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Gwinnett Gladiators players Ice hockey players from Ohio Kitchener Rangers players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players Western Mustangs men's ice hockey players Windsor Spitfires players Sheffield Steelers players People from Holland, Ohio