Michael Latta (born May 25, 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

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

Färjestad BK Färjestad Bollklubb (; abbreviated as FBK) is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 21 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning ten times since the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserie ...

of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL). Latta was selected by 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 ...

in the third round, 72nd overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Prior to turning professional, Latta played

major junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

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 ...

(OHL) with the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play thei ...

and

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

. He was drafted by the

on June 26, 2009, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, 72nd overall.

Professional

After playing one more season in the OHL after being drafted, on April 14, 2010, Nashville signed Latta to a three-year, entry-level contract. He played three seasons with the Predators'

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) affiliate, 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 ...

. During 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, on April 3, 2013, at the

NHL trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

, Latta was traded to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

, along with Martin Erat, in exchange for prospect

Filip Forsberg Carl Filip Anton Forsberg (; born 13 August 1994), nicknamed "Fil", is a Swedish professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Forsberg was selected by the Washington Capit ...

. Latta made his NHL debut with the Capitals in the 2013–14 season. He scored his first career NHL goal on November 15, 2013, against 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 ...

. On July 1, 2016, after not being retained by the Capitals, Latta signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the

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

. After competing in training camp and pre-season with the Kings, Latta was reassigned to begin the 2016–17 season with AHL affiliate, the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

. Latta featured in 29 games with the Reign for 6 points before he was traded without making an appearance for the Kings to 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 exchange for

Cameron Schilling Ernest Cameron Schilling (born October 7, 1988), is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing with Djurgårdens IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan (Allsv). Playing career Undrafted, Schilling played with his home state team, the ...

on January 21, 2017. Latta played out the season with the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, 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 ...

, regaining his scoring touch in contributing with 16 points in 32 games. As a restricted free agent, Latta was not extended a qualifying offer by the Blackhawks releasing him to free agency on June 26, 2017. On July 4, 2017, Latta signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

. On December 14, the Coyotes traded Latta to 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 ...

in exchange for Ryan Kujawinski. On July 18, 2018, having left the Devils as a free agent, Latta signed a one-year contract with

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

club, Kunlun Red Star of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL). Having left the KHL at the conclusion of his contract, Latta remained a free agent to start the 2019–20 season. On November 14, 2019, Latta agreed to join Swedish outfit, Färjestad BK of the SHL, on a one-year contract.

Personal life

Latta is the cousin of

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

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 ...

Logan Stanley Logan Stanley (born May 26, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stanley was drafted 18th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Jets. He ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latta, Michael 1991 births Binghamton Devils players Canadian ice hockey centres Färjestad BK players Guelph Storm players HC Kunlun Red Star players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Ontario Living people Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators draft picks Ontario Reign (AHL) players Ottawa 67's players Sportspeople from the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Tucson Roadrunners players Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 21st-century Canadian sportsmen