Justin Matthew Krueger (born 6 October 1986) is a German-Canadian[1] former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for SC Bern and Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League (NL) and for the Charlotte Checkers, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes.[2] He was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round (213th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
| Justin Krueger | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
6 October 1986 Düsseldorf, West Germany | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Charlotte Checkers SC Bern Lausanne HC | ||
| National team |
 Germany | ||
| NHL draft |
213th overall, 2006 Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| Playing career | 2010–2022 | ||
Playing career
editKrueger began his ice hockey career at Duisburger SV in Germany, where his father Ralph Krueger had his first stint as a coach in 1989.[3] After his father had signed with the Austrian club VEU Feldkirch in 1991, he continued his career in the Feldkirch youth setup. He then joined the HC Davos junior team, after his father had been named head coach of the Swiss men's national team.
In 2004, Justin recorded 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 38 games for HC Davos in the Swiss Junior League.[4] Krueger moved after one year from Davos to North America and signed with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. After this season he was named the Best Conditioned Athlete by the Penticton Vees and was drafted in the seventh round, 213th overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, being the last overall pick.[4] He was then recruited to play collegiate hockey, joining the Cornell Big Red as a freshman in 2006.[5] In his final season at Cornell (2009–10), Krueger was named ECAC Hockey Defensive Defenseman of the Year.[6]
Krueger played for the SC Bern team in the 2010–11 season, and began playing in North America within the Carolina Hurricanes' farm system for the 2011–12 season.[7] After two years in the American Hockey League, he returned to SC Bern on a two-year deal in May 2013[8] and in November 2014 had his contract extended through the 2017–18 season.[9] He won the Swiss championship with SCB in 2016 and 2017.
On June 2, 2020, Krueger joined Lausanne HC on a one-year deal.[10]
International play
edit
Krueger landed a spot on the roster of the German under-18 Men's National Team in 2003[11] and represented Germany at the 2004 under-18 and 2005 under-20 World Championships. At the 2005 tournament, he served as captain of the German squad.[12]
He first tried out for the German Men's National Team before the 2009 Deutschland Cup held in Munich, Germany,[13] but did not play for that tournament. He was chosen to play for Team Germany for the first time in April 2010[14] and then participated in the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany.[15] In October 2018, he retired from the German men's national team. He received 99 caps during his international career, representing Team Germany at seven World Championships.[16]
Personal life
editKrueger is the son of former Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger.[17] In 2010, he earned a bachelor's degree in hotel management at Cornell University.[18] His paternal grandparents emigrated to Canada from Germany in 1952.[19]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | HC Davos | SUI U20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | HC Prättigau–Herrschaft | SUI.4 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2003–04 | HC Davos | SUI U20 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | EHC Lenzerheide–Valbella | SUI.3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004–05 | HC Davos | SUI U20 | 38 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 76 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05 | EHC St. Moritz | SUI.3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2005–06 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 55 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 25 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 2006–07 | Cornell University | ECAC | 31 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Cornell University | ECAC | 35 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Cornell University | ECAC | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Cornell University | ECAC | 34 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | SC Bern | NLA | 50 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 61 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2011–12 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 58 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 69 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | SC Bern | NLA | 48 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | SC Bern | NLA | 41 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 43 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | SC Bern | NLA | 43 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 2016–17 | SC Bern | NLA | 47 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 31 | ||
| 2017–18 | SC Bern | NL | 48 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 49 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | SC Bern | NL | 41 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 59 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | SC Bern | NL | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Lausanne HC | NL | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||
| 2021–22 | Lausanne HC | NL | 40 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| NLA/NL totals | 444 | 13 | 56 | 69 | 340 | 91 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 84 | ||||
| AHL totals | 127 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Germany | WJC18 D1 | 11th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Germany | WJC D1 | 11th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Germany | WC | 4th | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011 | Germany | WC | 7th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 2012 | Germany | WC | 12th | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2013 | Germany | WC | 9th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Germany | WC | 14th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Germany | WC | 10th | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Germany | WC | 8th | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 48 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| ECAC All-Tournament Team | 2010 | [20] |
| ECAC Best Defensive Defenseman | 2010 | |
| NL | ||
| Champion (SC Bern) | 2016, 2017, 2019 | [21] |
References
edit- ^ "NEWS SINGLEVIEW". www.iihf.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ Checkers set lineup for first preseason game. Archived 12 July 2012 at archive.today Official website of Charlotte Checkers, 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Thelen, Friedhelm. "Die Heimkehr des Justin Krueger". WAZ. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ a b Eliteprospects.com – Justin Krueger
- ^ College Hockey News: Justin Krueger
- ^ "Krueger Named League's Best Defensive Defenseman – ECAC Hockey". www.ecachockey.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "Canes Agree to Terms with Justin Krueger". Carolina Hurricanes. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ "Justin Krueger kehrt zum SCB zurück". bernerzeitung.ch/. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "Meldung". SCB Eishockey AG. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "Lausanne HC inks Justin Krueger to a one-year deal". swisshockeynews.ch. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "RODI-DB – Die deutsche Eishockey-Datenbank". www.rodi-db.de. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "Justin Krueger – 2009–10 Men's Ice Hockey". Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ Krupp testet Spieler beim Deutschland-Cup mit Blick auf Olympia: "Niemand hat einen Freifahrtsschein"
- ^ Heinrich, Marc (22 April 2010). "Eishockey-Nationalmannschaft Wie der Sohn, so der Vater?". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ Alan Adams (10 May 2010). "Krueger cheers for son". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ e.V., Deutscher Eishockey-Bund. "DCup Kader: Marco Sturm nominiert 15 Silberhelden und Lokalmatador Daniel Pietta | Deutscher Eishockey-Bund e.V." www.deb-online.de (in German). Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "Cornell University – 2009–10 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Cornell Big Red. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- ^ "Justin Krueger im SPOX-Interview "Mein Bachelor in Hotelmanagement"". spoz.com. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- ^ "Justin Krueger: "Beim SCB gefiel meinem Vater alles"". bernerzeitung.ch/. October 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "SC Bern 2019 Swiss Champions!". leading-sport.com. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database