Curtis_Valk
Curtis Valk
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1993)
Curtis Valk (Kazakh: Кертис Вэлк; born February 8, 1993) is a Canadian-Kazakhstani professional ice hockey centre. He is currently playing with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers.
| Curtis Valk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
(1993-02-08) February 8, 1993 (age 31) Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| KHL team Former teams |
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Florida Panthers Barys Nur-Sultan | ||
| National team |
 Kazakhstan | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Valk played major junior hockey for his hometown team, the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Valk, who played in the WHL from the 2010–11 season, was rewarded for his outstanding performance during the 2012–13 WHL season by being named to the 2013 WHL East First All-Star Team.[1]
As an undrafted free agent embarking on his first professional season, Valk was invited to participate in the Vancouver Canucks 2014 training camp on September 21, 2014. He was later demoted to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, where he signed a one-year contract on October 10, 2014. He was immediately re-assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings to begin the 2014–15 season.[2]
On July 1, 2017, Valk signed as a free agent to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers.[3] During training camp, Valk was re-assigned by the Panthers to begin the 2017–18 season with AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.[4] Through the first 16 games of the season, Valk impressed to lead the team in scoring with 15 points. On November 13, 2017, he received his first recall by the Panthers to the NHL,[5] and made his NHL debut on November 14, 2017.[6] After a solitary game with the Panthers, Valk was returned to the Thunderbirds and played out the season in collecting a career best 62 points in 73 games.
As a restricted free agent with the Panthers, Valk opted to pause his North American career in signing a one-year contract with Kazahkstani club, Barys Astana of the KHL on July 3, 2018.[7]
Following four seasons with Barys, Valk as a dual Kazakhstani citizen left to sign a two-year contract to continue in the KHL with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on May 1, 2022.[8]
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | Brooks Bandits | AJHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 56 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 67 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 71 | 46 | 45 | 91 | 54 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 72 | 47 | 45 | 92 | 36 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 10 | ||
| 2014–15 | Kalamazoo Wings | ECHL | 31 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Utica Comets | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Utica Comets | AHL | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Kalamazoo Wings | ECHL | 30 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Utica Comets | AHL | 75 | 16 | 30 | 46 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Springfield Thunderbirds | AHL | 73 | 20 | 42 | 62 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Barys Astana | KHL | 50 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2019–20 | Barys Nur-Sultan | KHL | 52 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21 | Barys Nur-Sultan | KHL | 59 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 67 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Barys Nur-Sultan | KHL | 47 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL | 56 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2023–24 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL | 60 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 28 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 | ||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 324 | 59 | 124 | 183 | 179 | 47 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 36 | ||||
International
- "WHL Eastern Conference All-Star Teams". Western Hockey League. March 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013.
- "Mallet, Fox and Valk assigned to Kalamazoo". Utica Comets. October 10, 2014. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- "Florida Panthers agree to terms with five players". Florida Panthers. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- "Thunderbirds to open training camp on Sept 22". Florida Panthers. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- "Florida Panthers recall forward Curtis Valk from Springfield". Florida Panthers. November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- "Former K-Wing Curtis Valk makes NHL debut with Florida Panthers". MLive.com. November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- "Curtis Volk a newcomer to Barys" (in Russian). Barys Astana. July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- "Avtomobilist sign four to contracts" (in Russian). Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- "2013 WHL East All Stars & Award". Western Hockey League. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database