Cliff Pu

Last updated

Cliff Pu
Cliff Pu - London Knights.jpg
Pu with the London Knights in 2016
Born (1998-06-03) June 3, 1998 (age 27)
North York, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
EIHL team
Former teams
Sheffield Steelers
Charlotte Checkers
Florida Everblades
Springfield Thunderbirds
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Cleveland Monsters
Kunlun Red Star
Admiral Vladivostok
HK Dukla Michalovce
HC La Chaux-de-Fonds
NHL draft 69th overall, 2016
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2018present

Clifford Pu (born June 3, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently a player for Sheffield Steelers. He was selected 69th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Youth

Pu played at the AAA hockey level since the Atom age group. He was named an International Silverstick Atom AAA All Star in 2009. In his final year of minor ice hockey, he played for the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget AAA team. He was seen as one of the top prospects in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection after finishing 4th on his team in points. [2]

Junior

Pu was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection by the Oshawa Generals. [3] [4] He appeared in 17 games with the Generals, scoring two goals and adding an assist. [5] On January 1, 2015, Pu was traded to the London Knights along with Josh Sterk and three draft picks, in exchange for Michael McCarron and Dakota Mermis. [6] In the 24 games he appeared in for the Knights following the trade, Pu scored four goals and added two assists.

In his first full season with the Knights, Pu recorded 12 goals and 19 assists. In the following season, he greatly improved on his totals, leading the Knights in regular season scoring. [7] On January 3, 2018, the Knights traded Pu to the Kingston Frontenacs for Nathan Dunkley and draft picks. [8]

Professional

In 2016, Cliff Pu became eligible for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was the 83rd ranked North American skater by the NHL's Scouting Service. [9] He was drafted in the third round, 69th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres. On October 23, 2017, Pu signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres. [10]

Pu was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on August 2, 2018, along with future draft picks (2019 second-round, and 2020 third-round and a sixth-round) in exchange for forward Jeff Skinner. [11]

After attending the Hurricanes' 2018 training camp, Pu was assigned to begin the 2018–19 season, with Carolina's AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. He struggled to translate his offensive game to the professional level and was re-assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades, on February 9, 2019. After scoring at a point-per-game through five appearances with the Everblades, Pu was returned to the AHL. Having contributed with one goal and five assist for six points in 44 games with Charlotte, Pu was traded by the Hurricanes to the Florida Panthers in exchange for future considerations, which correlated with the Checkers' acquisition of Tomáš Jurčo, on February 25, 2019. [12]

On October 8, 2020, Pu was traded for the third time during his entry-level contract by the Panthers to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Markus Nutivaara. [13]

With his contract concluded with the Blue Jackets, Pu was not tendered a qualifying offer and was released as a free agent. On August 13, 2021, with limited opportunity in North America, he embarked on a European career in agreeing to a one-year contract with Austrian club, the Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League. [14]

On June 20, 2024, Slovak Extraliga team HK Dukla Michalovce announced that Pu had been signed to a one-year contract. [15] After just 7 games with the team, Pu was released on October 10th, 2024. [16] On December 12, 2024, he signed with HC La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss League until the end of the season. [17] .

On July 10, 2025, Pu signed a one-year contract with the Sheffield Steelers in the EIHL. [18]

Personal life

Pu was born in North York, Ontario and was raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2012–13 Toronto Marlboros GTMMHL332324471016413174
2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 172132
2014–15 London Knights OHL24246250000
2015–16 London KnightsOHL63121931241885136
2016–17 London KnightsOHL6335518636142578
2017–18 London KnightsOHL3616294522
2017–18 Kingston Frontenacs OHL29132639615413176
2018–19 Charlotte Checkers AHL 4415610
2018–19 Florida Everblades ECHL 52350
2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL91120
2019–20 Springfield ThunderbirdsAHL100224
2019–20 Greenville Swamp Rabbits ECHL41562
2020–21 Cleveland Monsters AHL1637106
2021–22 Kunlun Red Star KHL 153366
2022–23 Kunlun Red StarKHL411192034
2023–24 Kunlun Red StarKHL2918912
2023–24 Admiral Vladivostok KHL241566
2024–25 HK Dukla Michalovce Slovak 71232
2024–25 HC La Chaux-de-Fonds SL 133912810000
AHL totals795152020
KHL totals10916254158

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2014 Canada Black U17 7th51012
Junior totals51012

References

  1. "OHL Network". www.ontariohockeyleague.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  2. "Cliff Pu". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  3. "2014 OHL Priority Selection". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  4. "OHL Network". www.ontariohockeyleague.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. "London Knights". londonknights.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  6. "Knights Trade McCarron and Mermis to Oshawa" . Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  7. "London Knights". londonknights.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  8. "London Knights trade Cliff Pu to Kingston Frontenacs". lfpress.ca. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  9. "2016 Draft Prospect Rankings". www.nhl.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  10. "Sabres sign Pu to entry-level contract". NHL.com. October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  11. Williams, Terrell (August 2, 2018). "Canes Deal Skinner to Sabres for Picks, Prospect". NHL.com. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  12. "Florida Panthers acquire Forward Cliff Pu from Hurricanes". Florida Panthers. February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  13. "CBJ acquire Cliff Pu from Florida in exchange for Markus Nutivaara". Columbus Blue Jackets. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  14. "Cliff Pu signs with Capitals" (in German). Vienna Capitals. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  15. "Former Sabres draft pick Cliff Pu leaves KHL for Slovakia". The Hockey News. June 20, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  16. "V siedmich zápasoch skóroval len raz. Michalovce sa rozlúčili s kanadským útočníkom". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  17. "Un renfort canadien pour le HCC en fin de saison". Hockey Club La Chaux-de-Fonds (in French). December 13, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  18. "Cliff Pu Signs for the Steelers". Sheffield Steelers. July 9, 2025. Retrieved July 13, 2025.