JJ Peterka

JJ Peterka
JJ Peterka with Germany in 2023
Born	(2002-01-14) 14 January 2002 (age 22) Munich, Germany
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Buffalo Sabres EHC Red Bull München
National team	Germany
NHL draft	34th overall, 2020 Buffalo Sabres
Playing career	2019–present

John-Jason "JJ" Peterka (born 14 January 2002) is a German professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 34th overall by the Sabres in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, ^{[1] [2] [3]} and made his NHL debut in 2021.

Playing career

Peterka made his professional debut with EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). During the 2019–20 season he appeared in 42 games scoring 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points. ^[4] Following the season, Peterka was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NHL draft 34th overall by the Buffalo Sabres ^[4] Peterka was projected to be a first-round pick before the draft, but fell to the Buffalo Sabres in the second round. ^[5] He was said to be a great skater with great hands and great ability to make plays at top speed, while drawing a comparison to Patrick Kane. ^[5] He was also said to be an unrelenting player that never gives up on the puck. ^[4] Following the draft, Peterka went back to the DEL and played 30 games while scoring 9 goals and 11 assists for 20 points in the 2020-2021 season. ^[4]

On 12 June 2021, Peterka was signed by the Buffalo Sabres to a three-year, entry-level contract. ^[6] During the 2021-2022 season, Peterka played for the Rochester Americans, the AHL team for the Buffalo Sabres. He appeared in 70 games during his rookie season, scoring 28 goals and 40 assists for a total of 68 points. He also played in 10 playoff games that year, recording 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points. ^[7]

Peterka made his NHL debut with the Sabres on December 29, 2021, in a game against the New Jersey Devils. After the game, the Sabres returned him to the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans. ^[8]

Peterka (left) in a game against the Seattle Kraken in 2022.

Peterka's first career NHL goal came in the Sabres' 2022–23 season opener at home against the Ottawa Senators. His goal tied the game at 1–1 en route to a Buffalo 4–1 victory on October 13, 2022. ^[9]

International play

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Germany
World Championships
	2023 Finland/Latvia

Peterka made his international debut with the German U18 national team at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championship Division I, before joining the national junior team for the 2020 and 2021 World Junior Championships.

Joining the senior national team for the first time, Peterka made his World Championship debut at the 2021 edition. Two years later, he rejoined the national team for the 2023 IIHF World Championship, where Germany embarked on an unexpected deep run through the knockout round, defeating the heavily-favoured Team USA in the semi-final to reach the gold medal game. ^[10]  Peterka scored the opening goal of the game, but Germany was ultimately defeated by Team Canada, winning the silver medal, the nation's first at the World Championships since 1953. ^[11]  With six goals and six assists in ten games, Peterka was given the IIHF directorate award for Best Forward, and named to the Media All-Star Team. ^{[12] [13]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2017–18	RB Hockey Academy	Czech.18		18	7	14	21	4		2	4	0	4	0
2018–19	RB Hockey Academy	Czech.19		48	45	49	94	52		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	EHC München	DEL		42	7	4	11	14		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	EC Red Bull Salzburg	ICEHL		12	7	9	16	12		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	EHC München	DEL		30	9	11	20	8		2	1	0	1	0
2021–22	Rochester Americans	AHL		70	28	40	68	28		10	7	5	12	6
2021–22	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		77	12	20	32	26		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	28	22	50	28		—	—	—	—	—
DEL totals				72	16	15	31	22		2	1	0	1	0
NHL totals				161	40	42	82	54		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2019	Germany	U18-D1	DNQ		5	2	6	8	0
2020	Germany	WJC	9th		7	4	2	6	16
2021	Germany	WJC	6th		5	4	6	10	2
2021	Germany	WC	4th		6	1	0	1	2
2023	Germany	WC			10	6	6	12	0
2024	Germany	WC	6th		8	5	4	9	2
Junior totals					17	10	14	24	18
Senior totals					24	12	10	22	4

Awards and honors

Award	Year
AHL
All-Rookie Team	2022	[14]
International
World Championship Best Forward	2023	[13]
World Championship Media All-Star Team	2023	[13]

References

1. Bell, Josh (21 October 2019). "Weekly Prospect Report: Fagemo, Kravtsov, Stützle & More". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
2. "World Juniors 2020: Alexis Lafrenière, Tim Stützle among 20 draft prospects to watch". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
3. Neumeier, Derek (20 January 2020). "2020 NHL Entry Draft: Mid-Season Top 101 Rankings". Defending Big D. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
4. "JJ Peterka at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
5. Kerr, Ben (3 May 2020). "John-Jason Peterka Scouting Report: 2020 NHL Draft #22". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
6. "Sabres sign Peterka to entry-level contract". Buffalo Sabres. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
7. "JJ Peterka at eliteprospects.com". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
8. LaBarber, Jordoun (3 January 2022). "Peterka named AHL Player of the Week". NHL.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
9. "'Pure joy' | Peterka nets 1st NHL goal in opening night victory". NHL.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
10. St. James, Helene (29 May 2023). "Detroit Red Wings' Moritz Seider's Germany stuns U.S. in World Championship semifinals". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved 29 May 2023.
11. Podnieks, Andrew (29 May 2023). "Canada rallies to win gold". IIHF. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
12. Kennedy, Ian (29 May 2023). "Top 10 players at the World Championship: Arturs Silovs sealed the door". The Hockey News . Retrieved 29 May 2023.
13. O'Brien, Derek (28 May 2023). "Silovs MVP, All-Stars named". IIHF. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
14. "2021-22 AHL All-Rookie Team named". American Hockey League. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database