Kevin Westgarth

Last updated

Kevin Westgarth
20140927-KevinWestgarth.jpg
Westgarth with the Edmonton Oilers in 2014
Born (1984-02-07) February 7, 1984 (age 40)
Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 228 lb (103 kg; 16 st 4 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Los Angeles Kings
Carolina Hurricanes
Calgary Flames
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–2015

Kevin Reginald Westgarth (born February 7, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, and Calgary Flames. Westgarth mainly played as an enforcer, as evidenced by his NHL career statistics of only 16 points and 266 penalty minutes in 169 games.

Contents

Early life

Westgarth was born on February 7, 1984, in Amherstburg, Ontario, to Reg and Gilda Westgarth. His older brother Brett played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for four seasons. He attended General Amherst High School, where he participated in ice hockey, soccer, tennis, and golf. [1]

Playing career

Amateur

Along with partaking in high school hockey, Westgarth played with the Chatham Maroons in the Western Ontario Hockey League. He played two seasons with the Maroons from 2001 to 2003. In his first season with the Maroons, he recorded 14 goals and 14 assists in 48 games. [2] He had also accumulated 125 penalty minutes, the second highest on the team. [3] Despite his enforcer playstyle, he was the Maroons' Academic Player of the Year for the 2001–02 season and was awarded the Barry Wiseman Memorial Award for on-ice and academic performance. [1] In his second season with the Maroons, Westgarth had 9 goals and 7 assists in 21 games. [2] His performance with the Maroons along with academic performance earned him a scholarship from the Princeton Tigers. [4]

College

Leading his collegiate Princeton Tigers in penalty minutes, with 48 as a freshman during the 2003-2004 season, Kevin Westgarth established his reputation as a bruiser. He finished his career at Princeton with 130 penalty minutes and 60 points in 116 games, and spent three of his four seasons alongside his brother, Brett. After his senior season, Westgarth was signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Los Angeles Kings on March 16, 2007. [5]

Professional

Los Angeles Kings

Westgarth made his professional debut on March 18, 2007, just two days after signing with the Kings, for their AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, against the Providence Bruins. In just 14 games in 2007, Westgarth accumulated 44 penalty minutes and three points.

During his first full season in Manchester, 2007–2008, Westgarth was second among all AHL rookies in penalty minutes with 191, and led all rookies with 25 major penalties. Westgarth made his NHL debut for the Kings on January 20, 2009 logging 4:39 of ice-time on the road against the Minnesota Wild. Westgarth was recalled from Manchester twice during the season. In his first game back with Manchester on January 23, Westgarth fought Garrett Klotz of the Philadelphia Phantoms, forcing Klotz to leave the ice on a stretcher after suffering seizures following multiple punches to the face from Westgarth. [6] Westgarth's best season in the AHL came in the 2009-2010 season as the forward scored 11 goals and tallied 25 points in 76 games, as just one of seven players in the AHL to have 25 points and more than 150 penalty minutes during the season. [5]

Westgarth's strong campaign earned him a roster spot with the Kings in the fall of 2010, as the enforcer for head coach Terry Murray. Westgarth's first fight of the preseason resulted in facial fractures for Colorado Avalanche winger David Koci on September 22. [7] Through 30 games, Westgarth led the Kings in penalty minutes with 59, after a number of fights with fellow NHL enforcers, such as John Scott of the Chicago Blackhawks. Late in Game 4 in the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks, Westgarth was ejected with a game misconduct for charging. [8]

During the 2011–12 season, Westgarth scored his first NHL goal against Kari Lehtonen in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on November 23, 2011. [9] [10] On February 16, 2012, Westgarth suffered a hand injury, placing him on the long term injury list for the remainder of the season. With the Kings franchise subsequently earning their first Stanley Cup in the club's forty-five-year history, and despite only playing in 25 regular season games, Westgarth was acknowledged as a Stanley Cup winner and had his name engraved on the cup. [11]

Carolina Hurricanes

Westgarth as a member of the Hurricanes. Kevin Westgarth 2013-2.jpg
Westgarth as a member of the Hurricanes.

During the 2012-13 NHL lockout, Westgarth stayed at his offseason home in North Carolina and practiced with several members of the Carolina Hurricanes while participating in NHLPA negotiations with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement. Upon ratification of the new agreement, the Kings promptly traded him to the Hurricanes for Anthony Stewart, a 2013 fourth-round pick and a 2014 sixth-round pick on January 13, 2013. [12]

Calgary Flames

On December 30, 2013, Westgarth was traded by the Hurricanes to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Greg Nemisz. [13] In the remainder of the 2013–14 season, Westgarth enjoyed his most productive period of his NHL career, in scoring a career high 4 goals and 7 points in 36 games.

With the Flames opting to not tender Westgarth a new offer, he was released to free agency at season's end. Without a contract heading into the 2014–15 season, Westgarth accepted an invitation to try out at the Edmonton Oilers training camp. On October 5, 2014, he was released from the Oilers pre-season roster and later opted to sign a one-year contract with Northern Irish club, the Belfast Giants of the EIHL on October 30, 2014. [14]

Personal life

Kevin is married to Meagan Westgarth (née Cowher), daughter of former NFL head coach Bill Cowher. [15] They met while attending Princeton University, where Meaghan played on the varsity basketball team. [16] They were wed in 2011, and make their home in Brooklyn, New York. Through his marriage, Westgarth is the brother-in-law of former Atlanta Hawks player, Ryan Kelly.

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2003–04 Princeton University ECAC 2533648—————
2004–05 Princeton UniversityECAC2943736—————
2005–06 Princeton UniversityECAC2910132336—————
2006–07 Princeton UniversityECAC338162440—————
2006–07 Manchester Monarchs AHL 1412344—————
2007–08 Manchester MonarchsAHL69661219140006
2008–09 Manchester MonarchsAHL654610165—————
2008–09 Los Angeles Kings NHL 90009—————
2009–10 Manchester MonarchsAHL76111425180610110
2010–11 Los Angeles KingsNHL56033105602214
2011–12 Los Angeles KingsNHL2511239—————
2012–13 Carolina Hurricanes NHL3122445—————
2013–14 Carolina HurricanesNHL120004—————
2013–14 Calgary Flames NHL3643764—————
2014–15 Belfast Giants EIHL 36137208740004
NHL totals1697916266602214

Awards and honours

AwardsYear
NHL
Stanley Cup champion 2012 [11]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Kevin Westgarth". Princeton Tigers. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Kevin Westgarth". EliteProspects. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  3. ↑ "2001-2002 Chatham Jr. Maroons Player Stats". EliteProspects. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  4. ↑ Rennie, Gary (September 6, 2002). "Local players bolster Chatham's Jr. B club". The Windsor Star . p. C3. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Player Bio Kevin Westgarth". Los Angeles Kings . Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ Hackel, Stu (January 24, 2009). "A.H.L. Player Suffers Seizure After Fight". NYTimes.com . Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Painful night". LAKingsInsider.com. September 23, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Sharks on top against Kings". CBS Sports . April 21, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Stars 3, Kings 2". National Hockey League. November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  10. ↑ Matsuda, Gann (November 29, 2011). "Westgarth Celebrates First NHL Goal With Teammates, Family, Friends and Fans". Gann Matsuda/Frozenroyalty.net. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Westgarth '07 wins Stanley Cup". Princeton Tigers. June 12, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Hurricanes acquire key lockout negotiator Westgarth". The Globe and Mail . January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Hurricanes trade Westgarh to Flames". National Hockey League. December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Enforcer Westgarth signs with Belfast team". Sportsnet.ca. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  15. ↑ Pinchevsky, Tal (May 15, 2012). "Cowher's love for hockey grows over time". National Hockey League.
  16. ↑ "Meagan Cowher". Princeton University.
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