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Kerby Rychel
Rychel with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2014
Born	(1994-10-07) October 7, 1994 (age 30) Torrance, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Columbus Blue Jackets Montreal Canadiens Calgary Flames Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
NHL draft	19th overall, 2013 Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career	2014–2020

Kerby Rychel (born October 7, 1994) is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He most recently played under contract with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round (19th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He was born in Torrance, California, but grew up in Tecumseh, Ontario. His father is 1996 Stanley Cup winner Warren Rychel.

Playing career

Rychel was originally selected 21st overall in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection by the Barrie Colts.

Rychel was rated as a top prospect and was a first-round selection at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

In his debut professional season in 2014–15, on an injury-plagued Blue Jackets roster, Rychel was recalled from AHL affiliate the Springfield Falcons and made his NHL debut on November 29, 2014, against the Nashville Predators.

Rychel gained notoriety during the 2015–16 NHL season when reports surfaced that he had requested a trade out of Columbus over his lack of playing time at the NHL level. Rychel and his father, who also serves as his agent, held a meeting with management during the Blue Jackets development camp, raising concerns over Rychel being "buried" on the team's depth chart. Ultimately though, Rychel was not traded during the season, and split time between the club and their new AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. The Monsters finished as one of the top teams in the league, and ultimately won the Calder Cup.

On June 25, 2016, less than an hour after the conclusion of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Rychel was traded by the Blue Jackets to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Scott Harrington and a conditional 5th round pick (condition was not met). The Maple Leafs were rumoured to be one of the teams most interested in Rychel following his earlier trade request. On February 25, 2018, Rychel was traded along with Rinat Valiev and a 2018 second-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Tomáš Plekanec and Kyle Baun.

As an unsigned restricted free agent with the Canadiens over the summer, Rychel was traded by the Canadiens to the Calgary Flames in exchange for fellow restricted free agent, Hunter Shinkaruk, on August 20, 2018, and signed a one-year contract with the Flames.

On June 25, 2019, Rychel was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Flames, enabling him to become a free agent. Rychel paused his North American career, agreeing to his first contract abroad in signing a one-year contract with Swedish club Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) on July 27, 2019. Approaching the 2019–20 season, Rychel sought and was released from his contract with Örebro HK in order to later sign a one-year contract with Russian club HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk on September 3, 2019.

Rychel struggled to adapt to the KHL and was scoreless in just 7 games with Neftekhimik before his contract was terminated on October 8, 2019. Following his brief stint in the KHL, Rychel returned to North America and opted to resume his career in the AHL, by agreeing to a one-year contract with the Charlotte Checkers, affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, on November 19, 2019. He notched 1 assist in 6 games with the Checkers before he was suspended by the team and removed from the roster.

International play

During the 2010–11 season, Rychel won a gold medal with Team Ontario at the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, and during the 2011–12 season he won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships. During the 2012–13 season he was an invited participant at the 2013 CHL Top Prospects Game.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Canada Ontario	U17			5	2	2	4	0
2012	Canada	WJC18			7	5	3	8	12
2012	Canada	IH18			5	1	1	2	0
2014	Canada	WJC	4th		7	0	0	0	0
Junior totals					24	8	6	14	12

Awards and honors

References

1. "Kerby Rychel's NHL Draft Profile". National Hockey League. June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
2. "2012 NHL draft: Unlike father Warren, Spitfires' Kerby Rychel looks to be a sure bet". National Post. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
3. "Rychel pick is justified". The Barrie Examiner. May 3, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
4. "2013 NHL Draft Rankings War Room: Combining Central Scouting's Final Rankings". TheHockeyWriters.com. June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
5. "Kerby Rychel set for NHL debut". hockeybuzz.com. November 28, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
6. ^ "Report: Leafs, Flames, Canadiens interested in Rychel trade". Sportsnet. Rogers. January 4, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
7. "Maple Leafs acquire Kerby Rychel from Columbus". Toronto Maple Leafs. June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
8. Cudzinowski, Matt (February 25, 2018). "Plekanec traded to Toronto in exchange for a draft pick and two prospects". NHL.com. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
9. Cudzinowski, Matt (August 20, 2018). "Forward Hunter Shinkaruk acquired from Calgary in return for Kerby Rychel". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
10. "FLAMES SIGN KERBY RYCHEL". NHL.com. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
11. "Flames provide qualifying offers to eight players". Calgary Flames. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
12. "NHL experienced forward Kerby Rychel signs for OHK" (in Swedish). Örebro HK. July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
13. "Neftekhimik signs contract with Kerby Rychel" (in Russian). HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
14. "Osipov moves to Admiral" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
15. "Checkers sign Kerby Rychel to AHL deal". Charlotte Checkers. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
16. "Kerby Rychel prospect profile". Hockey'sFuture.com. May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
17. "Rychel proud of bronze medal". Canada.com. February 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
18. "2013 CHL Top Prospects Game: Sporting bloodlines flow through number of prospects". Hockey'sFuture.com. February 1, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
19. "CHL Top Prospect game rosters". Canadian Hockey League. January 4, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
20. "Memorial Cup All-Star Teams". Memorial Cup. May 4, 2014. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
21. Brown, Tony (June 12, 2016). "Bjorkstrand's OT goal clinches Monsters' first-ever Calder Cup championship". Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
22. "Ontario crowned U17 Challenge champions". Winnipeg Sun. January 4, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
23. "Canada's National Men's Under-18 Team Wins Bronze Medal at 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship". Hockey Canada. February 2, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2015.

External links

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

• 1994 births
• Living people
• American men's ice hockey left wingers
• Calgary Flames players
• Canadian ice hockey left wingers
• Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players
• Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks
• Columbus Blue Jackets players
• Guelph Storm players
• Ice hockey players from California
• Lake Erie Monsters players
• Laval Rocket players
• Mississauga St. Michael's Majors players
• Montreal Canadiens players
• NHL first-round draft picks
• HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players
• Sportspeople from Torrance, California
• Springfield Falcons players
• Stockton Heat players
• Toronto Marlies players
• Windsor Spitfires players
• 21st-century American sportsmen