WOLFSBURG, Germany -- Former Alaska Nanooks hockey All-American, Cody Kunyk, recently signed a contract to play for the Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey League in Germany.
Kunyk, who was coming off an entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lighting, crosses the pond after spending the 2014-15 season with the Lighting affiliate, Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. The 2013-14 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year had a cup of coffee in the NHL during his time with Tampa Bay, as he appeared in one game for the Lighting on April 13, 2014, just less than a month after his final game with the Nanooks.
Last season, Kunyk appeared in 69 games with the Crunch and collected a total of 26 points, thanks to his 10 goals and 16 assists. He helped Syracuse to the AHL Playoffs, where they were eliminated in the first round by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Grizzlys Wolfsburg is a professional hockey team located in Wolfsburg, Germany. They were founded in 1975 and earned their first promotion into the Deutsche Eishockey League in 2004. The DEL is a 14-team league that was founded in 1994, and is the top-tier German league. The league has the highest number of American and Canadians players outside of North America. Wolfsburg is named after Grizzly Adams, from the 1974 movie The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. This past season, the Grizzlys went 28-18 and advanced to the DEL Semifinals.
Kunyk had an outstanding career with the Nanooks during his four years in the Interior. He was the first player in program history to earn WCHA Player of the Year honors and was the 30th Nanook to join the 100-point club. Kunyk finished his career with the 13th-most points in program history – 133 – thanks to his 60 goals and 73 assists. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native was also a CCM Hockey Division I Second Team All-American selection in his final season with Alaska, as he led the WCHA in scoring with 43 points.
The 2015-16 edition of the Alaska Nanooks hockey team gets underway on Sept. 26, with its annual Blue/Gold game. The Nanooks are coming off their third-straight winning season, as they finished 19-13-2. The 19 wins were the most in a single season since the 2005-06 campaign, when the Nanooks went 19-16-5.
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