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| Erik Haula | |
|---|---|
| Name | Erik Haula |
| Birth date | 23 March 1991 |
| Birth place | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Weight lb | 185 |
| Position | Center / Right wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| League | NHL |
| Team | Free agent |
| Former teams | * Minnesota Wild * Vegas Golden Knights * Florida Panthers * Carolina Hurricanes * Boston Bruins |
| National team | USA |
| Draft | Undrafted |
| Career start | 2011 |
Erik Haula Erik Haula is an American professional ice hockey forward whose National Hockey League career has included significant tenures with the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Boston Bruins. Known for his versatility as a center and right wing, Haula developed through the United States Hockey League and the NCAA before breaking into the NHL and representing the United States at international tournaments. His career has encompassed playoff runs, a selection by an expansion franchise, and contributions to American national teams.
Haula was born in Palo Alto, California, and raised in Honey Creek near Madison, Wisconsin, linking his early life to communities with ties to Silicon Valley and the American Midwest. He played youth hockey with programs in Wisconsin and advanced to the United States Hockey League with the Lincoln Stars and Youngstown Phantoms, where he shared rosters and development pathways common to prospects who also played in the NCAA, such as alumni from the University of Minnesota and Boston University. Haula committed to the University of Minnesota, joining the Golden Gophers men's ice hockey program in the Big Ten Conference and the WCHA era transition, playing under collegiate coaches and alongside future NHL players who progressed through the NCAA system and NHL Entry Draft pipelines. In college, he registered scoring totals that paralleled contemporaries who moved from the Frozen Four and Minnesota State tournaments to professional contracts in the American Hockey League and National Hockey League.
Undrafted out of the University of Minnesota, Haula signed an entry-level contract and entered the professional ranks via the AHL before making his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild. With the Wild, he played alongside franchise players and coaches, participating in Central Division and Western Conference matchups and playoff series that involved opponents such as the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche. Haula was a notable selection during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, becoming a member of the Vegas Golden Knights inaugural roster and contributing to an unprecedented playoff run against teams like the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, culminating in the Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals. Subsequent trades and free-agent moves saw Haula join the Florida Panthers and later the Carolina Hurricanes, where he featured in Atlantic Division contests and Eastern Conference playoff campaigns, before signing with and appearing for the Boston Bruins in the Original Six rivalry context against the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings. Throughout his NHL career, Haula has experienced roster transactions, salary cap management decisions, and injury recoveries that mirror the transactions of contemporary NHL players, and he has been involved in contract negotiations administered under the Collective Bargaining Agreement overseen by the NHLPA and National Hockey League offices.
Haula has represented the United States at multiple international levels, appearing in tournaments organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation and competing against national teams such as Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic. His international resume includes appearances in junior and senior competitions where he skated with and against American teammates who also participated in the IIHF World Championship, World Junior Championship, and Olympic selection camps. Haula's international experience connected him with USA Hockey development programs, national coaching staffs, and tournaments where North American and European playing styles meet, contributing to his adaptability in both NHL and international styles of play.
Haula is noted for a two-way style characterized by positional awareness common to centers and the transitional speed seen in modern right wings. Scouts and analysts have compared aspects of his play to skill sets valued in the NHL: faceoff competence, playmaking instincts paralleling those of established pivots, and shot selection akin to secondary scoring forwards. He has been deployed on penalty kill and power play units at various points, reflecting coaches' trust in his defensive responsibility and offensive touch. His skating mechanics, situational hockey IQ, and ability to play in multiple forward roles align with systems used by coaches across the NHL, where adaptability and special teams contributions are highly valued.
Haula's background links him to both California and Wisconsin, and his family has been noted in local and state media coverage similar to profiles of other NHL players from non-traditional markets. Off the ice, he has engaged with community initiatives and charitable events associated with NHL teams, alumni foundations, and civic organizations in cities where he has played, participating in youth hockey clinics, hospital visits, and community outreach programs that parallel the philanthropic activities of many professional athletes. His personal interests and post-playing considerations include involvement in hockey development and connections to collegiate and youth hockey networks.
Haula's career statistics encompass seasons in the NCAA, AHL, and NHL, including regular season and playoff totals that reflect scoring, assists, points, plus-minus, and penalty minutes accrued with each professional club. Internationally, his statistics document appearances and point totals for United States national teams at IIHF events and other tournaments. Detailed season-by-season and tournament-by-tournament numbers are maintained by league statistical records associated with the NCAA, AHL, NHL, and IIHF.
Category:American ice hockey centres Category:University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Category:Minnesota Wild players Category:Vegas Golden Knights players Category:Florida Panthers players Category:Carolina Hurricanes players Category:Boston Bruins players