Stephen Gionta

Stephen Gionta

Gionta in 2013
Born (1983-10-09) October 9, 1983
Rochester, NY, USA
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Right
AHL team
Former teams		 Bridgeport Sound Tigers
New Jersey Devils
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–present

Stephen Michael Gionta (born October 9, 1983) is an American ice hockey left wing, currently under contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL). He formerly played with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the younger brother of Buffalo Sabres player Brian Gionta, who played for the Devils from 2001 to 2009.

Playing career

He was not drafted by any team, but after graduating from Boston College he signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Albany River Rats, the AHL affiliate of his older brother's team at the time, the New Jersey Devils.[1]

Stephen made his professional debut at the end of the 2005–06 AHL season with the River Rats. Gionta's first ever AHL game was on April 13, 2006 against the Springfield Falcons. Stephen led his team to a 5–3 victory by scoring 3 goals and adding 1 assist. He was named the first star of the game.[2]

For the 2006–07 season, Stephen played for the Devils AHL affiliate, the Lowell Devils. He was on the team with Mike Pandolfo and Jordan Parise, who also have brothers (Jay and Zach, respectively) playing for the Devils, marking arguably the first time that three sets of brothers were playing for the same system simultaneously. This lasted until Brian signed with Montreal in 2009.

Stephen was called up by the New Jersey Devils on November 4, 2010. He made his NHL debut the following day playing in a home game 3–0 shutout loss to the New York Rangers.

Stephen scored his first NHL goal in the New Jersey Devils season finale on April 7, 2012 against Craig Anderson the Ottawa Senators. His goal was the game-winning goal, and he received first star honors of the game.

In his first ever home playoff game on Tuesday April 17, 2012, Stephen scored the second goal of the game for the New Jersey Devils in a 4–3 loss to the Florida Panthers. He would also score the Devils second goal in Game 7 against the Panthers in the Devils 3–2 Double OT win.

On May 23, 2012, he scored his fourth NHL goal, and third playoff goal, against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. As he also had an assist, it was his first multi-point playoff game.

On June 29, 2012, Gionta re-signed with the New Jersey Devils on a two-year contract.[3] On July 1, 2014, Gionta re-signed for another two years.[4]

After 11 seasons within the New Jersey Devils, Gionta association with the club ended as he was out of contract to become a free agent. Unsigned over the following summer, Gionta accepted a professional try-out contract to attend the New York Islanders training camp on September 12, 2016.[5] He was later signed to a one-year deal with AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–00 Rochester Jr. Americans NAHL 41 11 15 26 56 — — — — —
2000–01 U.S. National Development Team USDP 17 1 2 3 12 — — — — —
2001–02 U.S. National Development Team USDP 25 2 5 7 33 — — — — —
2002–03 Boston College HE 33 5 10 15 36 — — — — —
2003–04 Boston College HE 41 9 15 24 36 — — — — —
2004–05 Boston College HE 38 8 11 19 44 — — — — —
2005–06 Boston College HE 39 11 21 32 66 — — — — —
2005–06 Albany River Rats AHL 3 5 1 6 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Lowell Devils AHL 67 7 8 15 15 — — — — —
2007–08 Lowell Devils AHL 63 16 13 29 33 — — — — —
2008–09 Lowell Devils AHL 52 2 9 11 30 — — — — —
2009–10 Lowell Devils AHL 68 15 19 34 26 5 0 1 1 0
2010–11 Albany Devils AHL 54 10 20 30 21 — — — — —
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 12 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2011–12 Albany Devils AHL 56 6 10 16 40 — — — — —
2011–12 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 1 0 1 0 24 3 4 7 4
2012–13 Albany Devils AHL 11 2 3 5 4 — — — — —
2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 48 4 10 14 14 — — — — —
2013–14 New Jersey Devils NHL 66 4 7 11 18 — — — — —
2014–15 New Jersey Devils NHL 61 5 8 13 12 — — — — —
2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 1 10 11 43 — — — — —
NHL totals 270 15 35 50 93 24 3 4 7 4
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Ice hockey
Ice Hockey World Championships
2013 Sweden/Finland

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2001 United States WJC18 6th 6 2 0 2 4
2013 United States WC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 10 3 0 3 2
Junior totals 6 2 0 2 4
Senior totals 10 3 0 3 2

References

  1. ↑ "Devils sign familiar name in Gionta". Albany River Rats. 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  2. ↑ "Rats defeat Falcons". American Hockey League. 2006-04-13. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  3. ↑ "Devils re-sign Steve Bernier, Stephen Gionta, Ryan Carter, Cam Janssen". The Star-Ledger. 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  4. ↑ "Devils re-sign Stephen Gionta, bring back goalie Scott Clemmensen to compete for backup job". The Record. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  5. ↑ "Stephen Gionta agrees to tryout". New York Islanders. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
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