Curtis Valk
Born (1993-02-08) February 8, 1993
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams		 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Florida Panthers
Barys Nur-Sultan
National team  Kazakhstan
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

Curtis Valk (born February 8, 1993) is a Canadian-Kazakhstani professional ice hockey centre. He is currently playing with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers.

Playing career

Valk played major junior hockey for his hometown team, the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Valk, who played in the WHL from the 2010–11 season, was rewarded for his outstanding performance during the 2012–13 WHL season by being named to the 2013 WHL East First All-Star Team.[1]

As an undrafted free agent embarking on his first professional season, Valk was invited to participate in the Vancouver Canucks 2014 training camp on September 21, 2014. He was later demoted to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, where he signed a one-year contract on October 10, 2014. He was immediately re-assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings to begin the 2014–15 season.[2]

On July 1, 2017, Valk signed as a free agent to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers.[3] During training camp, Valk was re-assigned by the Panthers to begin the 2017–18 season with AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.[4] Through the first 16 games of the season, Valk impressed to lead the team in scoring with 15 points. On November 13, 2017, he received his first recall by the Panthers to the NHL,[5] and made his NHL debut on November 14, 2017.[6] After a solitary game with the Panthers, Valk was returned to the Thunderbirds and played out the season in collecting a career best 62 points in 73 games.

As a restricted free agent with the Panthers, Valk opted to pause his North American career in signing a one-year contract with Kazahkstani club, Barys Astana of the KHL on July 3, 2018.[7]

Following four seasons with Barys, Valk as a dual Kazakhstani citizen left to sign a two-year contract to continue in the KHL with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg on May 1, 2022.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Brooks Bandits AJHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2009–10 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 56 8 9 17 19 15 1 4 5 6
2011–12 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 67 24 31 55 35 8 6 4 10 4
2012–13 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 71 46 45 91 54 8 3 2 5 4
2013–14 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 72 47 45 92 36 18 12 9 21 10
2014–15 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 31 11 19 30 12 — — — — —
2014–15 Utica Comets AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Utica Comets AHL 12 2 4 6 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 30 16 17 33 14 — — — — —
2016–17 Utica Comets AHL 75 16 30 46 49 — — — — —
2017–18 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 73 20 42 62 41 — — — — —
2017–18 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Barys Astana KHL 50 9 18 27 32 12 1 6 7 6
2019–20 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 52 7 12 19 10 5 1 1 2 4
2020–21 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 59 9 20 29 67 3 1 1 2 2
2021–22 Barys Nur-Sultan KHL 47 12 29 41 16 5 1 3 4 2
2022–23 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg KHL 56 14 25 39 26 7 4 6 10 8
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
KHL totals 264 51 104 155 151 32 8 17 25 22

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2020 Kazakhstan OGQ DNQ 3 0 3 3 0
2021 Kazakhstan WC 10th 7 1 4 5 2
2022 Kazakhstan WC 14th 7 1 2 3 0
Senior totals 17 2 9 11 2

Awards and honours

Award Year
WHL
First All-Star Team 2012–13 [9]
Second All-Star Team 2013–14

References

  1. ↑ "WHL Eastern Conference All-Star Teams". Western Hockey League. March 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Mallet, Fox and Valk assigned to Kalamazoo". Utica Comets. October 10, 2014. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Florida Panthers agree to terms with five players". Florida Panthers. July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Thunderbirds to open training camp on Sept 22". Florida Panthers. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Florida Panthers recall forward Curtis Valk from Springfield". Florida Panthers. November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Former K-Wing Curtis Valk makes NHL debut with Florida Panthers". MLive.com. November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Curtis Volk a newcomer to Barys" (in Russian). Barys Astana. July 3, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Avtomobilist sign four to contracts" (in Russian). Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  9. ↑ "2013 WHL East All Stars & Award". Western Hockey League. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
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