Edward Pasquale

Edward Robert Nito Pasquale (born November 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for Barys Astana in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has formerly played with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pasquale was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Edward Pasquale
Pasquale with the St. John's IceCaps in 2012
Born (1990-11-20) November 20, 1990 (age 33)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
PositionGoaltender
CatchesLeft
KHL team
Former teams
Barys Astana
Tampa Bay Lightning
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
National team Canada
NHL draft117th overall, 2009
Atlanta Thrashers
Playing career2010–present

Playing career

Junior

Pasquale played in the Ontario Hockey League for the Belleville Bulls for parts of both the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. Midway through his second season in Belleville, he was traded to the Saginaw Spirit. He would spend the next two and a half seasons here, becoming the Spirit starter in both the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons. Praised for traits such as consistency, Pasquale was named to the OHL's third all-star team for the 2008/09 OHL season. He also played in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects game. In his final OHL season, Pasquale stopped over 1800 shots.[1]

Professional

The Atlanta Thrashers selected Pasquale, the 117th overall selection of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Following his junior career, Pasquale was assigned to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. Here Pasquale filled the role of backup goaltender, playing in 24 games.[2] He also spent some time in the ECHL, playing with the Gwinnett Gladiators. During the 2011 offseason, the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and became the Jets. Pasquale started the 2011–12 season by attending Jets training camp before he was assigned to AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps for the remainder of his entry-level contract.

On June 27, 2014, Pasquale was traded by the Jets in an exchange of draft picks at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft to the Washington Capitals.[3] Pasquale would never play in a competitive game in the Capitals organization as he sat out the 2014–15 season, recuperating from hip surgery.

On July 3, 2015, Pasquale as a free agent, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the St. John's IceCaps, now affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens.[4] On October 13, he would be sent down to the Canadiens' ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast.[5]

On July 1, 2016, Pasquale signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[6] During the 2016–17 season, Pasquale appeared in 29 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting a 15–9–5 record, a 2.43 goals against average (GAA), a .919 save percentage and four shutouts, helping lead Grand Rapids to the Calder Cup.[7]

On July 1, 2017, Pasquale left the Red Wings and signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[8] On January 31, 2018, the Oilers traded Pasquale to the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations.[9] On December 4, 2018, Pasquale made his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Pasquale helped the Lightning defeat the Red Wings that night in a 6–5 shootout win. He would play two more games with the Lightning, including the final game of the year, where he helped them beat the Boston Bruins, which tied the NHL record for most wins in a season.[10]

In his second season with the Syracuse Crunch, he won the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award. The award goes to the goaltenders of the American Hockey League team with the lowest goals against average and who have appeared in at least 25 regular season games.[11]

As an impending free agent, on June 14, 2019, Pasquale opted to sign his first contract abroad since turning professional in 2010, agreeing to a one-year contract with Kazakh-based club, Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL.[12] In his debut season in the KHL, Pasquale had a successful 2019–20 campaign, registering a 2.03 goals against average and picking up goaltender of the week honours on two occasions to help Barys qualify for the post-season.

As a free agent from Barys, Pasquale was rewarded with an improved two-year contract with Russian-based club, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, on May 1, 2020.[13]

On 1 June 2022, Pasquale as a free agent from Lokomotiv, continued his career in the KHL by agreeing to a one-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.[14] In the 2022–23 season, Pasquale appeared in a career high 50 regular season games, posting 23 wins and helped Metallurg reach the Conference semifinals.

As a free agent, Pasquale opted to return to former club Barys Astana, in signing a two-year contract on July 1, 2023.[15]

International play

In January 2022, Pasquale was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[16][17][18]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLOTLMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2006–07Belleville BullsOHL74103671903.10.917
2007–08Belleville BullsOHL104425582712.90.900
2007–08Saginaw SpiritOHL138506613903.54.89020197503.09.891
2008–09Saginaw SpiritOHL6132216182117803.02.9118445303403.85.895
2009–10Saginaw SpiritOHL5127175289815313.17.9166243611402.33.941
2010–11Chicago WolvesAHL241111113726712.93.900
2010–11Gwinnett GladiatorsECHL127407154403.69.898
2011–12St. John's IceCapsAHL382312121638742.41.91115789173702.42.923
2012–13St. John's IceCapsAHL4315234245311442.79.907
2013–14St. John's IceCapsAHL311713118517512.43.920
2015–16Brampton BeastECHL124626914013.47.890
2015–16St. John's IceCapsAHL301310315316702.62.919
2016–17Grand Rapids GriffinsAHL29159516546742.43.91910041000.001.000
2017–18Bakersfield CondorsAHL166549474112.60.910
2017–18Syracuse CrunchAHL1510138352411.72.9383211761204.09.840
2018–19Syracuse CrunchAHL4527126265010442.35.9164132281102.90.898
2018–19Tampa Bay LightningNHL32101821203.96.882
2019–20Barys Nur-SultanKHL462418126058812.03.930541281621.28.960
2020–21Lokomotiv YaroslavlKHL412511323937651.91.92511746751441.24.951
2021–22Lokomotiv YaroslavlKHL381916322967611.99.916202121703.46.854
2022–23Metallurg MagnitogorskKHL5023174274910332.25.92710445852602.67.906
2023–24Barys AstanaKHL364245198310303.12.904
NHL totals32101821203.96.882
KHL totals21195861612,027446102.23.9212815111,6625361.91.930

International

YearTeamEventResultGPWLT/OTMINGASOGAASV%
2022CanadaOG6th2110118502.55.902
Senior totals2110118502.55.902

Awards and honours

AwardYear
OHL
Third All-Star Team2009
AHL
All-Rookie Team2012
Calder Cup (Grand Rapids Griffins)2017
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award2019
KHL
Goaltender of the Year2021

References