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Cliff Pu

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Cliff Pu
Cliff Pu - London Knights.jpg
Pu with the London Knights in 2016
Born (1998-06-03) June 3, 1998 (age 26)
North York, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
Slovak team
Former teams
HK Dukla Michalovce
Kunlun Red Star
Admiral Vladivostok
NHL draft 69th overall, 2016
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2018–present

Clifford Pu (born June 3, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for HK Dukla Michalovce of the Slovak Extraliga. He was selected 69th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.[1]

Playing career

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Youth

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Pu played at the AAA hockey level since the Atom age group. He was named an International Silverstick Atom AAA All Star in 2009. In his final year of minor ice hockey, he played for the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget AAA team. He was seen as one of the top prospects in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection after finishing 4th on his team in points.[2]

Junior

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Pu was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection by the Oshawa Generals.[3][4] He appeared in 17 games with the Generals, scoring two goals and adding an assist.[5] On January 1, 2015, Pu was traded to the London Knights along with Josh Sterk and three draft picks, in exchange for Michael McCarron and Dakota Mermis.[6] In the 24 games he appeared in for the Knights following the trade, Pu scored four goals and added two assists.

In his first full season with the Knights, Pu recorded 12 goals and 19 assists. In the following season, he greatly improved on his totals, leading the Knights in regular season scoring.[7] On January 3, 2018, the Knights traded Pu to the Kingston Frontenacs for Nathan Dunkley and draft picks.[8]

Professional

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In 2016, Cliff Pu became eligible for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was the 83rd ranked North American skater by the NHL's Scouting Service.[9] He was drafted in the third round, 69th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres. On October 23, 2017, Pu signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres.[10]

Pu was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on August 2, 2018, along with future draft picks (2019 second-round, and 2020 third-round and a sixth-round) in exchange for forward Jeff Skinner.[11]

After attending the Hurricanes' 2018 training camp, Pu was assigned to begin the 2018–19 season, with Carolina's AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. He struggled to translate his offensive game to the professional level and was re-assigned to ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades, on February 9, 2019. After scoring at a point-per-game through five appearances with the Everblades, Pu was returned to the AHL. Having contributed with one goal and five assist for six points in 44 games with Charlotte, Pu was traded by the Hurricanes to the Florida Panthers in exchange for future considerations, which correlated with the Checkers' acquisition of Tomáš Jurčo, on February 25, 2019.[12]

On October 8, 2020, Pu was traded for the third time during his entry-level contract by the Panthers to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Markus Nutivaara.[13]

With his contract concluded with the Blue Jackets, Pu was not tendered a qualifying offer and was released as a free agent. On August 13, 2021, with limited opportunity in North America, he embarked on a European career in agreeing to a one-year contract with Austrian club, the Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League.[14]

On June 20, 2024, Slovak Extraliga team HK Dukla Michalovce announced that Pu had been signed to a one-year contract.[15]

Personal life

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Pu was born in North York, Ontario and was raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Toronto Marlboros GTMMHL 33 23 24 47 10 16 4 13 17 4
2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 17 2 1 3 2
2014–15 London Knights OHL 24 2 4 6 2 5 0 0 0 0
2015–16 London Knights OHL 63 12 19 31 24 18 8 5 13 6
2016–17 London Knights OHL 63 35 51 86 36 14 2 5 7 8
2017–18 London Knights OHL 36 16 29 45 22
2017–18 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 29 13 26 39 6 15 4 13 17 6
2018–19 Charlotte Checkers AHL 44 1 5 6 10
2018–19 Florida Everblades ECHL 5 2 3 5 0
2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 9 1 1 2 0
2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 10 0 2 2 4
2019–20 Greenville Swamp Rabbits ECHL 4 1 5 6 2
2020–21 Cleveland Monsters AHL 16 3 7 10 6
2021–22 Kunlun Red Star KHL 15 3 3 6 6
2022–23 Kunlun Red Star KHL 41 11 9 20 34
2023–24 Kunlun Red Star KHL 29 1 8 9 12
2023–24 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 24 1 5 6 6
AHL totals 79 5 15 20 20
KHL totals 109 16 25 41 58

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Canada Black U17 7th 5 1 0 1 2
Junior totals 5 1 0 1 2

References

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  1. ^ "OHL Network". www.ontariohockeyleague.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  2. ^ "Cliff Pu". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  3. ^ "2014 OHL Priority Selection". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "OHL Network". www.ontariohockeyleague.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. ^ "London Knights". londonknights.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  6. ^ "Knights Trade McCarron and Mermis to Oshawa". Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  7. ^ "London Knights". londonknights.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  8. ^ "London Knights trade Cliff Pu to Kingston Frontenacs". lfpress.ca. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "2016 Draft Prospect Rankings". www.nhl.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  10. ^ "Sabres sign Pu to entry-level contract". NHL.com. October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  11. ^ Williams, Terrell (August 2, 2018). "Canes Deal Skinner to Sabres for Picks, Prospect". NHL.com. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  12. ^ "Florida Panthers acquire Forward Cliff Pu from Hurricanes". Florida Panthers. February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "CBJ acquire Cliff Pu from Florida in exchange for Markus Nutivaara". Columbus Blue Jackets. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Cliff Pu signs with Capitals" (in German). Vienna Capitals. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  15. ^ "Former Sabres draft pick Cliff Pu leaves KHL for Slovakia". The Hockey News. June 20, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
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