Jason Spezza
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Jason Anthony Rocco Spezza (born June 13, 1983 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) is an Italian Canadian ice hockey player, currently playing centre for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. He wears jersey #19.
Spezza played in the Ontario Hockey League for the Brampton Battalion in the team's opening season 1998-1999, despite being a year too young to enter the draft normally, as he was already living in the city. He was drafted 2nd overall in 2001 after Ilya Kovalchuk. This pick had originally belonged to the New York Islanders, but had been traded to Ottawa along with Zdeno Chara and Bill Muckalt for Alexei Yashin.
Spezza was a highly regarded prospect, but took some time to move to the NHL, playing with the Senators AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, in Binghamton, New York. He was called up on a few occasions. During one stint with Ottawa he helped the team win critical games in the 2003 Playoffs. He played a full season with the Senators in 2003-2004, and had a solid year.
During the NHL lockout Spezza returned to the AHL and with 117 points was the highest scorer in the league by a considerable margin, and the first to record so many points in several years. He was awarded the Les Cunningham Award as the league's Most Valuable Player. With centres Radek Bonk and Todd White traded during the off season, Spezza began the 2005 season as Ottawa's first line centre, playing between Dany Heatley and rookie Brandon Bochenski, Spezza's linemate in Binghamton. After Bochenski was sent down to the AHL, Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson took his place beside Spezza and Heatley. Other players who play on a line with Spezza and Heatley are Chris Kelly, and occasionally Antoine Vermette.
During the 05-06 season Spezza was highly regarded as one of the elite centers in the league. He was a major leader in points per game and actually led the league in scoring for a short period of time until he was crippled by many different injuries. Spezza was a reserve for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, but did not actually play.
Awards
- 1998-99: OHL First All-Star Team
- 2000-01: CHL Top Draft Prospect
- 2000-01: OHL Third All-Star Team
- 2001-02: OHL Third All-Star Team
- 2002-03: AHL All-Rookie Team
- 2004-05: AHL Les Cunningham Award (MVP)
- 2004-05: AHL First All-Star Team
- 2004-05: AHL John B. Sollenberger Trophy (Leading scorer)
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998-99 | Brampton Battalion | OHL | 67 | 22 | 49 | 71 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999-00 | Mississauga Ice Dogs | OHL | 52 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 33 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Mississauga Ice Dogs | OHL | 15 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 11 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000-01 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 41 | 36 | 50 | 86 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 2001-02 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 27 | 19 | 26 | 45 | 16 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001-02 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 26 | 23 | 37 | 60 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 18 | ||
| 2001-02 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002-03 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 43 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 71 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2002-03 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 33 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 78 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 71 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2004-05 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 80 | 32 | 85 | 117 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2005-06 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 68 | 19 | 71 | 90 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | ||
| NHL Totals | 179 | 48 | 118 | 166 | 112 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 4 | ||||
International play
- Bronze medal at 2000 Under-20 World Championships
- Bronze medal at 2001 Under-20 World Championships
- Silver medal at 2002 Under-20 World Championships
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Canada | U20 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2001 | Canada | U20 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2002 | Canada | U20 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
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