Introduction
Justin Vaive (born July 8, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL. His father is the retired National Hockey League All-Star right-winger Rick Vaive. Vaive was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the 4th round (92nd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Vaive attended Ohio's Miami University, where he played four seasons (2007–2011) of NCAA college hockey with the Miami RedHawks men's ice hockey team.
On August 24, 2011, the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League signed Vaive to an AHL contract. (AHL).
On July 24, 2014, Vaive re-signed to a one-year ECHL contract with the Greenville Road Warriors. Prior to the 2014–15 season on September 3, he was signed to return with Road Warriors AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on a one-year deal.
On July 2, 2015, Vaive agreed to his first NHL contract as a free agent, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. Vaive was unable to claim a roster spot with the Islanders and was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the duration of the 2015–16 season.
With his rights not retained by the Islanders, Vaive went un-signed over the summer as a free agent before agreeing to return to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL on October 14, 2016. After appearing in the season opener, he accepted a professional try-out offer to return to the AHL with the Rochester Americans the following day.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | Milton Icehawks | OPJHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | U.S. National Development Team | NAHL | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | U.S. National Development Team | NAHL | 15 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Miami University (Ohio) | CCHA | 41 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Miami University (Ohio) | CCHA | 37 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Miami University (Ohio) | CCHA | 43 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Miami University (Ohio) | CCHA | 39 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 40 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 41 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 | ||
| 2013–14 | Greenville Road Warriors | ECHL | 13 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 14 | ||
| 2013–14 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 27 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 62 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 94 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 63 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 66 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 48 | 32 | 13 | 45 | 107 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 2017–18 | Belleville Senators | AHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 65 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 120 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 2019–20 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 58 | 21 | 14 | 35 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 280 | 31 | 36 | 67 | 344 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | United States | U17 | 
|
6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2007 | United States | WJC18 |
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 | ||||