Introduction
Mark Alexander Terrance Pysyk (born January 11, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and forward who is currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pysyk was originally selected in the first round, 23rd overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.
Playing career
Pysyk was the first-ever draft pick of the current incarnation of the Edmonton Oil Kings when he was selected third overall in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft. In 2009–10 Pysyk played 48 games before being sidelined with a broken foot. Despite the injury, the Oil Kings named him their team MVP of the season. At the end of the season, he was ranked seventh among North American skaters for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was selected 23rd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the draft. Pysyk models his game after Shea Weber because of Weber's two-way playing style. Following his draft, he appeared in his first NHL training camp. After being returned to his junior team by the Sabres, Pysyk was named the captain of the Oil Kings on September 28, 2010.
On May 13, 2012, Mark, along with the rest of the Edmonton Oil Kings, won game 7 of the WHL Finals, against the Portland Winter Hawks with a score of 4-1, to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup. They went on to the Memorial Cup in Shawinigan Quebec, and came in 4th.
In his debut professional season in 2012–13, he marked his first professional game by scoring a goal with the Sabres AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, on October 12, 2012. After 57 games with the Americans, Pysyk received his first NHL call-up by Buffalo midway into the shortened season. He played his first NHL game on March 17, 2013 against the Washington Capitals.
On June 25, 2016, Pysyk was traded, along with picks 38 and 89 in the 2016 NHL Draft to the Florida Panthers in exchange for pick 33 in the 2016 draft and defenceman Dmitri Kulikov.
On February 3, 2020, Pysyk scored his first NHL hat trick, tallying three goals on three shots to rally the Panthers to victory from a 3-1 deficit.
International play
Was invited to take part in Canada's 2011 National Junior Team selection camp, but did not make the final roster. The following year, he was named to the team for the 2012 World Junior Championships, held in Alberta.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 61 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 48 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 63 | 6 | 34 | 40 | 88 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 57 | 6 | 32 | 38 | 83 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 16 | ||
| 2012–13 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 57 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 44 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 31 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 2014–15 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 54 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 55 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 70 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 359 | 13 | 57 | 70 | 106 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Canada Pacific | U17 | 
|
6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2012 | Canada | WJC | 
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||||