Introduction
For the American musician, see Phil Varone.
Philip Varone (born December 4, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Varone was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Amateur
Varone played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 2006-07 to 2010-11, collecting 78 goals and 152 assists for 230 points in 228 games.
Professional
Varone attended the San Jose Sharks training camp in 2010, but was sent down to London for the season. By July 2011, the Sharks had not signed Varone to a contract, making him a free agent. Varone attended the Buffalo Sabres training camp in 2011, but did not make the team. He instead signed a one-year AHL contract with the Sabres' affiliate Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). He led Rochester in scoring with 11 goals and 41 assists.
On March 19, 2012, the Buffalo Sabres signed Varone to a three-year entry level contract. Varone was recalled to the Sabres' active roster on January 22, 2014, and scored his first career point with an assist on a goal by Brian Flynn the next night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Varone scored his first goal in his fourth career game, against Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals on January 28, 2014.
Following the 2014–15 season, Varone became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Buffalo Sabres made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Varone filed for Salary Arbitration. The two sides reached an agreement on a one-year, two-way contract on July 13.
In the 2015–16 season, Varone played in a further five games with the Sabres, but was on assignment with the Rochester Americans when on February 27, 2016, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators as part of a seven-player deal. Varone was called up to Ottawa for the final game of the season, April 9, 2016 and recorded an assist.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 36 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | London Knights | OHL | 31 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 2008–09 | London Knights | OHL | 58 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 32 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 19 | ||
| 2009–10 | London Knights | OHL | 31 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | London Knights | OHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Erie Otters | OHL | 55 | 33 | 48 | 81 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 76 | 11 | 41 | 52 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 62 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 42 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 69 | 18 | 43 | 61 | 58 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 55 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 28 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 44 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 21 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 43 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||