Austin Farley Explained

Austin Farley
Birth Date:10 November 1993
Birth Place:Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S.
Height Ft:5
Height In:8
Weight Lb:170
Position:Left wing
Shoots:Left
Team:Fife Flyers
League:EIHL
Former Teams:Lake Erie Monsters
Luleå HF
HC Nové Zámky
Nottingham Panthers
Manchester Storm
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2016

Austin James Farley (born November 10, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for UK Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) side Fife Flyers.

He formerly played in Europe with Luleå HF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), Slovakian side HC Nové Zámky and English clubs Nottingham Panthers and Manchester Storm.

Playing career

A Chicago native, Farley played 95 games for Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League, tallying 36 goals and 36 assists. He graduated from Fargo South High School in 2012 and subsequently enrolled at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In September 2012, he attended the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in Buffalo, New York. He saw the ice in 144 games over his four-year college career, with 46 goals and 60 assists, while serving as an assistant team captain his senior season.[1]

Fresh out of college, Farley inked an amateur tryout contract with the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL) on March 30, 2016.[2] He made his professional debut two days later against the Chicago Wolves.[3] After being released by the Monsters, he put pen to paper on a deal with the Reading Royals of the ECHL on April 11, 2016.[4]

Farley decided to take his game to Sweden for the 2016–17 campaign, signing with Modo Hockey of the HockeyAllsvenskan on May 18, 2016.[5] He parted ways with Modo on November 21, 2016, by mutual consent,[6] after having played a total of 19 games for the club with two goals and two assists, and signed with fellow HockeyAllsvenskan outfit IF Björklöven the next day.[7]

After two productive seasons in the Allsvenskan, Farley secured a two-year contract with top tier SHL club, Luleå HF on July 3, 2018.[8] In his debut season in the SHL in 2018–19, Farley established a depth forward role within the club, posting 5 goals and 12 points through 30 regular season games.

During his second season with Luleå in 2019–20, Farley was unable to replicate his offensive numbers, collecting 3 goals and 5 points through 22 games before he was released for personal reasons from the remainder of his contract on January 3, 2020.[9]

Returning to North America, Farley returned to the professional ranks, agreeing to a contract for the remainder of the 2019–20 season with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL on January 15, 2020.[10] Farley instantly made his debut with the Wings assuming a top-line scoring role, recording a goal and an assist, in a 6–3 defeat to the Florida Everblades.[11] He posted 9 goals and 22 points in 27 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the following off-season, Farley was traded by the Wings to the Kansas City Mavericks on August 12, 2020.[12]

Career statistics

Team League GP GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11Chicago MissionT1EHL161071735
2010–11Fargo ForceUSHL33741165 0 1 1 2
2011–12Fargo ForceUSHL512831597161014
2012–13U. of Minnesota-DuluthWCHA3616183443
2013–14U. of Minnesota-DuluthNCHC317101712
2014–15U. of Minnesota-DuluthNCHC408162436
2015–16U. of Minnesota-DuluthNCHC3715163118
2015–16Lake Erie MonstersAHL20000
2015–16Reading RoyalsECHL42132
2016–17Modo HockeyAllsv1922412
2016–17IF BjörklövenAllsv1773106
2017–18IF BjörklövenAllsv4315183362
2018–19Luleå HFSHL30571231100552
2019–20Luleå HFSHL223252
2019–20Kalamazoo WingsECHL279132214
2020–21Kansas City MavericksECHL1903310
2021–22HC Nové ZámkySlovak268101814
2022–23HC Nové ZámkySlovak481531464741232
2023–24HC Nové ZámkySlovak104156
2023–24Nottingham PanthersEIHL110220
2023–24Manchester StormEIHL2447111020000
SHL totals 52891733100552

Awards and honors

AwardsYear
USHL
USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game2012

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Austin Farley - 2015-16 Men's Hockey. 2016-05-18.
  2. Web site: Monsters Sign Austin Farley to ATO. jjanavicius. 2016-03-30. Lake Erie Monsters. 2016-05-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20160602001647/http://www.lakeeriemonsters.com/team/news/monsters-sign-austin-farley-ato. June 2, 2016. dead.
  3. Web site: TheAHL.com The American Hockey League. theahl.com. 2016-05-18.
  4. Web site: RoyalsHockey.com Royals Sign Forward Austin Farley. royalshockey.com. 2016-05-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20160613020021/http://royalshockey.com/royals-sign-forward-austin-farley/. June 13, 2016. dead.
  5. Web site: Austin Farley klar för MODO Hockey. MODO Hockey. 2016-05-18.
  6. News: Farley lämnar - uppdateringar kring truppen i MODO Hockey. MODO Hockey. 2016-11-22.
  7. Web site: Farley klar för Björklöven - Björklöven. www.bjorkloven.com. 2016-11-23.
  8. Web site: Coach extension and three new players to LHF . . 2018-07-03 . 2018-07-03 . Swedish.
  9. Web site: Farley leaves LHF . . January 3, 2020 . January 3, 2020 . Swedish.
  10. Web site: K-Wings sign forward Austin Farley from top Swedish league . . January 15, 2020 . January 15, 2020.
  11. Web site: Farley impresses in debut, but Blades top Wings . . January 15, 2020 . January 15, 2020.
  12. Web site: Mavericks ship forward Betzold to Kalamazoo for Farley and Naas . . August 12, 2020 . August 12, 2020.