Justin Sourdif Explained

Justin Sourdif
Birth Date:24 March 2002
Birth Place:Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:180
Position:Right Wing
Shoots:Right
League:NHL
Team:Florida Panthers
Prospect Team:Charlotte Checkers
Prospect League:AHL
Draft:87th overall
Draft Year:2020
Draft Team:Florida Panthers
Career Start:2022

Justin Sourdif (born March 24, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect under contract to the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Junior

Sourdif played in the Delta Hockey Academy before he was selected third overall by the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.[1] He began his major junior career with the Giants in the following 2017–18 season. In the 2018–19 season, Sourdif was a member of the Giants team that advanced all the way to the WHL championship, losing in seven games to the Prince Albert Raiders.[2] During the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 season, Sourdif registered 54 points for the Giants.[3] That season, Sourdif was among those chosen to the play in the Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[4] He was selected as the Giants captain leading into his final junior season in 2021–22 and with the club out of playoff contention he was dealt to the Edmonton Oil Kings at the trade deadline in exchange for two first-round draft picks and a fellow junior player on January 17, 2022.[5] Sourdif contributed with 14 points through 19 playoff games with the Oil Kings to help capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.[6] As WHL champions, the Oil Kings were one of the four teams at the 2022 Memorial Cup, however, the team finished last in the tournament.[7]

Professional

Sourdif was selected in the third round, 87th overall, by the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on October 7, 2020.[3] Sourdif was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on September 25, 2021.[8] Sourdif began his professional career in the 2022–23 season, assigned by the Panthers to American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Remaining with the Checkers for the entirety of the season, Sourdif showed offensive potential in posting seven goals and 24 points while limited to just 48 games through injury as a rookie.[9]

In the season, following an impressive training camp with the Panthers, Sourdif was the final cut re-assigned to the Checkers before the commencement of the season.[10] Before joining the Checkers, Sourdif was recalled by the Panthers and was named to the opening season roster. He later made his NHL debut on October 16, 2023, in a 4–3 victory against the New Jersey Devils.[11] [12] He went scoreless in three games with the Panthers before he was re-assigned to the Charlotte Checkers on October 23, 2023.[13]

International play

Sourdif was selected to play for Canada at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In five games he scored one goal and five points and as the team won a silver medal.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
2017–18Valley West Hawks U18BCEHL35 23 50 73 573 2 3 5 4
2017–18Vancouver GiantsWHL4 0 0 0 07 0 0 0 0
2018–19Vancouver GiantsWHL64 23 23 46 3117 2 6 8 16
2019–20Vancouver GiantsWHL57 26 28 54 44
2020–21Vancouver GiantsWHL22 11 23 34 29
2021–22 Edmonton Oil KingsWHL28 17 22 39 3319 5 9 14 18
2021–22Vancouver GiantsWHL24 9 23 32 28
2022–23Charlotte CheckersAHL48 7 17 24 326 1 1 2 4
2023–24Charlotte CheckersAHL58 12 26 38 623 1 0 1 2
2023–24Florida PanthersNHL3 0 0 0 0
NHL totals3 0 0 0 0

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2018Canada RedU174th6 1 2 3 4
2019CanadaHG185 1 4 5 2
Junior totals11 2 6 8 6

Awards and honours

AwardYear
WHL
Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game2020
WHL Champion2022

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Giants select Justin Sourdif with third overall pick . Vancouver Giants . CHL.ca . May 4, 2017 . May 4, 2017.
  2. Web site: Ex-Vancouver Giants allies Justin Sourdif, Lukas Svejkovsky now adversaries in WHL final . The Province . Ewen . Steve . June 2, 2022 . March 13, 2024.
  3. Web site: Vancouver Giants' Justin Sourdif picked by Florida Panthers . The Chilliwack Progress . Zillich . Tom . October 6, 2020 . October 7, 2020.
  4. Web site: Sourdif says he's excited to play in CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game . Zillich . Tom . Surrey Now-Leader . December 17, 2019 . March 13, 2024.
  5. Web site: Vancouver Giants trade captain Justin Sourdif to Edmonton Oil Kings at the WHL trade deadline . . January 17, 2022 . January 17, 2022.
  6. Web site: Edmonton Oil Kings win 2022 Ed Chynoweth Cup . CanadianSportScene.com . June 14, 2022 . June 14, 2022.
  7. Web site: Edmonton Oil Kings still champions despite being eliminated from Memorial Cup . Edmonton Sun . Van Diest . Derek . June 27, 2022 . March 13, 2024.
  8. Web site: Panthers agree to terms with forward Justin Sourdif . . NHL.com . September 25, 2021 . September 25, 2021 .
  9. Web site: Rookie Justin Sourdif 'super excited' to start NHL journey with Florida Panthers . . Dwork . David . October 11, 2023 . October 11, 2023.
  10. Web site: Justin Sourdif back to Florida Panthers NHL roster . FloridaHockeyNow.com . October 16, 2023 . October 16, 2023.
  11. Web site: Panthers rookie Justin Sourdif to make NHL debut Monday in New Jersey . . Dwork . David . October 16, 2023 . October 16, 2023.
  12. Web site: Reinhart scores twice, Bobrovsky makes 31 saves as Panthers beat Devils 4-3 for their first win . . Associated Press . October 16, 2023 . October 16, 2023 .
  13. Web site: Florida Assigns Justin Sourdif to Charlotte . Charlotte Checkers . Nicholas . Niedzielski . October 23, 2023 . March 13, 2024.