Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
Height Weight	ft  in ( m) 200 lb (91 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Phoenix Coyotes Vancouver Canucks Florida Panthers
Nationality	Canada
Born	January 7 1981 (1981--) (age 26), Cold Lake, AB
NHL Draft	40th overall, 1999 Florida Panthers
Pro Career	2001 – present

Alexander Auld (born January 7, 1981 in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, but raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a professional ice hockey goaltender who plays for the Phoenix Coyotes in the National Hockey League. Auld has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and the Florida Panthers in the NHL. He has appeared internationally for Canada on three occasions.

Junior career

Auld started his junior career with the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League at the tail end of the 1997-98 season, appearing in six games without registering a win. After appearing in 37 games the following season, Auld was selected in the second round, 40th overall, of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, by the Florida Panthers. Auld would finish out his junior career with the Centennials, spending two more seasons as their starting netminder. In his final season, Auld was named to Team Canada for the 2001 World Juniors, where he backed up Maxime Ouellet. Later that same season, Auld was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third round pick in 2002 and a compensatory pick in 2001.

Professional career

Auld turned professional for the 2001-02 season, joining the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. An ankle sprain knocked Auld out during training camp, and upon his return he was assigned to the Columbia Inferno of the East Coast Hockey League. Solid play in six games at that level returned Auld to the AHL, where he showed steady improvement, despite competition for playing time from veterans Alfie Michaud and Wade Flaherty.^[1] Following injuries to Canucks goaltenders Dan Cloutier and Peter Skudra, Auld got a start at the NHL level, a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on January 23, 2002, after which he returned to the AHL.

The 2002-03 season afforded Auld more opportunity for growth, although he again split playing time at the AHL level, this time with Tyler Moss. With Cloutier and Skudra entrenched at the NHL level, Auld still managed to appear in seven games as an injury-replacement, and even played one playoff game in relief. Most importantly, he received extensive playing time, and improved his statistics considerably.

During the off-season, backup Peter Skudra signed with a Russian team, raising the possibility that Auld might claim the backup role for the Canucks. As the 2003-04 season approached, however, Canucks GM Brian Burke traded a draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Johan Hedberg, all but ensuring Auld another season in the minors. Again, Auld began the season sharing netminding duties with Tyler Moss. Auld again saw brief NHL action, appearing in six games. However, during the 2004 Stanley cup playoffs, Dan Cloutier was injured early on in the Canucks' first round series with the Calgary Flames. Hedberg, who had been shaky^[2] as a backup, failed to impress coach Marc Crawford in two appearances, and Auld claimed the starting role. The Canucks' game 7 overtime loss ended Auld's season.

Auld spent the 2004-05 NHL lockout back with the Manitoba Moose, this time pairing with veteran netminder Wade Flaherty. Despite holding on to the starting role for much of the season, Auld disappointed in the playoffs, and Flaherty took over as starter, helping the team reach the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs. He also appeared for Canada at the Spengler Cup in December of 2004, carrying the team to a third place finish^[3]

Auld returned to the NHL when play resumed for the 2005-06 season, initially as the backup to Dan Cloutier. However, on November 20, 2005, Cloutier injured an anterior cruciate ligament in a collision with Anaheim Mighty Ducks forward Rob Niedermayer.^[4] The hope initially was that the injury would heal in time, but on December 15 Cloutier opted for surgery, leaving Auld as Vancouver's starting goaltender. In this role, Auld was re-united with former World Junior teammate Maxime Ouellet, who was one of three goaltenders the Canucks used to back him up (Mika Noronen and Rob McVicar were the others). Auld went on to capture the Cyclone Taylor trophy as team MVP, although his team missed the playoffs. Auld then joined Team Canada again, this time at the 2006 World Championships, where Canada finished a disappointing 4th, losing the bronze medal game to Finland.

In June 2006 Auld was involved in a multi-player trade that sent him, Todd Bertuzzi, and Bryan Allen to Florida for Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek, and a sixth round draft pick.^[5] Initially, Auld was expected to be the undisputed starter in Florida. However, the July 25 signing of Ed Belfour introduced some competition, and mid-way through the 2006-07 NHL season the two have split time almost evenly. In October, Auld was hospitalised while "horsing around" with Belfour, leading some to believe that Belfour had assaulted him.^[6]

On August 13, 2007, Auld signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, ^[7] where he will compete for a job with David Aebischer and Mikael Tellqvist.

Awards

• OHL Second All-Rookie Team - 1999
• OHL Third All-Star Team - 2001
• Cyclone Taylor Trophy (Most Valuable Player of the Vancouver Canucks) - 2006
• Molson Cup (Most game star selections for Vancouver Canucks) - 2006

Career statistics

International play

Played for Canada in:

• 2001 World Junior Championships (bronze medal)
• 2004 Spengler Cup (3rd place)
• 2006 World Championships (4th place)

See also

• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons

Notes

External links

• Auld's biography at Hockeygoalies.org
• Alex Auld at TSN.ca
• Alex Auld's NHL player profile
• Alex Auld's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

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