Spencer Knight

Spencer Knight (born April 19, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Knight was born on April 19, 2001, in Darien, Connecticut, to Chris and Lilly Knight.

He began playing ice hockey at the age of two, and he started playing as a goaltender when he was ten years old.

A fan of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League, Knight was partially motivated to goaltend by watching Henrik Lundqvist.

He attended Darien High School for one year before transferring to Avon Old Farms, where he became the hockey team's starting goaltender in his first season.

Playing alongside Trevor Zegras, Knight posted a 1.89 goals against average (GAA) and .935 save percentage (SV%) at Avon in 22 games as a sophomore.

The Florida Panthers selected him 13th overall, the first time they had taken a goaltender in the first round of the NHL draft, and he was the highest-drafted goaltender of any team since the Dallas Stars selected Jack Campbell 11th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Before joining the Panthers, however, Knight attended Boston College to play hockey for the Eagles.

Knight made his college hockey debut and recorded his first win in the Eagles' opening-night win over Wisconsin.

Boston College won the game 5–3, with Knight making 23 saves in the process.

After posting a 1.12 GAA and .959 SV% in November, he was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Month.

This was followed by a Hockey East Goaltender of the Month honor in December, when he finished the month on a nine-game winning streak.

In 15 starts by the end of December, Knight led the conference with four shutouts and was second with a .940 SV% and 1.73 GAA.

Knight left Avon Old Farms after the 2016–17 season to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Michigan.

In his first season with the team, Knight went 27–6–0 in 39 games, with a .911 SV%, 2.56 GAA, and one shutout.

The following year, he posted a 32–4–1 record, 2.36 GAA, .913 SV%, and two shutouts in 39 games.

In 78 games with the NTDP, Knight set the program record with 59 wins across two seasons.

He was also named the Hockey East Player of the Year, becoming the first goaltender to win the award since Thatcher Demko in 2016.

A finalist for both the Mike Richter Award and the Hobey Baker Award, the American Hockey Coaches Association named Knight a Division I All-American.

Despite making a season-high 43 saves in Boston College's semifinal game against UMass Lowell in the semifinal rounds of the 2021 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Boston College lost the game 6–5 in double overtime.

He spent one year at Darien High School and another at Avon Old Farms before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in 2018.

After setting a program record by winning 59 games in two seasons, Knight, who was the first goaltender to be drafted by the Panthers in the first round, played college ice hockey for the Boston College Eagles.

In his sophomore year with Boston College, he was named both the Hockey East Goaltending Champion and the Player of the Year, and he was a two-time finalist for the Mike Richter Award.

Knight left Boston College in 2021 to join the Panthers for the end of their 2020–21 season.

He debuted with the team the day after his 20th birthday, becoming the first goaltender born in the 21st century to play in the NHL.

Although he made 36 saves in his playoff debut, the Panthers were eliminated from the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.

Knight started the 2021–22 season as part of a goaltending tandem with Sergei Bobrovsky, but Bobrovsky's strong performance and Knight's unevenness led him to become a backup as the season progressed.

The Panthers selected him in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Born and raised in Darien, Connecticut, Knight became a goaltender after watching Henrik Lundqvist play for the New York Rangers.

Going into the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Knight the No. 1 available goaltender in North America.

The Eagles won the Hockey East regular-season title with their 4–1 defeat of rival Boston University on February 29, 2020.

Knight made 30 saves to help Boston College to their victory.

Boston College would have entered the 2020 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but the tournament was cancelled due to concerns over the emergent COVID-19 pandemic.

Knight finished his freshman season with a 23–8–2 record, .931 SV%, and 1.97 GAA, and he was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award.

Although the award ultimately went to Jeremy Swayman of the Maine Black Bears, Knight was named to both the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and the Second All-Star Team.

Knight and his teammate Matthew Boldy both received Hockey East Player of the Week Honors for their two-game sweep of the Providence Friars on December 4 and 5, 2020.

Knight shut out the Friars in both games, stopping all 66 shots that he faced in the series.

He was named the Hockey East Goaltender of the Month as a combined award for November and December after beginning the season 4–0–0 with a .955 SV% and 1.50 GAA.

He finished the season with a 15–2–1 record in 18 starts, accompanied by a .937 SV% and 1.99 GAA.

Hockey East named Knight both a First Team All-Star and their 2021 Goaltender of the Year.