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R. J. Umberger
American ice hockey player

R. J. Umberger

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
American ice hockey player
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Pittsburgh, USA
Age
42 years
Stats
Height:
188 cm
Weight:
98 kg
Education
Ohio State University
Sports Teams
Columbus Blue Jackets
Philadelphia Flyers
R. J. Umberger
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Richard Alan "R. J." Umberger, Jr. (born May 3, 1982) is a former American professional ice hockey center. Drafted in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Umberger has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Playing career

Minor/College

Umberger, who is both a left winger and center, played his high school hockey in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (WPIHL) for the Plum Mustangs in 1997 and 1998. In his sophomore year and final season, he accumulated 116 points in just 26 games.He capped off that season by scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime against Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) to win the WPIHL AAA League Championship in front of a packed house at the BladeRunners Ice Complex in Harmarville. His efforts were recognized in 2006 when the Mustangs raised his number to the rafters of its home rink, the Center Ice Arena in Delmont. He was inducted into the Plum High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Umberger is recognized annually with the R. J. Umberger Award for the PA Hockey Scholastic Showcase, a scholastic tournament played in December each year. The Tournament has a Wall of Champions at Harmarille BladeRunners. During his short prep career, Umberger was named to the All Tournament Team both years.

Umberger began his career with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program after a successful developmental career with the Pittsburgh Hornets. He then started his college career with Ohio State University. He was drafted in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft in the first round, 16th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks. Umberger left Ohio State before his senior year, intending to turn professional with the Canucks. He was unable to reach a deal, however, and sat out the entire 2003–04 season. He was then traded to the New York Rangers on March 9, 2004, along with Martin Grenier, in exchange for Martin Ručinský, but was later signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers on June 16, 2004, just three months later. He was called up to the Flyers roster in the 2005–06 season.

Professional

Umberger became the second Western Pennsylvanian-born hockey player to play in the NHL after Ryan Malone. He scored his first career NHL goal on November 22, 2005, for the Flyers against the Lightning. On July 6, 2006, the Flyers announced that they had signed him to a two-year contract.

On June 20, 2008, Umberger was traded from the Flyers with their fourth round pick (Drew Olson) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Blue Jackets' first round pick, via the Colorado Avalanche (Luca Sbisa) drafted 19th overall and a third round pick (Marc-André Bourdon) in the Draft.

On April 16, 2009, Umberger scored the Blue Jackets' first ever playoff goal in a 4–1 loss at the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. He also scored in Games 3 and 4 as Detroit eventually swept the series, four games to none.

On September 21, 2011, Umberger signed a five-year contract extension with the Blue Jackets.

On June 23, 2014, Umberger was traded along with a 2015 fourth-round draft pick, back to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Scott Hartnell.

After two largely unproductive and injury hampered seasons in his return to Philadelphia, on June 16, 2016, the Flyers bought out the final year of Umberger's contract.

Upon sitting out the entirety of the 2016–17 season, Umberger attempted to resurrect his NHL career in signing a professional tryout agreement with the Dallas Stars on July 14, 2017. He participated in the Stars training camp and pre-season before he was released from his try-out without a contract on September 27, 2017.

International play

Umberger has represented USA Hockey on multiple occasions. His first international effort came with the U.S. under-18 team at the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships in Switzerland, where the Americans placed eighth. He played in the same tournament the following year, 2001, where the U.S. improved to fifth-place.

That same year, 2001, Umberger also played with the U.S. junior team in the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Russia, as well as the 2002 edition in the Czech Republic; the U.S. placed fifth in both tournaments.

Umberger made his senior U.S. debut in the 2006 IIHF World Championship in Latvia.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2000–01Ohio State BuckeyesCCHA3214233718
2001–02Ohio State BuckeyesCCHA3718213931
2002–03Ohio State BuckeyesCCHA4326275316
2003–04Did not play
2004–05Philadelphia PhantomsAHL802144653621371012
2005–06Philadelphia PhantomsAHL837108
2005–06Philadelphia FlyersNHL732018381851012
2006–07Philadelphia FlyersNHL8116122841
2007–08Philadelphia FlyersNHL7413375019171051510
2008–09Columbus Blue JacketsNHL822620465343030
2009–10Columbus Blue JacketsNHL8223325540
2010–11Columbus Blue JacketsNHL8225325738
2011–12Columbus Blue JacketsNHL7720204027
2012–13Columbus Blue JacketsNHL488101816
2013–14Columbus Blue JacketsNHL741816342640112
2014–15Philadelphia FlyersNHL67961519
2015–16Philadelphia FlyersNHL39291115
NHL totals779180212392312301462014

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2000United StatesWJC188th61012
2001United StatesWJC186th61010
2001United StatesWJC5th72242
2002United StatesWJC5th71450
2006United StatesWC7th10000
Junior totals2656114
Senior totals10000

Awards and achievements

AwardYear
All-CCHA Rookie Team2000–01
CCHA Rookie of the Year2000–01
All-CCHA First Team2002–03
AHCA West Second-Team All-American2002–03
Calder Cup Philadelphia Phantoms2004–05
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
Who is R. J. Umberger?
Richard Allen "R.J." Umberger III (born May 3, 1982) is a retired American professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
What teams did R. J. Umberger play for?
Umberger played for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2005 to 2008, the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2008 to 2014, and the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2014 to 2015.
What are some of R. J. Umberger's career highlights?
Umberger represented the United States at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships, winning a bronze medal in 2004. He also won the NCAA championship with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2002.
How many points did R. J. Umberger score in his NHL career?
Umberger scored a total of 199 goals and recorded 212 assists for 411 points in 779 NHL regular season games.
When did R. J. Umberger retire?
Umberger officially announced his retirement from professional hockey on September 25, 2018.
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R. J. Umberger
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