Tyler Seguin

Early life

Seguin was born in Brampton, but grew up in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, with his two younger sisters, Candace and Cassidy. His parents are Jackie and Paul Seguin. He grew up in a hockey household; both of his parents and both sisters play hockey, with his father having played college ice hockey for the University of Vermont.

Seguin attended St. Michael's College School in Toronto prior to being drafted by the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Seguin's favorite player as a child was Steve Yzerman, to whom his playing style has been compared.

Amateur

Seguin played the first seven years of his minor hockey career with the Whitby Wildcats of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) before relocating to Brampton, Ontario, at age 13. While in Brampton, he played three years for the Toronto Young Nationals, coached by Rick Vaive, before moving on to the OHL.

Seguin was selected ninth overall in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection Draft by the Plymouth Whalers. He considered playing for a NCAA school like his father, but chose to forgo his American college eligibility by joining the Whalers in 2008–09. He struggled to begin his OHL career, scoring just one goal in his first 17 games before a coaching change in Plymouth helped Seguin find his place in the League.

Looking for an improved start to his 2009–10 season, Seguin spent his summer working on his game. His dedication paid off, as he opened the season with 36 points in 18 games until sidelined by a hip pointer. His early season success led NHL Central Scouting to name him the top prospect for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He then slipped to second, behind Taylor Hall, who was eventually selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers.

Seguin captained Team Orr at the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game.

Seguin jointly won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy by finishing the 2009–10 season with the highest amount of points in the OHL; he scored 106 points (48 goals and 58 assists) alongside Taylor Hall (106 points from 40 goals and 66 assists). With a strong finish to the year, Seguin finished as the top ranked North American skater in the draft class of 2010.

Professional

Seguin was drafted second overall on June 25, 2010, by the Boston Bruins using a pick the team had previously acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade for Phil Kessel. Seguin then signed an entry-level contract with the Bruins on August 3 and later made his NHL debut on October 9 in a 5–2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. He scored his first career NHL goal on October 10, also against Phoenix, midway through the game's third period, receiving the puck on a pass from teammate Michael Ryder and scoring on a breakaway backhand goal past goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in a 3–0 shutout of the Coyotes. Seguin participated in the 2011 All-Star festivities during the Rookie Skills Competition. Late in the 2010–11 season, Seguin was quoted as having a desire to model his NHL playing style on that of teammate Patrice Bergeron.

After being a healthy scratch for the first two rounds of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, Seguin was included in the Boston lineup to start Round 3, the Eastern Conference Finals, against the Tampa Bay Lightning after centreman Patrice Bergeron sustained a mild concussion. Seguin scored a goal and added an assist in his first game played, then followed that up with two goals and two assists in his second game. He became the first teenager to score four points in a Stanley Cup playoff game since Trevor Linden did so for the Vancouver Canucks in 1989. On June 15, 2011, Boston won the Stanley Cup in the Finals, prevailing over Vancouver via a 4–3 series victory after an emphatic 4–0 win in Game 7.

On November 5, 2011, Seguin scored his first career NHL hat-trick against the team that traded the draft pick to the Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs. On November 14, Seguin was named NHL's First Star of the Week for his four goals and two assists that helped the Bruins to three wins in the week. On December 8, he played in his 100th career NHL game against the Florida Panthers. On April 22, 2012, Seguin scored in overtime of Game 6 of the Bruins' Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Washington Capitals that sent the series to a Game 7. However, despite another goal from Seguin in Game 7, the Bruins would go on to lose the game in overtime and were thus eliminated from the playoffs. He finished the 2011–12 season as the Bruins' leading scorer.

Seguin played for EHC Biel of the Swiss National League A (NLA) during the 2012–13 NHL lockout. In 29 NLA games, Seguin scored 25 goals and 15 assists, playing alongside fellow NHL star Patrick Kane. Seguin also played for Team Canada at the 2012 Spengler Cup in December 2012, where he won a gold medal with the team. When the lockout ended, the NHL played a shortened, 48-game season in 2013; Seguin finished the regular season with 32 points (16 goals and 16 assists). The Bruins went on to reach the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, but ultimately lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the six-game series. Seguin scored one goal and seven assists in the 2013 playoffs.

On July 4, 2013, during the subsequent NHL off-season, Boston traded Seguin, along with Rich Peverley and Ryan Button, to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser and Joe Morrow. Due to the jersey number 19 being retired by the Stars in honour of the late Bill Masterton, Seguin changed his number to number 91 upon joining Dallas, which is the reverse of his previous number. Seguin would break-out as an offensive force in the League as a member of the Stars, developing excellent chemistry with team captain Jamie Benn. Seguin recorded a five-point performance (four goals and one assist) in a dominant 7–3 victory over the Calgary Flames on November 14, 2013. On March 16, 2014, he reached the 30-goal mark in a season for the first time in his career after scoring against goaltender Al Montoya of the Winnipeg Jets. Seguin would end the 2013–14 season ranked fourth in total points scored, setting a new career-high in goals (37) and points (84) from 80 games.

He scored 37 goals to go with 40 assists during the 2014–15 NHL season for the Stars, reaching the 30-goal mark for the second consecutive season.

International play

Seguin competed for Canada at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic, where he led the team in scoring with ten points in four games as Canada won the gold medal. He then attended Hockey Canada's selection camp for the 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in December 2009, but did not make the team. Previously, he won gold with Team Ontario in the 2009 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Port Alberni, British Columbia, and finished second in tournament scoring with 11 points in six games. Seguin attended Canada’s World Junior selection camp in Regina, Saskatchewan, for the World Junior Championships, the under-20 level, but again failed to make the team. In 2015, he was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the World Hockey Championships.

Personal life

Seguin is sponsored by Dunkin Donuts, Under Armour, AT&T, Bauer Hockey and BioSteel Sports Supplements. In 2014, Seguin bought Mike Modano's Dallas home.

Seguin is friends with rapper Mike Stud, and is alluded to in some of the artist's music. The two also party together; for example, Stud made an appearance at a party Seguin hosted in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the same day he was traded from the Bruins to the Stars.

Seguin's Stars

As the result of one of his best friends suffering a severe spinal cord injury in December 2012, Seguin founded Seguin's Stars upon arriving in Dallas. At every Stars home game during the season, Seguin donated a luxury suite, along with food and beverage, for individuals with spinal cord injuries. At the conclusion of every game, Seguin met his guests outside of the Stars' locker room for autographs and pictures.

Notable achievements