Justin Bailey

One of the star forwards of the NHL, powerful Justin Bailey currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks. A New Yorker by birth, he was called up by the Canucks in 2019 and has played for them ever since, although the pandemic and injury have frustrated his recent form. He has now been playing ice hockey for over a decade and has starred for various teams in the US and Canada. He also represented the United States at the 2013 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Bailey hails from the Williamsville area of Buffalo, New York. His junior career saw him start out with the Indiana Ice before joining the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL. He stayed with them for three seasons, making over 150 appearances and helping them to the playoffs once. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and made his professional debut with affiliated team the Rochester Americans in the AHL before being called up to the Sabres and the NHL in 2015. He starred for both teams for three years before brief spells with the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

In 2019, he joined the Vancouver Canucks on a two-way contract and began playing for the Utica Comets, making 53 appearances for them during the 2019-20 season. He was then called up by the Canucks just in time for the pandemic to put a stop to everything. Injury in early 2021 put his game on the wrong kind of ice for just a bit longer, but he still has plenty left to give.