Daniel Sprong
Birth dateMarch 17, 1997 (age 29)
Birth placeAmsterdam, Netherlands
Height6 ft
Height in0
Weight lb183
PositionRight wing
ShootsRight
LeagueKHL
TeamAvtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Former teamsPittsburgh Penguins
Anaheim Ducks
Washington Capitals
Seattle Kraken
Detroit Red Wings
Vancouver Canucks
New Jersey Devils
CSKA Moscow
Draft (2015)46th overall
Draft teamPittsburgh Penguins
Career start2015

Daniel Sprong (born March 17, 1997) is a Dutch professional ice hockey player who is a right winger for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Sprong was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (46th overall) of the 2015 NHL entry draft after playing two seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and made the Penguins immediately after being drafted, though he would return to the QMJHL and play two more seasons with the Islanders. He played parts of four seasons with Pittsburgh and their American Hockey League affiliate before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, where he spent two seasons before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2020. After his initial stint with the Kraken, he had tenures with the Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks before returning to Seattle. Following the 2024-25 NHL season, Sprong moved to Russia, playing with CSKA Moscow before being traded midseason to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.

Born in the Netherlands, Sprong moved to Canada with his family in 2005 in order to further his hockey career.

Playing career

Junior

Sprong first played hockey as a young child in his hometown of Amsterdam. Due to the lack of a developed hockey program in the Netherlands, at ages four and five, Sprong played on teams with players as old as twelve or thirteen.[1] To help further Sprong's development in hockey, his family moved to L'Île-Bizard, Quebec, in 2005 when he was eight years old.[1] In Quebec, he played within the Deux-Rives minor ice hockey program and competed at the 2008 and 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments.[2]

For the 2011–12 season, Sprong joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights, a Pennsylvania-based travelling team.[3] Back in Quebec the following season, with the Lac St-Louis Tigres, Sprong set the Quebec Midget Espoir AA league (the second-tier league in Quebec; as a non-citizen Sprong was ineligible to play in the top tier)[3] scoring record with 104 points in 30 games.[1] He was then selected thirteenth overall by the Charlottetown Islanders in the 2013 QMJHL entry draft, and joined the team for the 2013–14 season.[4] He led the Islanders in scoring with 68 points in 67 games and his outstanding play was recognized when he was named to the 2013–14 QMJHL All-Rookie Team.[5][6] The following 2014–15 season, Sprong again led the Islanders in scoring, and was twelfth overall in the QMJHL, with 88 points.[1] He was also invited to take part in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[7] In the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final list of players for the draft, Sprong was listed as the 20th best North American skater.[8] He was ultimately selected in the second round, 46th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins.[9]

After his stint with the Penguins in 2015, Sprong rejoined the Islanders for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. He played 33 games for the Islanders and recorded 46 points. The team made the playoffs, where Sprong scored a further 15 points before the team was eliminated in the second round.[10] An injury sustained during practice with the Penguins during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs kept Sprong out until January, 2017 when he rejoined Charlottetown.[11] He only played 31 games that 2016–17 season, but finished with 59 points, the highest points-per-game average in the entire league.[12] He finished his career with the Islanders with the third goals and second most points in team history, and during the playoffs he tied the record for most career goals and broke the records for most assists and points.[13][14] Sprong led the Islanders in scoring with 20 points in 12 games as the team lost in the third round of the playoffs, ending his junior career.[15] Following that he was recalled again by the Penguins to train with them during their time in the NHL playoffs.[16]

Professional

Sprong signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins on August 28, 2015.[9] After impressing Penguins' management at training camp, Sprong made the Penguins opening roster for the 2015–16 season.[17] In doing so, Sprong became the first player taken in the second round or later to make the opening night roster immediately after being drafted since Brandon Saad in 2011.[18] His first game was on October 8 against the Dallas Stars.[19] Sprong recorded his first goal on October 15, his fourth game, against Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson.[20] Sprong played 18 games for the Penguins, scoring two goals, before the team decided to send him back to Charlottetown for the remainder of the season.[21] When Sprong's QMJHL season ended he was reassigned to the Penguins minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League for their playoff run.[10] He appeared in 10 games and recorded 7 points before the team was eliminated in the third round; Sprong was subsequently recalled to Pittsburgh to serve as a reserve player for their final playoff games.[22] During a practice in the playoffs, Sprong injured his shoulder; the subsequent surgery and healing meant he would be unable to play again for roughly 7–8 months.[23]

On December 3, 2018, the Penguins traded Sprong to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Marcus Pettersson.[24] Remaining with the Ducks through the 2018–19 season, Sprong notched new career highs in posting 14 goals and 19 points in 47 games.

After a sub-par training camp with the Ducks, Sprong was placed on waivers prior to the 2019–20 season and upon going unclaimed was reassigned to the San Diego Gulls.[25] With the direction to play a more complete two-way game, Sprong responded with scoring 11 goals and 27 points through 39 games.[26] Sprong was recalled by the Ducks; however, he was unable to replicate his previous offensive performance with the Ducks, contributing with 2 points through 8 games before returning to the Gulls.

Sprong was traded to the Washington Capitals on February 24, 2020, in exchange for Christian Djoos.[27] He was assigned to the Capitals' affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He signed a two-year, $1.45 million contract extension on September 18, 2020.[28] He was traded to the Seattle Kraken, along with two draft picks, on March 21, 2022, for Marcus Johansson.[29]

At the conclusion of his contract with the Kraken, Sprong as a free agent went unsigned over the summer. Approaching the 2022–23 season, he rejoined the Kraken in signing a professional tryout contract to attend training camp. He was later signed during the preseason to a one-year, two-way contract with the Kraken on October 3, 2022. He recorded a career-high 46 points in 66 games with the Kraken.[30]

On July 1, 2023, Sprong signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[31] He recorded 18 goals and 25 assists in 76 games with the Red Wings.

On July 20, 2024, Sprong signed as a free agent to a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks worth $975,000 for the 2024–25 season.[32] To start the season, Sprong was unable to cement a defined role amongst the Canucks forward ranks, appearing in 9 games and registering 1 goal and 3 points. On November 8, 2024, Sprong's brief tenure with the Canucks concluded after he was traded in a return to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for future considerations.[33]

On January 8, 2025, Sprong was placed on waivers by the Kraken after posting just 2 points in 10 games, clearing fully on January 9th, with the intention to assign him to the Kraken's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.[34] Sprong showed his offensive acumen in posting 25 points through just 19 games with the Firebirds, before he was traded at the NHL deadline by the Kraken to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for seventh-round pick in 2026 on March 7, 2025.[35]

As a free agent, Sprong left North America and was signed to a one-year contract with Russian club, HC CSKA Moscow of the KHL, on July 23, 2025.[36] Following an entire month as a healthy scratch for CSKA Moscow despite scoring 31 points in 29 games, he was traded to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.[37]

Personal life

Sprong was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His father, Hannie, was a professional hockey player in the Netherlands during the early 1990s and later managed a team there.[1] At the age of seven Sprong moved from the Netherlands to Canada with his family in order to help develop his hockey career. The family settled in Île Bizard, Quebec, a community near Montreal.[3] Sprong remains a Dutch citizen, but has applied for Canadian citizenship; as of 2022, he had still not received it, though was a Canadian permanent resident.[38] As a result, Sprong has not participated in any international tournaments, as he has declined to play for the Dutch national team, preferring to remain eligible for the Canadian national team.[39]

Sprong is the third NHL player born in the Netherlands; the first two, Ed Kea and Ed Beers, were also raised in Canada.[40]

In 2023, racing driver Zachary Claman DeMelo accused Sprong of assaulting him at a nightclub during the Detroit Grand Prix weekend.[41]

Career statistics

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2011–12Deux-Rives Dauphins Bantam AALSLBAA193083832—————
2011–12Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights BantamAYBHL119233224474114
2012–13Lac St-Louis Tigres EspoirQMEAA3048561043635380
2013–14Charlottetown IslandersQMJHL673038682044150
2014–15Charlottetown IslandersQMJHL68394988181074116
2015–16Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL182020—————
2015–16Charlottetown IslandersQMJHL3316304622124111512
2015–16Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL—————105272
2016–17Charlottetown IslandersQMJHL3132275929129112017
2017–18Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL653233652831010
2017–18Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL82130—————
2018–19Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL160440—————
2018–19Anaheim DucksNHL471451910—————
2019–20San Diego GullsAHL3911162724—————
2019–20Anaheim DucksNHL81120—————
2019–20Hershey BearsAHL51562—————
2020–21Washington CapitalsNHL42137201230114
2021–22Washington CapitalsNHL4786148—————
2021–22Seattle KrakenNHL166060—————
2022–23Seattle KrakenNHL6621254614101120
2023–24Detroit Red WingsNHL7618254322—————
2024–25Vancouver CanucksNHL91232—————
2024–25Seattle KrakenNHL101120—————
2024–25Coachella Valley FirebirdsAHL191114256—————
2024–25New Jersey DevilsNHL11022010000
NHL totals374877916668141234

Awards and honours

AwardYear
QMJHL
All-Rookie Team2013–14

References

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  2. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA". Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived March 6, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  3. ^ Joyce, Gare (November 3, 2014). "Why promising Sprong won't feature in tournaments". Sportsnet.ca. Archived September 27, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "Rookie Sprong making an early impact with the Islanders". TheQMJHL.ca. November 2, 2013. Archived June 26, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  5. ^ Johnston, Christ (October 6, 2015). "Penguins' Daniel Sprong no stranger to battling for respect". Sportsnet.ca. Archived October 6, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
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  39. ^ IIHF rules stipulate a player is eligible to change national teams once, so long as they have citizenship of the new team and have played at least four consecutive years in that country's domestic league
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