Bryan Lerg

Bryan Lerg (born January 20, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks.

Lerg made his NHL debut after spending 7 years in the American Hockey League (AHL). Lerg played college hockey with Michigan State University where he helped the Spartans win a national championship in 2007.

Playing career As a youth, Lerg played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Honeybaked minor ice hockey team.

Undrafted and much like his cousin Jeff, Lerg was of a small physique as a junior. A solid checker he played a strong, gritty game for his small stature. Opting to play collegiate hockey, in his freshman season with the Michigan State Spartans, Lerg accumulated 15 points (10 goals, 5 assists). By his Sophomore season, he had 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) and in his junior season was given the honor of alternate captain and scored 36 points (23 goals, 13 assists), leading the Spartans to a national championship, in which he scored 8 game-winning goals to lead the NCAA. He was elected captain of the Spartans by team vote for the 2007-08 season and accumulated 39 points (20 goals, 19 assists) to be named the Spartans Offensive player of the year for a second time.

At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Lerg was signed to a two-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on April 1, 2008. He immediately made his professional debut at the end of the 2007–08 season with affiliate, the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.

After attending his first Oilers training camp, Lerg was reassigned to the Falcons to begin the 2008–09 season. Despite injury, Lerg scored 17 points in 42 games with the Falcons while also spending time in the ECHL with the Stockton Thunder. In the following season, Lerg suffered another injury and with a loss of form, struggled to cement his place within the Oilers farm team, scoring 7 points in 36 contests.

Unable to earn another contract with the Oilers, and with a lack of NHL interest, Lerg signed a try-out contract with Swiss team, Genève-Servette HC, of the Nationalliga A. Appearing in just a single game for Genève-Servette in the 2010–11 season, he returned to North America and the AHL, signing a one-year contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on December 8, 2010. Lerg made an immediate contribution with the Penguins and posted 32 points in 65 games to earn a one-year contract extension on July 13, 2011.

Prior to the 2011–12 season with Wilkes-Barre, Lerg was invited and attended the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp. After he was returned to their affiliate, Lerg produced a team leading and career high 27 goals to finish second on the team with 53 points.

On July 1, 2012, Lerg was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Colorado Avalanche. With the 2012 NHL lockout in effect, Lerg was directly assigned to American League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, to start the 2012–13 campaign. Shortly after the resumption of the season, he was announced as team captain on October 30, 2012. In the midst of a productive campaign with the Monsters in scoring 9 goals in 28 games, Lerg's season was cut short after he suffered a season-ending torn Anterior cruciate ligament injury which required surgery.

On April 22, 2013, Lerg agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored 27 points in 35 games before he was again struck by injury, sidelining himself for the majority of the season.

After two seasons within the Avalanche organization, Lerg left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two way contract with the San Jose Sharks on July 10, 2014. After participating in his first Sharks training camp, Lerg was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks to begin the 2014–15 season. For the third successive season, Lerg was selected as an AHL team captain. While leading Worcester in scoring and after 8 professional seasons, Lerg's perseverance was rewarded on April 6, 2015, in receiving his first NHL call up to the San Jose Sharks as they approached the final games of the regular season. On April 9, 2015, Lerg made his NHL debut against his original NHL club, the Edmonton Oilers. Lerg impressed in scoring his first NHL goal, the game-winning goal in a 3-1 victory.

On May 4, 2016, he left the Sharks organization as an impending free agent to sign with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Personal information He is the cousin of former college teammate Jeff Lerg.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2002–03 U.S. NTDP U18 NAHL 46 10 12 22 32 — — — — — 2003–04 U.S. NTDP U18 NAHL 11 5 7 12 10 — — — — — 2004–05 Michigan State University CCHA 41 10 5 15 14 — — — — — 2005–06 Michigan State University CCHA 45 15 23 38 26 — — — — — 2006–07 Michigan State University CCHA 41 23 13 36 21 — — — — — 2007–08 Michigan State University CCHA 42 20 19 39 18 — — — — — 2007–08 Springfield Falcons AHL 4 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2008–09 Springfield Falcons AHL 42 9 8 17 24 — — — — — 2008–09 Stockton Thunder ECHL 7 2 8 10 4 — — — — — 2009–10 Springfield Falcons AHL 36 4 3 7 11 — — — — — 2010–11 Genève–Servette HC NLA 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2010–11 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 64 15 16 31 21 9 1 2 3 4 2011–12 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 70 27 26 53 32 12 0 2 2 4 2012–13 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 28 9 7 16 6 — — — — — 2013–14 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 35 12 15 27 4 — — — — — 2014–15 Worcester Sharks AHL 68 13 28 41 10 4 0 1 1 0 2014–15 San Jose Sharks NHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2015–16 San Jose Barracuda AHL 64 21 30 51 37 4 1 0 1 0 2015–16 San Jose Sharks NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Rögle BK SHL 52 20 13 33 44 — — — — — 2017–18 Rögle BK SHL 52 19 11 30 24 — — — — — 2018–19 HC Ambrì–Piotta NL 17 5 0 5 4 — — — — — AHL totals 412 110 136 246 147 29 2 5 7 8 NHL totals 8 1 0 1 0 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2004 United States WJC18 6 2 6 8 2 Junior totals 6 2 6 8 2