Dakota Mermis

Dakota Mermis (born January 5, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life Mermis was born on January 5, 1994, in Alton, Illinois, U.S. to parents Bill and Jolene. Mermis was born into an athletic family as his uncle, father, and brother were all involved in sports.

Following the conclusion of his major junior career with the Memorial Cup winning Generals after the 2014–15 season, Mermis' unconventional development path was rewarded as he was signed as a free agent to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 2, 2015.

In the 2017–18 season, having played in the opening 7 games of the season with AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, Mermis received his first recall by the Coyotes on November 1, 2017. With an injury to fellow Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, Mermis made his NHL debut the following day in a defeat to the Buffalo Sabres.

Having appeared in 10 NHL games with the Coyotes during his four seasons within the organization, Mermis left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way $700,000 contract with the New Jersey Devils on July 1, 2019. He initially joined the Binghamton Devils in the AHL to begin the 2019–20 season, leading the blueline in scoring with 19 points through 53 games. Recalled by New Jersey to the NHL, Mermis scored his first career NHL goal against the St. Louis Blues on March 6, 2020. He registered his first multi-point game the following night against the New York Rangers. Mermis appeared in 10 games with the Devils, posting four points, before their season was ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mermis left the Devils as a free agent after the season and signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild on October 9, 2020.

Mermis won the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award while playing for the Wild's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, in the 2021–22 season.

Following four seasons within the Wild organization, Mermis left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 2, 2024. Mermis was injured to start the season, and played three games on a conditioning stint with AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs in his return to health, Mermis was claimed by the Utah Hockey Club on December 12, 2024. After playing only one game for Utah, Mermis was waived again on January 2, 2025, and subsequently re-claimed by Toronto the following day.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2009–10 St. Louis Amateur Blues T1EHL 48 11 26 37 76 — — — — — 2009–10 Lincoln Stars USHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2010–11 U.S. National Development Team USHL 36 4 4 8 53 2 0 0 0 0 2011–12 Green Bay Gamblers USHL 60 5 22 27 98 12 0 1 1 20 2012–13 University of Denver WCHA 19 1 3 4 14 — — — — — 2012–13 London Knights OHL 27 2 9 11 34 21 1 3 4 21 2013–14 London Knights OHL 66 5 20 25 76 9 1 3 4 12 2014–15 London Knights OHL 36 1 10 11 36 — — — — — 2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 30 5 14 19 50 21 1 14 15 14 2015–16 Springfield Falcons AHL 63 3 10 13 58 — — — — — 2015–16 Rapid City Rush ECHL 5 1 2 3 6 — — — — — 2016–17 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 67 2 10 12 75 — — — — — 2017–18 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 59 2 17 19 45 9 3 2 5 11 2017–18 Arizona Coyotes NHL 9 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2018–19 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 62 3 21 24 49 — — — — — 2018–19 Arizona Coyotes NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Binghamton Devils AHL 53 3 16 19 23 — — — — — 2019–20 New Jersey Devils NHL 10 1 3 4 4 — — — — — 2020–21 Minnesota Wild NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Iowa Wild AHL 59 3 21 24 86 — — — — — 2021–22 Minnesota Wild NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2022–23 Iowa Wild AHL 63 5 21 26 73 2 0 1 1 2 2022–23 Minnesota Wild NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2023–24 Minnesota Wild NHL 47 3 5 8 33 — — — — — 2023–24 Iowa Wild AHL 5 0 2 2 12 — — — — — 2024–25 Toronto Marlies AHL 32 0 7 7 22 — — — — — 2024–25 Utah Hockey Club NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2024–25 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2025–26 Toronto Marlies AHL 27 1 6 7 36 24 0 10 10 24 2025–26 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 11 1 0 1 11 — — — — — NHL totals 89 5 9 14 50 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2011 United States U17 5 0 1 1 4 Junior totals 5 0 1 1 4

Awards and honors Award Year RefUSHL USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2012 Clark Cup champion 2012 OHL J. Ross Robertson Cup champion 2013, 2015 Memorial Cup champion 2015 AHL Yanick Dupre Memorial Award 2022 Calder Cup champion 2026