Nathan Lawson

Nathan Lawson (born September 29, 1983) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. A goaltender, Lawson is currently playing with HPK in the Finnish top-flight Liiga. Lawson has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators.

Playing career Lawson started his career as a hockey player at the Olds Grizzlys, where he was active from 2001 to 2004 in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He then spent three years at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and played in parallel for their hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association play. In the 2007–08 season the goalkeeper made his debut in professional hockey, initially for the Phoenix RoadRunners and then for the Utah Grizzlies in the ECHL.

From the 2008–09 season through 2010–11, Lawson was goaltender for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the American Hockey League (AHL), the affiliate of the New York Islanders of the NHL. Lawson made his NHL debut with the Islanders on December 18, 2010, in a 4–3 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, and played a total of ten games for the Islanders in the 2010–11 season.

On July 5, 2011, Lawson signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. He spent the season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, playing 57 games and recording five shutouts. He signed a one-year, two-way contract with Ottawa on July 16, 2012.

On October 2, 2014, Lawson as a free agent ventured abroad to sign an initial try-out contract with Austrian club, Dornbirner EC of the EBEL. Lawson secured the starting position with the Bulldogs, and appeared in 37 games in the 2014–15 season, recording 19 wins.

On May 30, 2015, Lawson opted to continue in the EBEL, signing a one-year contract with fellow Austrian club, the Vienna Capitals. He made 44 EBEL appearances for the Vienna team during the 2015–16 season. He left the club after the season to move to Finland, where he penned a deal with HPK of the country's top-tier Liiga.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2002–03 Olds Grizzlys AJHL 56 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Olds Grizzlys AJHL 54 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2004–05 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 27 7 15 3 — 1482 82 1 3.32 .914 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 21 4 11 3 — 1063 61 1 3.44 .908 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 University of Alaska Anchorage WCHA 27 10 15 2 — 1523 77 0 3.03 .893 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Phoenix Roadrunners ECHL 5 3 2 — 0 279 14 1 3.01 .910 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 24 14 7 — 1 1390 67 1 2.89 .906 10 5 4 543 26 2 2.87 .905 2008–09 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 3 2 0 — 0 158 6 0 2.28 .918 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 31 19 9 — 2 1723 62 2 2.16 .927 2 0 2 123 8 0 3.89 .833 2009–10 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 36 16 16 — 3 2121 89 1 2.52 .922 1 0 0 46 2 0 2.63 .938 2010–11 New York Islanders NHL 10 1 4 — 2 384 26 0 4.06 .893 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 16 6 5 — 4 953 46 0 2.90 .913 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 44 19 17 — 4 2402 103 5 2.57 .914 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Binghamton Senators AHL 23 12 6 — 2 1258 46 2 2.19 .938 3 0 3 165 8 0 2.60 .905 2012–13 Elmira Jackals ECHL 1 1 0 — 0 60 2 0 2.00 .941 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Binghamton Senators AHL 30 15 8 — 1 1571 80 0 3.05 .908 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Ottawa Senators NHL 1 0 0 — 0 12 2 0 10.00 .800 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Dornbirner EC EBEL 37 19 15 — 0 2044 98 1 2.88 .920 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Vienna Capitals EBEL 40 — — — — 2336 88 0 2.26 .924 4 1 3 271 11 0 2.43 .917 NHL totals 11 1 4 — 0 396 28 0 4.24 .889 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honours Award Year Ref. All-WCHA Rookie Team 2004–05 AHL All-Rookie Team 2008–09