Nick Bailen

Nick Bailen (born December 12, 1989) is an American-Belarusian professional ice hockey defensemen. He is currently playing for Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Playing career Undrafted, Bailen played collegiate for RPI Engineers men's ice hockey of ECAC Hockey, an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. After a short stint with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League in 2013, Bailen took his game overseas, spending the 2013–14 season with Tappara of the Finnish top-flight Liiga.

His next stop was Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, where he played from 2014 to December 2016. On December 21, 2016, he was released to contract with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League.

Bailen returned to the KHL for the following 2017–18 season, after an initial try-out, he secured a two-year deal with Russian club, Traktor Chelyabinsk on September 5, 2017.

Following his fifth season with Traktor Chelyabinsk in 2021–22, on July 27, 2022, Bailen was mutually released from the remaining season of his contract with Traktor to hold his KHL rights for three seasons. Bailen left the club as the franchise leader among defenseman and third overall in scoring with 48 goals and 156 points in 254 games.

On July 31, 2022, Bailen moved to Germany after signing a one-year contract with Kölner Haie of the DEL for the 2022–23 season.

International play On December 1, 2014 he received Belarusian citizenship. Under IIHF rules on nationality, Bailen was eligible to join the Belarusian national team. He received his first cap in 2016.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2005–06 Indiana Ice USHL 52 1 7 8 73 5 0 0 0 12 2006–07 Indiana Ice USHL 53 4 9 13 93 7 0 0 0 14 2007–08 Indiana Ice USHL 58 8 13 21 157 4 1 1 2 0 2008–09 Bowling Green State U. CCHA 37 6 10 16 56 — — — — — 2009–10 Indiana Ice USHL 58 14 27 41 97 9 0 4 4 6 2010–11 R.P.I. ECAC 38 8 28 36 34 — — — — — 2011–12 R.P.I. ECAC 39 7 15 22 24 — — — — — 2012–13 R.P.I. ECAC 35 12 19 31 18 — — — — — 2012–13 Rochester Americans AHL 9 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 2013–14 Tappara Liiga 54 11 21 32 26 17 4 8 12 49 2013–14 LeKi Mestis 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Dinamo Minsk KHL 60 11 26 37 49 5 1 2 3 10 2015–16 Dinamo Minsk KHL 40 6 25 31 34 — — — — — 2016–17 Dinamo Minsk KHL 13 4 5 9 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Växjö Lakers SHL 20 4 10 14 12 6 0 2 2 2 2017–18 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 56 11 19 30 41 16 3 7 10 38 2018–19 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 62 7 17 24 39 4 0 0 0 6 2019–20 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 36 11 14 25 20 — — — — — 2020–21 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 51 13 22 35 24 5 1 0 1 0 2021–22 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 49 6 36 42 53 15 4 4 8 27 2022–23 Kölner Haie DEL 56 19 26 45 29 6 1 4 5 8 2023–24 Kölner Haie DEL 34 4 20 24 20 3 0 2 2 0 Liiga totals 54 11 21 32 26 17 4 8 12 49 KHL totals 367 69 164 233 262 45 9 13 22 81

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2016 Belarus OGQ NQ 3 1 2 3 0 2019 Belarus WC-D1 18th 5 0 2 2 4 2021 Belarus WC 15th 6 0 1 1 4 2021 Belarus OGQ NQ 3 0 1 1 0 Senior totals 17 1 6 7 8

Awards and honors Award Year USHL All-Star Game 2010 College All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2011, 2013 AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2011 ECAC All-Academic Team 2011 AHCA East First-Team All-American 2012–13 Liiga All-Star Team 2014 KHL All-Star Game 2015