:Luke Prokop
{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player}}
{{distinguish|Luke Prokopec}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image = Luke Prokop 2022.05.23.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Prokop with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022
| alt =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|5|6}}
| birth_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 220
| position = Defence
| shoots = Right
| league = NHL
| team = Nashville Predators
| prospect_team = Milwaukee Admirals
| prospect_league = AHL
| former_teams =
| ntl_team =
| draft = 73rd overall
| draft_year = 2020
| draft_team = Nashville Predators
| career_start = 2022
}}
Luke Prokop (born May 6, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League as a prospect for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL), who selected him in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. In 2021, Prokop came out as gay, becoming the first player under contract with an NHL team to do so.{{cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Emily |authorlink= Emily Kaplan |date=July 19, 2021 |title=Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop says he is gay, hopes living 'authentic life' helps NHL career |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31843069/nashville-predators-prospect-luke-prokop-says-gay-hopes-living-authentic-life-helps-nhl-career |access-date=July 19, 2021 |work=ESPN}}
Playing career
Prokop is from Edmonton, Alberta. He became a fan of Shea Weber, a right-handed defenceman, when he watched Weber playing ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics for the Canadian men's national ice hockey team.{{Cite web |last=Larkin |first=Matt |date=2022-01-17 |title=Luke Prokop Q&A: the Before and After of Coming Out as Gay |url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/luke-prokop-q-and-a-the-before-and-after-of-coming-out-as-gay |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=The Hockey News |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Luke Prokop closer than ever to Nashville Predators dream, 2 years after coming out as gay |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2023/07/07/luke-prokop-gay-nhl-player-nashville-predators/70385320007/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}} Prokop became a fan of Weber's team, the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL), and began wearing jersey number 6 in his honour.
Prokop attended the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) selected Prokop with their first round selection, the seventh overall, of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.{{cite web |date=May 4, 2017 |title=Calgary Hitmen take defenceman Luke Prokop with seventh-overall pick in 2017 WHL bantam draft |url=https://calgaryherald.com/sports/hockey/calgary-hitmen-take-defenceman-luke-prokop-with-seventh-overall-pick-in-2017-whl-bantam-draft |access-date=July 19, 2021 |website=Calgary Herald}} He played for Canada's national under-18 ice hockey team in the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships.{{cite web |author=Medina |first=Alex |date=November 15, 2018 |title=Captain Canada: Luke Prokop |url=https://hitmenhockey.com/article/captain-canada |access-date=July 19, 2021 |website=Calgary Hitmen}}
The Predators selected Prokop in the third round, with the 73rd overall selection, of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.{{cite news |title= NHL Draft Selections |date= October 8, 2020 |work= Richmond Times-Dispatch |location= Richmond, Virginia |page= 5B }} In December 2020, he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Predators,{{cite web |last=Gilbertson |first=Wes |date=December 9, 2020 |title=Hitmen defenceman Luke Prokop signs first contract with Predators |url=https://calgarysun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hitmen-defenceman-luke-prokop-signs-first-contract-with-predators |access-date=July 19, 2021 |website=Calgary Sun}}{{Cite web |title=Predators Sign Luke Prokop to Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract |url=https://www.nhl.com/predators/news/predators-sign-luke-prokop-to-three-year-entry-level-contract/c-319779846 |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=NHL.com |date=December 9, 2020 |language=en-US}} and spent the 2020–21 season with Calgary.
The Hitmen traded Prokop to the Edmonton Oil Kings on October 13, 2021.{{cite web |date=October 13, 2021 |title=Predators prospect Prokop traded to Oil Kings |url=https://whl.ca/article/predators-prospect-prokop-traded-to-oil-kings |access-date=October 13, 2021 |website=Western Hockey League}} He opened the 2022–23 season with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL.{{cite web|url=https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/norfolk-admirals/vp-sp-norfolk-admirals-season-20221020-rmspxwdexbcr5oj4knlwynog7a-story.html |title=Norfolk Admirals aim for first winning season since 2014 |publisher=Pilotonline.com |date=2022-10-20 |accessdate=2023-01-20}} On October 25, 2022, the Seattle Thunderbirds traded three conditional WHL draft picks to Edmonton for Prokop.{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/juniors/article/thunderbirds-acquire-luke-prokops-whl-rights-from-oil-kings/ |title=Thunderbirds acquire Luke Prokop's WHL rights from Oil Kings |publisher=Sportsnet.ca |date=2022-10-25 |accessdate=2023-01-20}}
On November 17, 2023, Prokop became the first openly gay player in the American Hockey League's history, by making his first appearance in a game as a player for the Milwaukee Admirals.{{cite web |title=Milwaukee Admirals’ Luke Prokop becomes first openly gay player to appear in AHL game |url=https://theathletic.com/5067133/2023/11/17/luke-prokop-ahl-gay-player-admirals/ |website=The Athletic |publisher=The New York Times |access-date=28 November 2023 |date=17 November 2023}}
Personal life
During his childhood, playing hockey was his main extracurricular focus. At 12–13 years old, he started to realize that he was a "good hockey player" and decided he wanted to make a career out of it. His older brother, Josh, is also an ice hockey player. The Calgary Hitmen signed Josh in September 2018.{{cite news |title= Silvertips notebook: Everett practicing in Bellingham – The team heads up north this week due to a scheduling conflict at Angel of the Winds Arena|date= September 26, 2018 | work= The Daily Herald |location= Everett, Washington }} They both spent time playing with Calgary, before Luke was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings.{{cite web |author=Medina |first=Alex |date=January 22, 2019 |title=Super Prokop Bros. |url=https://hitmenhockey.com/article/super-prokop-bros |access-date=July 19, 2021 |website=Calgary Hitmen}} His parents own a golf course in Edmonton, Alberta (where Prokop is from) where he frequently visits.
On July 19, 2021, Prokop came out as gay, becoming the first player under contract with an NHL team to do so.{{cite web |author=Hernandez |first=Joe |date=2021-07-19 |title=NHL Prospect Luke Prokop Makes History As League's First Gay Player |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/07/19/1017915128/luke-prokop-becomes-the-first-nhl-player-under-contract-to-come-out-as-gay |access-date=July 19, 2021 |website=NPR}}{{Cite web |title=Prokop reflects on year since coming out as gay |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/luke-prokop-reflects-on-year-since-coming-out-as-gay/c-334995092 |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=NHL.com |language=en-US}}
Career statistics
=Regular season and playoffs=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" | ||||||||
| style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" style="background:#fff;"| ! rowspan="99" style="background:#fff;"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="99" style="background:#fff;"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs | ||||||||
| style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! Season ! Team ! League ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM | ||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
| 2017–18 | WHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| 2018–19 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 62 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 12
| 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| style="text-align:center;"
| 2019–20 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 59 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 30
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| 2020–21 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:center;
| 2021–22 | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| 2021–22 | WHL | 55 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 34
| 19 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 4 |
| style="text-align:center;"
| 2022–23 | ECHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| 2022–23 | WHL | 43 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 20
| 19 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| style="text-align:center;"
| 2023–24 | ECHL | 55 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 16
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"
| 2023–24 | AHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6
| — | — | — | — | — |
| style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" | AHL totals ! 9 !! 0 !! 2 !! 2 !! 6 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |
=International=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em" | ||||
| style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! Year ! Team ! Event ! Result ! rowspan="99" style="background:#fff;"| ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM | ||||
| 2018
| Canada White | U17 | 6th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="4" |Junior totals ! 5 !! 0 !! 1 !! 1 !! 0 |
Awards and achievements
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Ice hockey stats|elite=201923|hockeydb=211141}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prokop, Luke}}
Category:Atlanta Gladiators players
Category:Calgary Hitmen players
Category:Canadian gay sportsmen
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:Edmonton Oil Kings players
Category:Ice hockey people from Edmonton
Category:LGBTQ ice hockey players
Category:Milwaukee Admirals players
Category:Nashville Predators draft picks
Category:Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) players
Category:Seattle Thunderbirds players
Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people