Joshua Derek Adam Holden (born January 18, 1978, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He currently plays for EV Zug of the National League A in Switzerland.

[edit] Playing career

After playing four seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Regina Pats, finishing in the league's top ten in scoring in both 1995–96 and 1996–97, Holden made his National Hockey League debut with the Canucks in the 1998–99 season, appearing in 30 games. After he played in 16 games with the Canucks over the next two seasons, he was claimed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes before the 2001–02 season. Holden played in eight games with Carolina before rejoining the Canucks' organization. He then was traded by Vancouver to the Toronto Maple Leafs before the 2002–03 season in exchange for Jeff Farkas.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Holden went to Finland's SM-liiga to play for HPK. While the NHL resumed play in 2005–06, Holden stayed in Europe, joining Fribourg-Gottéron of Switzerland's Nationalliga A.

Despite his high draft status, Holden is widely considered a bust, like many others of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, which some hockey analysts have often called the weakest draft class in history. To date, he has only appeared in 60 NHL games, scoring five goals and nine assists.

[edit] Career statistics

                                             --- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ---- Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1994-95  Regina Pats                 WHL    62   20   23   43   45   4   3   1   4   0 1995-96  Regina Pats                 WHL    70   57   55  112  105  11   4   5   9  23 1996-97  Regina Pats                 WHL    58   49   49   98  148   5   3   2   5  10 1997-98  Regina Pats                 WHL    56   41   58   99  134   2   2   2   4  10 1998-99  Vancouver Canucks           NHL    30    2    4    6   10  --  --  --  --  -- 1998-99  Syracuse Crunch             AHL    38   14   15   29   48  --  --  --  --  -- 1999-00  Vancouver Canucks           NHL     6    1    5    6    2  --  --  --  --  -- 1999-00  Syracuse Crunch             AHL    45   19   32   51  113   4   1   0   1  10 2000-01  Vancouver Canucks           NHL    10    1    0    1    0  --  --  --  --  -- 2000-01  Kansas City Blades          IHL    60   27   26   53  136  --  --  --  --  -- 2001-02  Carolina Hurricanes         NHL     8    0    0    0    2  --  --  --  --  -- 2001-02  Manitoba Moose              AHL    68   16   17   33  187   7   1   1   2   4 2002-03  St. John's Maple Leafs      AHL    65   24   29   53  123  --  --  --  --  -- 2002-03  Toronto Maple Leafs         NHL     5    1    0    1    2  --  --  --  --  -- 2003-04  St. John's Maple Leafs      AHL    52   22   33   55  106  --  --  --  --  -- 2003-04  Toronto Maple Leafs         NHL     1    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- 2004-05  HPK Hameenlinna             FNL    51   21   15   36   94  10   6   1   7  12 2005-06  Fribourg-Gotteron           Swiss  44   17   18   35  127  --  --  --  --  -- 2006-07  Fribourg-Gotteron           Swiss  38   13   21   34   54  --  --  --  --  -- 2007-08  Langnau                     Swiss  48   26   43   69   87  --  --  --  --  --   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------          NHL Totals                         60    5    9   14   16  --  --  --  --  -- 

[edit] External links

• Josh Holden's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database