• A hip injury ended Puempel’s draft eligible season on Feb. 21, but he still ended up leading the Petes in scoring with 34 goals and 69 points in 55 games. His  operation was performed by renowned hip specialist Dr. Marc Philippon – the same doctor who operated on Mario Lemieux and Marian Gaborik. He is expected to make a full recovery.

• Puempel was the youngest player in the history of the Petes’ to score 33 goals in a season. The Peterborough sniper led all OHL rookies in scoring with 64 points in 59 games en route to capturing both OHL and CHL Rookie of the Year honors in 2009-10.

• Playing for the Sun County Panthers in Midget AAA in 2008-09, he put up 88 goals and 144 points in 76 games. He was also a member of Team Ontario for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and helped them take home a silver medal, scoring five points in six games.

• He got his start in hockey following in his older brother’s footsteps and honed his skills on Cottam Pond near his home – “We used to always truck out there and my dad would sit in the car and watch my brother and I play, which was a lot of fun”.

FAVORITES

NHL team: Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL player: Jarome Iginla
Shootout move: “Low blocker”
Goal celebration: “Kiss the finger”
Movie: Elf
TV show: Seinfeld
Actors: Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller
Cartoon: Simpsons
Pump-up song: “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled feat Ludacris
Restaurant: The Keg
Sport (other than hockey): Lacrosse
Breakfast food: Toast with peanut butter
Superhero: Spiderman