Jake Guentzel

Jake Allen Guentzel is an American ice hockey professional left winger playing for the Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League (NHL). Guentzel was born on October 6, 1994, and kickstarted his NHL journey when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round. (77th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Initially, Guentzel played with the Penguins' AHL affiliate during the 2016–17 season. In the following season, he was called up by the Penguins in the NHL, making his NHL debut with a memorable two-goal performance against the New York Rangers. Moreover, Guentzel continued to impress in the playoffs, contributing a hat trick in his rookie playoffs where the Penguins secured the Stanley Cup victory.

Throughout his tenure with the Penguins, Guentzel demonstrated impressive performances, securing a spot in the NHL All-Star Game in 2020 and 2022. Notably, on March 7, 2024, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes ending a decade-long association with the Penguins.

Jake Guentzel's Personal Information

Jake Guentzel's Early Days

Jake Guentzel was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but grew up in Woodbury, Minnesota. He showed interest in ice hockey during his high school at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, Minnesota, where he started playing hockey. Notably, Guentzel’s skills helped lead the team to an impressive 2nd place finish in the 2012 MN State Hockey Tournament.

After concluding his high school career, he committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha and continued honing his skills. He impressed during his freshman season, earning various titles including a spot on the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and the NCHC All-Conference Rookie Team. Additionally, he was a finalist for the NCHC Rookie of the Year award. Guentzel again proved himself in his sophomore season where he played an important role in leading the Mavericks to their first appearance in the Frozen Four. His contributions were recognized when he was named a co-captain of the Omaha Mavericks alongside Brian Cooper.

Jake Guentzel's Personal Life

Jake grew up in a hockey-loving family and he started playing the sport from a very young age. Moreover, Guentzel had an opportunity to serve as a stick boy for the University of Minnesota team, where he crossed paths with future Pittsburgh Penguins teammate, Phil Kessel.

He has also been active with his charitable endeavours, including the “Hearts of Gold” program which he began in 2019. Guentzel provides financial support to Children's Hospital and Jameson’s Army alongside sponsoring many activities for the benefit of the needy.

Jake Guentzel's Family Background

Jake Guentzel comes from a hockey-loving family as his father Mike Guentzel, established himself as a notable athlete during his time at Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minnesota. He further played for the prestigious Minnesota Golden Gophers and later became a head coach at the University of Minnesota.

Notably, Jake Guentzel’s mother Sally Guentzel takes immense pride in the success of Jake. She often attends NHL games and cheers for them.

Jake's older brothers Ryan Guentzel and Gabe Guentzel are also associated with ice hockey. Ryan is a retired professional right-winger who played at the collegiate level. Gabe is also retired, having last played for the Augsburger Panther.

Jake Guentzel's Wife

Jake Guentzel is married to Natalie Johnson. The couple dated for many years before exchanging wedding vows on August 18, 2021.

Natalie was born on October 22, 1995, and is native of Nebraska. She attended Omaha Skutt Catholic High School and later went to University of Nebraska, graduating in communications studies,Natalia is also associated in the sports, playing in the Omaha Women’s soccer team as midfielder.

Jake Guentzel's Kids

Jake and Natalie Guentzel welcomed their first child, a baby boy Charlie on August 2, 2022.

Jake Guentzel Social Media

Jake Guentzel has a private account on Instagram named @jakenbake20 where he has 128K followers.

Jake Guentzel's Career Stats

The entirety of Jake Guentzel's career stats are presented below for better understanding:

Jake Guentzel's Contracts

Jake Guentzel has signed two contracts till date in his NHL career. The first contract he signed was a three-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for $2,775,000 with a cap hit of $734,167 in 2016. Moving forward, he signed a five-year contract with the Penguins for $30,000,000 with a cap hit of $6,000,000 in 2018. Remarkably, the accumulated value of all his contracts stands at $32,775,000.

Jake Guentzel's Achievements

All of Jake Guentzel's achievements are shown below:

Jake Guentzel's House

Jake Guentzel bought a home in downtown Pittsburgh in 2020 for $1,438,878. Unfortunately, additional details regarding his house are not known.