Travis Dermott

Dermott began his youth hockey career with the Minor Midget “AAA” York Simcoe Express. During the 2010–11 season, he broke his collarbone twice causing him to only play in 19 games.[8] During his tenure with the Express, Dermott helped the team win five OMHA championships and an OHF peewee title.[9] Scouts witnessed Dermott's success and he was offered a try out with an East Coast select spring hockey team[10] and signed with the Newmarket Hurricanes in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).[8]

He was later drafted by the Erie Otters in the 2012 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft[11] but continued to play with the Newmarket Hurricanes. After being named to the OJHL's 2nd Team All-Stars[12] and Fan Favourite,[13] he committed to play for the Erie Otters on May 4, 2013.[14] During his tenure with the Otters, Dermott attended McDowell High School and was named Midwest Division Academic Player of the Month for January 2014.[15] Following a strong first year performance with the Erie Otters in which he scored 28 points in 67 games, Dermott was rewarded when he was named to the 2013–14 OHL First All-Rookie Team.[16]

Dermott with the Otters in 2013.

During following season, Dermott scored 45 points in 61 games, including a franchise record seven-game assist streak which was the longest such stretch by a defenceman. He also led all Erie defencemen in playoff scoring with 17 points[6] earning him a jump in ratings and a projection as a possible first round pick.[17] Dermott attested his scoring prowess as the result of filling in for a suspended Kurtis MacDermid and practicing with former NHL defenceman Jay McKee.[7] The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Dermott 46th amongst North American skaters,[18] a boost from his midterm ranking of 47.[19]

Dermott was eventually drafted 34th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with them on July 22, 2015.[20] Prior to his draft, Dermott began training with Dave Harris at Iperformance.[5] He returned to the Otters for his final year of major junior hockey after attending the Leafs training camp.[21] On December 1, 2015, Dermott and teammate Dylan Strome were selected to compete with Team Canada at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[22] Upon returning from Finland empty handed,[23] Dermott was ejected from a game against the Mississauga Steelheads for a hit to the head on Owen Tippett.[24] After the game concluded, he was assessed a five-game suspension following a hearing.[25] Although the Otters qualified for the 2016 OHL Playoffs, they were swept in the OHLs Western Conference final by the London Knights.[26]

After the Otters were swept in the Western Conference final, Dermott joined the Toronto Marlies for the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs.[27] He made his professional post-season debut with the Marlies during the third round of the playoffs as a replacement for Stuart Percy[28] before they were ultimately eliminated by the Hershey Bears.[29]

On August 26, 2016, Dermott was selected to compete at the Maple Leafs 2016 Rookie Tournament[30] and their 2016 training camp. After participating in both, he was returned to the Toronto Marlies for their 2016–17 season.[31] Dermott made his AHL debut on October 16, 2016, where he recorded his first career AHL goal and assist in a win against the Utica Comets.[32] He concluded his rookie season with the Marlies having recorded 24 points in 59 games, earning him a second-place finish amongst Marlies defensemen in scoring.[8]

Dermott with the Toronto Marlies during the 2018 Calder Cup Final.

The following year, Dermott was again selected to participate in the Leafs Rookie Tournament,[33] but was reassigned to the Marlies to begin the season.[34] He played on a defensive pairing with Timothy Liljegren and earned time on the penalty-kill. Although he was a left-handed shooter, he was moved to the right hand side.[35] Dermott's playmaking ability earned him his first NHL recall on January 5, 2018[35] where he recorded one assist in two games before being sent back down to the Marlies on January 11, 2018.[36] While with the Marlies again, Dermott was named to the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic alongside teammate Kasperi Kapanen.[37] Following another recall on January 15 with fellow Marlies player Frédérik Gauthier,[38] he was given the number 23 to wear instead of his usual 3.[39] That night, he scored his first career NHL goal in the leafs 5–0 win against the New York Islanders on January 31.[40] Dermott stayed will the Leafs as they qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins[41] and recorded his first playoff goal during Game 7 to tie the game 3–3, although the Leafs ended up losing the game 7–4.[42] Despite playing in the NHL playoff series, Dermott, Andreas Johnsson, and Kasperi Kapanen remained eligible to compete in the 2018 Calder Cup playoffs.[43] After the Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs, Dermott was sent to the Marlies to help them in their 2018 Calder Cup playoffs run.[44] He ended his rookie campaign with the Leafs recording one goal and 12 assists in 37 regular season games.[43] Upon returning to the Toronto Marlies lineup, he helped them win their first Calder Cup in franchise history following a seven–game playoff series against the Texas Stars.[45]

On the heels of his successful rookie campaign, Dermott began the 2018–19 season with the Leafs in the NHL for the first time in his career.[46] As the youngest defenseman on the Leafs roster, Dermott played on a pairing with Ron Hainsey with the goal of moving him to Morgan Rielly's side.[47] Former head coach Mike Babcock stated that “[Dermott’s issues] are all the things that are no different than Morgan Rielly....Everyone raves about you, but you’re a dash all the time. The puck is going in your net all the time. So you have to figure that out over time. That’s what the league is all about.”[48] He played in 24 games until teammate William Nylander returned to the lineup following a contract dispute on December 2, 2018.[49] Dermott was loaned to the Marlies temporarily to make room for Nylander in the Leafs lineup but returned for their following game against the Buffalo Sabres.[50] Upon returning, he continued to play with the Leafs until February 27, 2019, when he suffered a shoulder injury. As a result, he was out of the lineup for a month before eventually returning to finish the regular season and playoffs with the Leafs.[51] He underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason after the Leafs were eliminated in the first round the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.[52]

Although the 2019–20 season would eventually be delayed due to COVID-19,[53] Dermott began the season in late October as he recovered from his surgery in May.[54] In the final year of his contract, Dermott began seeing playing time on the top defenceman pairing after Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin suffered injuries.[55] Following the hiring of Sheldon Keefe, who Dermott played under with the Marlies, he was paired with Justin Holl to replace those on the top pair.[56] Although he was again shortly sidelined due to an illness, he only missed one game to recover.[57] Under the guidance of Keefe, Dermott averaged nearly 19 minutes of ice time per game playing beside Holl and helped the team outscore opponents 4–1.[58]

On October 23, 2020, Dermott signed a one-year, $874,125 contract extension with the Maple Leafs.[59][60] Dermott played in 51 games with the Leafs that year, scoring two goals and six points but saw his ice time diminish from previous seasons.[61] On July 8, 2021, Dermott signed a two-year, $3 million extension with the Maple Leafs.[61] Dermott was left exposed by the Maple Leafs in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft,[62] but the Seattle Kraken chose to select Jared McCann from the Leafs.[63] During the 2021–22 season Dermott played in 43 games with the Maple Leafs scoring one goal and five points. During the season he was surpassed by Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren on the Maple Leafs depth chart.[64]

On March 20, 2022, one day before the trade deadline, Dermott was traded by the Maple Leafs to the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for a 2022 third-round draft pick.[64] He played in 18 games with the Canucks to finish off the season.[65] During the 2022–23 season Dermott suffered a concussion during a practice on September 27, 2022 and remained out of the lineup until December 29.[66] He played in 11 games with Vancouver before suffering another injury that saw him placed on injured reserve.[65] He missed the rest of the season. At the end of the season Dermott was a restricted free agent. However, the Canucks chose not to provide him with a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.[67]

On July 11, 2023, Dermott was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes for the 2023–24 season. The contract carried an NHL salary of $800,000 and an AHL salary of $450,000.[68]

Dermott attracted attention shortly into his tenure with the Coyotes when, during the team's October 21 home opener game, he became the first NHL player to defy the league's new ban on the use of Pride-themed hockey tape.[69] The NHL, NHL Player's Association, and NHL Player Inclusion Coalition reviewed Dermott's action, and ultimately, the ban on Pride tape was rescinded.[70]