It's been a long road for Justin Kirkland who has been through a lot over the course of his hockey career, which made him emotional following his Coyotes debut.
Arizona Coyotes forward Justin Kirkland has persevered through the hardest of times to accomplish his ultimate goal.
From playing multiple years in the minor leagues to surviving a severe car crash, Kirkland has really been through it all.
All seemed right for Kirkland back in 2014 when he was drafted in the third round by the Nashville Predators.
The Canadian native played in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets from 2013-16 where he recorded over 45 points in all three seasons, so it was safe to say he was looking promising from a development standpoint.
However reality would eventually hit Kirkland. Over his couple of years with the Predators organization, he failed to make the NHL roster, spending most of his time with the Milwaukee Admirals which was their AHL affiliate.
In 2019, Kirkland was not given a qualifying offer by the Predators and in search of a new opportunity, he signed with the Calgary Flames.
Unfortunately for Kirkland, his fate would be more or less the same. All three years with the Flames, he played in the AHL for Stockton Heat.
During his time with the Heat, Kirkland began establishing a real solid offensive game. He specifically thrived through his last season in Stockton when he tallied 25 goals, 23 assists and 48 points in 66 games.
His impressive 2021-22 season earned him a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
Despite starting the year in the AHL, Kirkland was quickly promoted to the NHL to play with the Ducks.
Finally his years of hard work paid off and he had an opportunity to show what he can do at the highest level amongst the top hockey players in the world.
That opportunity was stripped from him after seven games. On Jan. 9, 2023, Kirkland got into a serious car crash.
He was rushed to the hospital, and placed on injured reserve. Kirkland did not suffer any life threatening injuries and was discharged from the hospital about two days following the accident.
Once Kirkland did make a full recovery though, the Ducks put him on waivers where he went unclaimed and was forced to play the rest of the year in the AHL, something he has become all too familiar with.
Despite going through all of this, the 27-year-old was not done fighting just yet.
He signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Coyotes this past summer. In 12 games with the Tucson Roadrunners, Kirkland has 1 goal, 12 assists and 13 points.
With an opening in the lineup, the Coyotes decided to call-up Kirkland on January 6 for a game that was taking place the very next day.
“I found out last night,” Kirkland said on Sunday about being called-up. “It was pretty exciting, a little bit hard to fall asleep last night, but it was an honor to come out and wear the Coyotes logo.”
Kirkland played 7:23 minutes for the Coyotes on Sunday night and despite losing 6-2, he was still able to make his presence felt.
“He played well,” coach André Tourigny said. “I think he was solid in his battles, solid in his draws, he was heavy on pucks, so I like his game.”
More importantly though, Kirkland was just able to climb his way back into the NHL after facing so much adversity which made him emotional during his postgame presser.
“I had a pretty bad car accident last year which came at a tough time,” Kirkland said. “I was getting my first look last year after seven years pro with Anaheim and I was driving to a game against Boston. I was a little bit emotional to find out I would be playing again. There are certain points where you wonder if I’m going to play again, so a lot of reflecting over the past couple of days. Just grateful for my wife and my family who have continued to support me.
“A lot of tough days in between this time last year and today, so like I said I’m proud of myself for just putting my head down and work. This is where I want to be. It’s an exciting day, very very proud to get back up here. Special for me and I got a lot of people that are behind me that have continued to support me.”
Hockey is more than just a game and these kinds of moments just truly show that. No matter what happens for the rest of his career, Kirkland will always have this moment.
Even after being forced to overcome all of these barriers, Kirkland never gave up on accomplishing his dream of playing in the NHL.
He stayed true to himself, worked hard and took advantage of opportunities. For young players or really anyone that is searching for inspiration, take a look at Kirkland’s story because it takes his kind of mindset to be successful in life.