Player Profile: Justin Vaive

Justin Vaive was born on July 8th, 1989, in Buffalo, New York. He is 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, playing as a left winger that shoots left-handed. He is the son of Rick Vaive, a former NHL All-Star who played from 1979 to 1992 for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, and Buffalo Sabres. While playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Rick Vaive became the first player in Leafs history to score 50 goals in a single season. His son, Justin Vaive, began his junior career playing for the Toronto Marlboros (GTHL) and Milton IceHawks (OPJHL) and then played for multiple USA National teams, grabbing attention at the Division 1 & NHL level.

Selected 92nd Overall by Anaheim Ducks in 2007 NHL Draft

Vaive was selected 92nd overall in the 4th round by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He then chose to attend Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, a member of the CCHA at the time, to play NCAA Division 1 hockey. In 160 games at Miami University from 2007 to 2011, he scored a total of 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists). In the 2008-2009 season, the RedHawks made their first-ever Frozen Four appearance in school history. The team reached the Championship game against Boston University and held a 3-1 lead with a little over 1 minute left in the third period. However, Boston University managed an incredible comeback to tie the game 3-3 and later won 4-3 in overtime, resulting in a devastating loss for the RedHawks, one that still haunts the university to this day. The following season, the Redhawks once again made it to the Frozen Four but suffered a crushing 7-1 defeat in the semi-finals against Boston College at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Vaive’s final season at Miami ended with a disappointing 3-1 loss to the New Hampshire Wildcats in the opening round of the Northeast Regional.

On August 24, 2011, the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League signed Vaive to a contract, but he spent most of that season with the ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones, only a 45-minute drive away from Miami University where he spent 4 prior years. He then signed a one-year ECHL contract with the Greenville Road Warriors on July 24, 2014, and later that year, he signed to return with Road Warriors’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on a one-year deal. On July 2, 2015, Vaive signed his first NHL contract as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year, two-way deal with the New York Islanders. He was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, for the duration of the 2015–16 season. After not securing a roster spot with the Islanders, Vaive went un-signed over the summer as a free agent before returning to the Cincinnati Cyclones on October 14, 2016. After playing in the season opener, he accepted a professional try-out offer to join the AHL’s Rochester Americans the following day, where he played 66 games in the 2016-2017 season.

In the 2017-2018 season, Vaive returned to the Cyclones and served as an Alternate Captain, scoring 45 points in 48 games and earning himself a call-up to the AHL’s Belleville Senators on a loan. For the next two seasons, he would serve as the Captain of the Cyclones, leading them into the Kelly Cup Playoffs once. Vaive later agreed to a contract extension for the 2020–21 season with the Cyclones, but the team opted to go on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing him as a free agent. On January 6, 2021, Vaive signed a contract with the Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL, where he helped capture the franchise’s first Kelly Cup, scoring 6 points in the 13 playoff games. With the Cyclones returning to play for the 2021–22 season, Vaive agreed to a one-year contract on July 14, 2021.

The next two seasons with Cincinnati, he notched a total of 108 points, including a run into the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs, where the Cyclones were swept by the Toledo Walleye in the 2nd round. He was then re-signed ahead of the 2023-24 ECHL season, where he only appeared in 45 games before being sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury in early February. Despite this, he managed to tally 28 points, bringing him closer to surpassing the Cyclones’ all-time points leader, Jesse Schultz, who scored 290 points in Cincinnati. Vaive is currently at 264 points and only 26 points away, which is do-able in one season.

Ahead of the upcoming 2024-2025 season, the Cyclones, the new ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, protected Justin Vaive and 32 other players in their 2024 Protected List. This likely means that he will be back in Cincinnati, and a few of his statements from last year go along with that idea as well. Last summer he stated, “I’ve made it clear, both publicly and in my own mind, that this is the only team I’m going to play for (moving forward),” said Vaive. “Time will tell on whether that’s a couple years or ten years, but I don’t see myself ever putting on a different jersey. This has been my home away from home for so many years, and you would think with age that you get used to it, but each year I get more and more excited when I re-sign here.” He clearly loves Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati faithful loves their captain too, who has hopefully recovered well from last season’s injury.

Awards:

U17 WHC Silver Medal
U18 WJC Silver Medal
NCCA (CCHA) Regular Season Champion
NCAA (CCHA) Champion
ECHL Kelly Cup Champion (2021 Fort Wayne Komets)
ECHL Player of the Week (2/6-2/12 – 2023)