Arizona State Redshirt Junior Forward Austin Lemieux, son of Pittsburgh Penguins’ owner and NHL Hall-of-Famer Mario Lemieux, has left the ASU program and retired from hockey, citing his desire to pursue a professional golf career, according to head coach Greg Powers and first reported by Greg Cameron of College Hockey News.
Arizona State has released its 2020-21 roster on its website. A notable absence: R-Jr. F Austin Lemieux. Told he has officially retired from hockey and will be pursuing a career in professional golf. All the best to Austin, who is as humble as they come.https://t.co/aMWUqWvejL
— Greg Cameron (@gregdcam) September 3, 2020
“Austin made the decision to stay back East and work on accomplishing his goal of becoming a professional golfer,” said Powers. “He made tremendous contributions to our program and [we] support him in everything he decides to do.”
Lemieux had 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) in 66 games with the Sun Devils over two seasons from 2018-2020. He helped Arizona State earn its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019 since joining the NCAA four years prior. The Sun Devils fell 2-1 in the Midwest Regional Semifinals to Quinnipiac.
Austin Lemieux prepares for a faceoff during an Arizona State Sun Devils hockey game. (Riley Trujillo/Sun Devil Athletic)
Prior to joining Arizona State, Lemieux played with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (6 goals and 8 assists in 57 games) and the Islanders Hockey Club of the US Premiere Hockey League (20 goals and 54 assists in 45 games). He also played two seasons each for the under-18 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite and the u-18 Pittsburgh Predators.
