Wikipedia

Alex Pietrangelo

Alexander Pietrangelo (born January 18, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the St. Louis Blues for parts of twelve seasons, captaining the Blues for his final four seasons with the franchise. Nicknamed "Petro", as a junior, he played with the Niagara IceDogs and Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Pietrangelo is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.

Alex Pietrangelo
Alex Pietrangelo during the 2019 Stanley Cup parade.jpg
Pietrangelo with the St. Louis Blues in 2019
Born (1990-01-18) January 18, 1990 (age 34)
King City, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Vegas Golden Knights
St. Louis Blues
National team  Canada
NHL draft 4th overall, 2008
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2008–present

Pietrangelo has competed with Team Canada at the junior and senior level, winning a gold medal win with Canada's under-20 team at the 2009 World Junior Championships. Individually, he was named Best Defenceman at the 2010 World Junior Championship and 2011 Men's World Championship. Pietrangelo was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic hockey team and won a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Playing career

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Minor

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Pietrangelo at the Blues 2008 FanFest, weeks before signing his entry-level contract.

Pietrangelo played minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Area when he was growing up. He started to play hockey for the NobleKing Knights, Rep A team and then with the Richmond Hill Stars of the OMHA before playing three years with the Vaughan Kings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL). As a novice aged player (nine and under), Pietrangelo and his Toronto Pro Hockey Development teammates participated in the 2000 Brick Super Novice Tournament in Edmonton, Alberta. His teammates included Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Philip McRae and Michael Del Zotto. Toronto, however, was defeated in the tournament final by the Vancouver Pacific Vipers, on a goal by Jordan Eberle.[1][2] Pietrangelo was also a member of the All-Ontario Peewee AAA Champion Vaughan Kings team in 2003. He played three years in the Toronto Jr. Canadiens AAA system.[3] The Jr. Canadiens won Ontario's bantam championship in 2005, with Pietrangelo scoring the game-winning goal in the final against the Markham Waxers.[4]

Junior

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After his successful minor hockey career, Pietrangelo was drafted third overall by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Mississauga IceDogs in the first round of the 2006 OHL Priority Selection.[5] He scored at a near point-per-game pace in his rookie season with the IceDogs with 52 points in 59 games, then moved with the team to Niagara as the franchise relocated in 2007.

In September 2007, he was named Canadian Hockey League Player of the Week after recording three goals and four assists in two games.[6] In December 2007, TSN ranked Pietrangelo third overall among eligible skaters for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.[7] International Scouting Services described Pietrangelo as a "tremendous specimen in terms of size and skills"[8] and ranked him fifth among North American draft prospects at mid-season, then sixth in their final rankings leading up to the Draft.[9] Pietrangelo finishing his second OHL season with 53 points in 60 games.

After the Blues lent him to the Canadian under-20 team for the 2010 World Junior Championships, Pietrangelo was returned to the OHL. During the World Juniors, his OHL rights were traded from the IceDogs to the Barrie Colts.[10] Playing half a season with Barrie, he recorded 29 points in 25 games, while adding 14 points in 17 playoff games. Due to his long playoff run with the Colts, he did not have the opportunity to play in the AHL as he did the previous season.

Professional

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St. Louis Blues

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Pietrangelo during the 2010–11 season, his first full season with the Blues.

Pietrangelo was selected fourth overall by the St. Louis Blues at the Entry Draft on June 20, 2008.[11] Coming into training camp, the Blues signed him to an entry-level contract on September 4, 2008.[12] Pietrangelo earned his way onto the team for opening night and played his first NHL game against the Nashville Predators on October 10, 2008.[13] Three days later, however, he suffered a head injury on October 13 in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, when Ryan Hollweg checked him from behind into the boards.[14] Pietrangelo returned shortly, and after playing eight games total for the Blues, he was sent back to his junior team, the Niagara Icedogs.[15] On April 10, 2009, he was assigned to the Blues' top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL), after his junior season had ended.[16]

 
Pietrangelo with the Blues during the 2013–14 season.

Pietrangelo began the 2009–10 season on the Blues' roster for a second consecutive year, but played in only nine games by December 2009. In 2010–11, Pietrangelo played his first full season with the Blues, leading all team defencemen with 43 points (11 goals and 32 assists) over 79 games. He also led team defencemen in plus-minus (+18) and shots (161), while ranking third in average ice time per game.[17] Due to his previous eight- and nine-game seasons in the NHL, he did not qualify as a rookie.[18] Comparatively, the league's leading scorer among rookie defencemen that season was teammate Kevin Shattenkirk, who was born a year earlier than Pietrangelo; he also recorded 43 points.[19] At the end of the 2011–12 season, Pietrangelo was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team.[20] On September 13, 2013, Pietrangelo agreed to a seven-year, $45 million contract with the Blues.[21] Pietrangelo was again named to the NHL Second All-Star Team during the 2013–14 season.

On August 24, 2016, Pietrangelo was named captain of the Blues.[1] In his second year as captain, he was injured in a game against the Detroit Red Wings on December 9 and was placed on injured reserve until December 19.[22] Despite his setback from injury, Pietrangelo was selected for his first NHL All-Star Game where he won the All-Star passing challenge.[23] Pietrangelo also set a new career-high in points and goals at the conclusion of the regular season. On June 12, 2019, Pietrangelo and the Blues defeated the Boston Bruins to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Pietrangelo scored the cup-winning goal in Game 7 after being set up by Jaden Schwartz. During the 2019 playoffs, Pietrangelo tied with Bruins defenceman Torey Krug for leading the league in assists and lead the league in scoring amongst defenceman.

On December 29, 2019, Pietrangelo got his 326th assist, topping Al MacInnis as the most by a Blues defenseman. Pietrangelo was selected to play in his second All-Star Game, along with Blues teammates Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron and Jordan Binnington.

Vegas Golden Knights

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Pietrangelo with the Golden Knights in 2024.

In the final year of his contract with free agency impending, Pietrangelo and the Blues were unable to come to terms on a contract extension, and the two parties ultimately broke off negotiations, making Pietrangelo a free agent for the first time in his career; the main point of contention was that Pietrangelo was looking for a full no movement clause (which was personally important for Pietrangelo as he has four children all under the age of 3 years old at the time of his free agency and wanted guaranteed stability of not having to move teams via trade or waivers[24][25]), which Blues general manager Doug Armstrong refused to give (Armstrong has a consistent history of never handing out full no move clauses to any of his players).[26][27] On October 12, 2020, Pietrangelo signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights that included a full no move clause for the entirety of the contract.[28]

In 2022, Pietrangelo was named to his third All-Star Game.[29] With help from actor Jon Hamm, Pietrangelo won the Breakaway Challenge portion of the All-Star Skills Competition despite missing both of his shots.[30]

Pietrangelo took time away from the team midway through the 2022–23 season after his daughter was suffering from a brain lesion, and briefly contemplated retirement. However, as her condition improved, he was able to return to play, having missed nine games.[31] Pietrangelo attracted controversy at multiple points during the team's deep run in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, the first coming after he was suspended for one game during the Golden Knights' second round series against the Edmonton Oilers after slashing the arm of Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.[32] He would in turn accuse the Oilers players of "premeditated" hits on him that were ignored by the officials.[33] Vegas would ultimately reach the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers. Pietrangelo exited the penalty box following the end of Game 4 and became enmeshed in an ongoing brawl, which attracted some speculation as to whether the rules required him to be suspended for ten games. However, ultimately none was applied.[34][35] The Golden Knights ultimately defeated the Panthers in five games, and Pietrangelo hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second time in his career.[31]

International play

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Pietrangelo at the 2010 World Junior Championships
Medal record
Representing   Canada
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
  2014 Sochi
Canada Cup / World Cup
  2016 Toronto
World Junior Championships
  2009 Canada
  2010 Canada

Pietrangelo was picked to play for Team Canada's under-18 team at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where he served as an alternate captain. The team finished fourth.[36] He played next for the Canadian National Junior Team at the 2009 World Junior Championships and won a gold medal.[37]

The following year, Pietrangelo was loaned by his NHL team, the St. Louis Blues, to play for Team Canada in his second World Junior Championships in 2010.[38] He was selected as an alternate captain to Patrice Cormier. In the final game of the round-robin, Pietrangelo scored a shorthanded game-tying goal against the United States to send the game to overtime. Canada eventually won in a shootout and earned a bye into the semi-final.[39] Advancing to the gold medal game, Canada met the United States in a rematch, but lost 6–5 in overtime. Pietrangelo picked up several individual honours at the conclusion of the tournament. He was named a Tournament All-Star by the media, the Best Defenceman by the directorate and was selected by the coaching staff as one of Canada's top three players.

As the St. Louis Blues failed to make the playoffs in Pietrangelo's first full season in the NHL, he was selected to Canada's men's team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia. With two goals and three assists for five points over seven games, he led Canada in defensive scoring, while tying for second overall among all tournament defencemen.[40] Canada advanced to the quarterfinal as the top-ranked team in their pool, but lost 2–1 to Russia. At the end of the tournament, Pietrangelo was chosen as the Best Defenceman by the directorate.[41] Pietrangelo was part of Canada's gold medal-winning 2014 Winter Olympic team. He played in all six of Canada's games, contributing one assist.

On October 3, 2021, Pietrangelo was one of the first three players named to the men's hockey roster for Canada's team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, alongside Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.[42] However, due to the NHL's subsequent decision not to attend the Beijing Games as a result of the Omicron variant's impacts on scheduling, Pietrangelo was unable to compete.[43]

Personal life

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Pietrangelo was born to parents Joe and Edy, and raised along with his older brother David in King City.[44] His father is the cousin of former NHL goaltender Frank Pietrangelo.[45]

Pietrangelo married St. Louis native Jayne in July 2016.[46][47] In 2017, he and his wife experienced pregnancy loss.[48] They had triplets in July 2018.[49] The couple had their fourth child in September 2020.[50] In September 2022, one of their children developed encephalitis; the ordeal caused Pietrangelo to miss nine games in the 2022–23 season and briefly contemplate retirement, though she made a recovery by the end of the year.[51]

As a child, Pietrangelo's friend died of cancer. As an adult, his niece was diagnosed with Wilms' tumor, but survived.[48] This led him to partner with Friends of Kids with Cancer to raise funds and awareness for youth living with cancer.[52][53]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Bold indicates led league

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Toronto Jr. Canadiens AAA GTHL U16 44 13 31 44 33 — — — — —
2006–07 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 59 7 45 52 45 4 0 0 0 8
2007–08 Niagara IceDogs OHL 60 13 40 53 94 6 5 4 9 4
2008–09 Niagara IceDogs OHL 36 8 21 29 32 — — — — —
2008–09 St. Louis Blues NHL 8 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Peoria Rivermen AHL 1 0 0 0 4 7 0 3 3 2
2009–10 St. Louis Blues NHL 9 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
2009–10 Barrie Colts OHL 25 9 20 29 27 17 2 12 14 8
2010–11 St. Louis Blues NHL 79 11 32 43 19 — — — — —
2011–12 St. Louis Blues NHL 81 12 39 51 36 8 0 5 5 0
2012–13 St. Louis Blues NHL 47 5 19 24 10 6 1 1 2 2
2013–14 St. Louis Blues NHL 81 8 43 51 32 6 1 2 3 0
2014–15 St. Louis Blues NHL 81 7 39 46 28 6 0 2 2 0
2015–16 St. Louis Blues NHL 73 7 30 37 20 20 2 8 10 16
2016–17 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 14 34 48 24 11 0 4 4 8
2017–18 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 15 39 54 22 — — — — —
2018–19 St. Louis Blues NHL 71 13 28 41 22 26 3 16 19 12
2019–20 St. Louis Blues NHL 70 16 36 52 20 9 1 5 6 6
2020–21 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 41 7 16 23 16 19 4 8 12 18
2021–22 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 80 13 31 44 42 — — — — —
2022–23 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 73 11 43 54 16 21 1 9 10 29
2023–24 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 64 4 29 33 24 7 0 1 1 4
NHL totals 1,016 144 460 604 339 139 13 61 74 95

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Canada IH18 4th 4 1 1 2 2
2009 Canada WJC   6 1 2 3 0
2010 Canada WJC   6 3 9 12 14
2011 Canada WC 5th 7 2 3 5 2
2014 Canada OG   6 0 1 1 0
2016 Canada WCH   6 1 2 3 2
Junior totals 16 5 12 17 16
Senior totals 19 3 6 9 4

Awards and achievements

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Award Year
NHL
Second All-Star Team 2012, 2014, 2020
NHL All-Star Game 2018, 2020, 2022
Stanley Cup champion 2019, 2023 [54]
International
World Championship Best Defenceman 2011

References

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  1. ^ a b Pietrangelo, Alex (March 26, 2018). "There's a Place You can Go". The Players Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Short, John (August 14, 2000). "Vipers take Brick in OT thriller". Edmonton Journal. p. D4.
  3. ^ "Player Profile - Alex Pietrangelo". Hockey Canada. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
  4. ^ "Sports Ticker". Toronto Star. April 3, 2005. p. B10.
  5. ^ "Stamkos No. 1 at OHL draft". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 6, 2006. Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
  6. ^ "Pietrangelo named CHL Player of the Week". Canadian Online Explorer. October 1, 2007. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ McKenzie, Bob (September 7, 2007). "Stamkos unanimous pick for top prospect". The Sports Network. Retrieved January 14, 2008.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ "ISS Draft Rankings (OHL)". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on July 10, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
  9. ^ "Pietrangelo Looking to Make it Big". St. Louis Blues.com. June 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  10. ^ Aaron Bell (January 8, 2010). "Around the OHL". Ontario Hockey League. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  11. ^ "Blues Select Pietrangelo with 4th pick". St. Louis Blues.com. June 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2006.
  12. ^ "Blues sign Pietrangelo: Defenseman was the Blues' first-round pick in 2008". St. Louis Blues. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  13. ^ "Rookie will start season on blue line". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  14. ^ "Blues come back to beat Maple Leafs". The Hockey News. October 13, 2008. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  15. ^ "Blues assign Pietrangelo to Niagara". St. Louis Blues. November 13, 2008. Archived from the original on November 16, 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  16. ^ "Blues Assign Pietrangelo to Peoria". NHL.com. April 10, 2009. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  17. ^ "2010-2011 Regular Season St Louis Blues Defenseman Summary Total Points". National Hockey League. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  18. ^ "Calder Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  19. ^ "2010-2011 - Regular Season - Rookie - All Skaters - Summary - Total Points". National Hockey League. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  20. ^ "Pietrangelo Named to 2nd All-Star Team". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  21. ^ Brehm, Mike (September 13, 2013). "Blues sign Alex Pietrangelo to seven-year deal". USA Today. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  22. ^ "Alex Pietrangelo activated from injured reserve". ESPN.com. December 19, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  23. ^ "Blues' Pietrangelo wins All-Star passing challenge". foxsports.com. January 27, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  24. ^ "Pietrangelo embraces new challenge with Vegas - TSN.ca". TSN. The Canadian Press. October 13, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  25. ^ Korac, Luc (October 13, 2020). "'We tried' | Pietrangelo said he wanted to make it work with Blues". KSDK.com. KSDK-TV. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  26. ^ LeBrun, Pierre. "LeBrun: No-trade and no-move clauses a key battle in NHL free agency". The Athletic. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  27. ^ Rutherford, Jeremy. "Blues mailbag: What is Doug Armstrong thinking?". The Athletic. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  28. ^ "Pietrangelo signs seven-year, $61.6 million contract with Golden Knights". nhl.com. NHL. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  29. ^ "Alex Pietrangelo excited to play at home for All-Star Weekend". February 2, 2022.
  30. ^ Owen Krepps (February 4, 2022). "WATCH: Alex Pietrangelo Wins 2022 All-Star Breakaway Challenge". Vegas Hockey Now. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  31. ^ a b Mike Zeisberger (June 14, 2023). "Pietrangelo celebrates Stanley Cup win with daughter after health scare". NHL.com. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  32. ^ David Staples (May 11, 2023). ""What a joke": Twitter reacts to Alex Pietrangelo suspension for slash on Leon Draisaitl". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  33. ^ "Golden Knights' Pietrangelo accuses Oilers of 'premeditated stuff' before slash on Draisaitl". Sportsnet. May 13, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  34. ^ "Will NHL punish Knights' Pietrangelo for leaving penalty box for game-ending scrum?". Sportsnet. June 11, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  35. ^ Dan Kingerski (June 12, 2023). "No Suspension for Pietrangelo; FLA Hush on Tkachuk Status". Vegas Hockey Now. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  36. ^ "Canada's National Team Finishes Fourth". Hockey Canada. August 18, 2007. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
  37. ^ "Canada's junior hockey heroes proud in victory". CTV News. January 6, 2009. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  38. ^ "NHLer Pietrangelo aims to be go-to guy". The Leader-Post. December 14, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.[dead link‍]
  39. ^ "Canada comes back to beat USA in shootout". The Sports Network. January 2, 2010. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  40. ^ "Defensemen Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF. May 15, 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  41. ^ "Best Players Selected By the Directorate" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  42. ^ "Crosby, McDavid, Pietrangelo named to Olympic team". tsn.ca. October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  43. ^ Karstens-Smith, Gemma (February 17, 2022). "Team Canada fan Connor McDavid laments another missed Olympics". CBC Sports. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  44. ^ Kelly, Tim (July 31, 2014). "NHL star hopes to bring Stanley Cup back to King Twp". yorkregion.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  45. ^ "The sky's the limit for Blues' defenseman Pietrangelo". NHL.com. September 8, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  46. ^ Courtepatte, Jake (September 14, 2016). "Pietrangelo humbled as next Blues captain". Kings Weekly Sentinel. Retrieved May 30, 2018. The summer of 2016 has been a whirlwind season for Pietrangelo, who married his fiancée Jayne in July before building a house in his hometown of King City.
  47. ^ Rutherford, Jeremy (December 25, 2016). "Blues head off to enjoy Christmas break". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  48. ^ a b "There's a Place You Can Go". theplayerstribune.com. March 26, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  49. ^ "Pietrangelo becomes father of triplets". NHL.com. July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  50. ^ Granger, Jesse. "A Golden Knights' adventure in potty training? Welcome to Alex Pietrangelo's life". The Athletic. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  51. ^ Zeisberger, Mike (December 17, 2023). "Pietrangelo reflects on daughter's recovery from illness". NHL.com. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  52. ^ Korac, Louie (September 16, 2017). "Pietrangelo raising awareness, money for cancer". NHL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  53. ^ "Alex Pietrangelo Shares his Personal Connection to Friends at the 19th Annual Golf Tournament & Auction". friendsofkids.com. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  54. ^ Brewer, Contessa (June 14, 2023). "Golden Knights' Stanley Cup win cements Las Vegas as a big-time sports city". CNBC. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alex Pietrangelo.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by St. Louis Blues first round draft pick
2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by World Junior Best Defenceman
2010 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by St. Louis Blues captain
2016–2020 		Succeeded by
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