Yannick Weber

Yannick Weber

Weber warming up in February 2015.
Born (1988-09-23) 23 September 1988
Morges, Switzerland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Nashville Predators
Montreal Canadiens
Vancouver Canucks
National team   Switzerland
NHL Draft 73rd overall, 2007
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2008–present

Yannick Cyril Weber (born 23 September 1988) is a Swiss professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd round (73rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and was the first player in Canadiens history to wear jersey number 68.

Playing career

Weber began his professional hockey career in his native Switzerland playing for SC Langenthal of the National League B, the second-highest tier of Swiss hockey. However, he moved to Canada in 2006 to develop his game with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. In two seasons with the Rangers, Weber scored 96 points and added 26 more in the playoffs. In 2007-08, his last season with the Rangers, he helped the team to their fourth J. Ross Robertson Cup championship and to the final of the Memorial Cup championship.[1]

Weber with the Canadiens

The Canadiens signed Weber to a three-year entry-level contract in the summer of 2008.[1] He spent the majority of the next two seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, with his strong play earning him limited action with Montreal and a spot in the 2009 AHL All-Star Game.

Weber scored his first career NHL goal during the 2009 playoffs, 20 April against Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins.[2] Weber scored his first NHL regular season goal on 9 February 2011, also against Tim Thomas.[3] Weber contributed two goals during the Canadiens' first round 2011 playoff series against the Boston Bruins, both times beating Tim Thomas. On 9 October 2011, Weber scored a power play goal against the Winnipeg Jets contributing to a 5-1 Canadiens win in Winnipeg's first regular season game since 1996.

On July 5, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks after not being qualified as a restricted free agent by the Canadiens.[4]

In the 2014–15 NHL season, Weber set a career-high record in goals with 11. He scored five of those 11 in the final 11 games of the season; 4 of which were on the powerplay. On 1 July 2015, he re-signed with the Canucks to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.[5] After struggling in the 2015-16 NHL season, The Canucks waived and subsequently assigned him to the Utica Comets in February 2016.[6] However, due to a season-ending injury to Alexander Edler, he was recalled just a few days later before playing any games for the Comets.[7] He would finish the season with the Canucks but did not appear in many games after this point.

On July 1, 2016, Weber left the Canucks after three seasons, signing a one-year contract as a free agent with the Nashville Predators.[8]

International play

Weber is already a mainstay on the Swiss national team. He made his international debut at the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships in the Czech Republic. He went on to represent his country three times at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, captaining the team at the 2008 tournament where he scored 6 points in as many games.[1] Weber made his senior international debut at the 2009 IIHF World Championship in his home country. Weber was also named to the Swiss roster for the 2010 Winter Olympics.[9] He did not register a point in five games at the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 SC Langenthal NLB 28 3 0 3 8 — — — — —
2006–07 Kitchener Rangers OHL 51 13 28 41 42 9 3 6 9 8
2007–08 Kitchener Rangers OHL 59 20 35 55 79 17 4 13 17 24
2008–09 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 68 16 28 44 42 2 0 1 1 10
2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 3 0 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 0
2009–10 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 65 7 25 32 58 3 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2010–11 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 15 8 4 12 10 — — — — —
2010–11 Montreal Canadiens NHL 41 1 10 11 22 3 2 0 2 0
2011–12 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 4 14 18 30 — — — — —
2012–13 Genève-Servette HC NLA 32 5 16 21 40 — — — — —
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2013–14 Vancouver Canucks NHL 49 6 4 10 16 — — — — —
2013–14 Utica Comets AHL 7 2 5 7 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Vancouver Canucks NHL 65 11 10 21 30 6 0 0 0 12
2015–16 Vancouver Canucks NHL 45 0 7 7 24 — — — — —
NHL totals 274 22 48 70 122 12 3 1 4 12

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Switzerland WJC18 9th 6 1 0 1 6
2006 Switzerland WJC18-D1 12th 5 0 2 2 22
2006 Switzerland WJC 7th 6 1 0 1 4
2007 Switzerland WJC 7th 6 1 3 4 10
2008 Switzerland WJC 9th 6 2 4 6 14
2009 Switzerland WC 9th 3 0 0 0 8
2010 Switzerland OG 8th 5 0 0 0 6
2014 Switzerland OG 9th 4 0 0 0 2
2014 Switzerland WC 10th 7 3 1 4 4
Junior totals 29 5 9 14 56
Senior totals 19 3 1 4 20

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Canadiens lock up Weber". Montreal Canadiens. 2008-08-15. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  2. ↑ "Bruins' Ryder gets revenge against Habs". Yahoo! Sports. 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  3. ↑ Pat Hickey (2011-02-10). "Bruins, Habs light it up in Beantown". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
  4. ↑ "Weber doesn't receive Qualifying offer from Canadiens". Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  5. ↑ Vancouver Canucks (2015-07-01). "Canucks re-sign Yannick Weber". nhl.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  6. ↑ Daniel Goffenberg (2016-02-06). "Canucks defenceman Yannick Weber clears waivers". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  7. ↑ Vancouver Canucks (2016-02-10). "Canucks recall Weber & Friesen from Comets". nhl.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  8. ↑ "Predators sign Weber to one-year contract". Nashville Predators. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  9. ↑ "Bulldogs defenceman Yannick Weber named to Switzerland Olympic team". Hamilton Bulldogs. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
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