Born	October 5, 1987 (1987-10-05) (age 22), Villach, Austria
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team F. teams	Vancouver Canucks Manitoba Moose (AHL) EC VSV (Austria)
Ntl. team	Austria
NHL Draft	14th overall, 2006 Vancouver Canucks
Pro career	2007 – present

Michael René Grabner (born October 5, 1987 in Villach, Austria) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Grabner grew up playing for the local team in Villach, EC VSV. He moved to North America at the age of 14 and joined the Spokane Chiefs of the major junior Western Hockey League (WHL) to further his hockey career. After his second season with the Chiefs, he was selected 14th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Grabner played one more season in the WHL before moving to the AHL, where he has played the past two seasons in the Canucks' farm system.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Career statistics 2.1 International statistics 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Playing career

Born in Villach, Austria, Grabner began playing hockey at the age of five.^[1] Before moving to North America to play junior, Grabner played for his hometown team of VSV EC in the Austrian Hockey League in Villach, Austria. He then played two seasons for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, beginning in 2004–05. Grabner scored 13 goals and 24 points in his rookie year with the Chiefs, then improved to 36 goals and 50 points in his draft year the following season. Grabner's draft stock went up significantly in the final half of the season, as he scored 22 goals in the final 23 games of 2005–06.^[2] That summer, he was chosen fourteenth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Grabner was admittedly surprised to be chosen in that position of the draft, as he was projected to be a late first-round to early second-round pick.^[2]

Upon being drafted, he returned to the Chiefs and scored at a point-per-game pace with 55 points in 55 games in 2006–07 WHL season. However, he was criticized by his coach for his lack of physical play.^[3] After the Chiefs were eliminated in the playoffs, Grabner joined the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose for their final two games of the regular season and the playoffs. Grabner joined the Moose for his first full professional season in 2007–08, recording 44 points in 74 games as a rookie.

The following season, on February 26, 2009, Grabner was recalled by the Canucks to replace Pavol Demitra who suffered a fractured finger the night before.^[4] However, later that day, Grabner was reassigned to Manitoba after Demitra was deemed fit to play.^[5] He finished his second season with the Moose improving to 30 goals, tied for the team lead with Jason Krog, and 48 points in 66 games, helping the Moose to the league's best regular season record. After eliminating the Toronto Marlies and Grand Rapids Griffins in the first two rounds of the 2009 playoffs, Grabner scored the series-clinching goal in the sixth game of the semifinals, a 3–1 win over the Houston Aeros.^[6] Grabner finished with 17 points in 20 games as the Moose finished as Calder Cup runners-up.

Coming off a successful second AHL season, Grabner was expected to challenge for a roster spot at the Canucks' 2009–10 training camp, but was sent back down to the Moose before the start of the regular season.^[7] After a quick start with the Moose, however, scoring four goals in five games, he was called up by the Canucks on October 14, 2009, to replace injured star winger Daniel Sedin.^[8] Grabner then scored his first NHL goal on October 21 on the powerplay against Antti Niemi in a 3–2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.^[9] He added his first NHL game winning goal four days later, in a 2–0 blanking of the Edmonton Oilers on October 25.^[10] Nine games into his initial stint with the Canucks, however, he injured himself during a pre-game warmup on November 1. Grabner was kicking a soccer ball around with teammates before a game against the Colorado Avalanche when he rolled over his ankle.^[11]

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	VSV EC	Aut U20		13	6	4	10	4		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	VSV EC	Aut U20		23	32	5	37	58		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	VSV EC	Aut		14	1	1	2	0		4	1	0	1	0
2004–05	Spokane Chiefs	WHL		58	13	11	24	18		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Spokane Chiefs	WHL		67	36	14	50	28		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Spokane Chiefs	WHL		55	39	16	55	34		6	0	1	1	2
2006–07	Manitoba Moose	AHL		2	1	1	2	0		6	0	0	0	0
2007–08	Manitoba Moose	AHL		74	22	22	44	8		6	3	0	3	2
2008–09	Manitoba Moose	AHL		66	30	18	48	20		20	10	7	17	2
WHL totals				180	88	41	129	80		6	0	1	1	2
AHL totals				142	53	41	94	28		32	13	7	20	4

[edit] International statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004	Austria	U18		5	3	1	4	4
2005	Austria	WJC		4	1	2	3	2
2005	Austria	U18		4	4	1	5	29
Junior totals				13	8	4	12	35

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Michael Grabner's NHL player profile
• Official Manitoba Moose profile
• Michael Grabner's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Luc Bourdon	Vancouver Canucks first round draft pick 2006	Succeeded by Patrick White