Yannick Cyril Weber (born 23 September 1988) is a Swiss professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing with the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Yannick Weber
Weber with the Nashville Predators in 2017
Born (1988-09-23) 23 September 1988 (age 35)
Morges, Switzerland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
NL team
Former teams
ZSC Lions
Montreal Canadiens
Genève-Servette HC
Vancouver Canucks
Nashville Predators
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team   Switzerland
NHL Draft 73rd overall, 2007
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2008–present

Playing career edit

Early career edit

As a youth, Weber played in the 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Central Switzerland.[1]

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.[2]

The Canadiens signed Weber to a three-year entry-level contract in the summer of 2008.[2] 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.[citation needed]

 
Weber with the Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens edit

Weber scored his first career NHL goal during the 2009 playoffs, 20 April against Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins.[3] Weber scored his first NHL regular season goal on 9 February 2011, also against Tim Thomas.[4] 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.

Vancouver Canucks edit

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

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.[6] After struggling in the 2015–16 NHL season, The Canucks waived and subsequently assigned him to the Utica Comets in February 2016.[7] 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.[8] He would finish the season with the Canucks but did not appear in many games after this point.

 
Weber warming up in February 2015.

Nashville Predators edit

On 1 July 2016, Weber left the Canucks after three seasons, signing a one-year contract as a free agent with the Nashville Predators.[9] On 6 June 2017, it was announced that Weber had turned down offers from Geneva and Lugano -that would have paid him more than CHF1.7 million a year over multiple seasons- to pursue his NHL career.[10]

On 13 June 2017, the Predators signed Weber to a one-year contract extension worth $650,000.[11] After appearing in 26 games for the club, the Predators re-signed Weber to a two-year, $1.35 million contract worth $675,000 annually.[12]

On 2 January 2021, Weber signed a professional tryout agreement to attend the Predators' training camp.[13] However, he was released from the agreement on 13 January.[14]

Pittsburgh Penguins edit

On 27 January 2021, Weber signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[15]

ZSC Lions edit

On 8 June 2021, Weber signed a three-year contract with the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL).[16]

International play edit

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.[2] 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.[17] He did not register a point in five games at the tournament.

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 SC Bern SUI U20 32 2 3 5 39 8 2 0 2 8
2004–05 SC Bern SUI U20 37 5 4 9 62 5 0 0 0 22
2005–06 SC Bern SUI U20 17 1 6 7 46
2005–06 SC Langenthal NLB 28 3 0 3 8
2006–07 SC Bern SUI U20 1 0 0 0 2
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
2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 73 1 7 8 25 22 0 1 1 5
2017–18 Nashville Predators NHL 47 2 3 5 16 4 1 0 1 2
2018–19 Nashville Predators NHL 62 2 6 8 18
2019–20 Nashville Predators NHL 41 1 2 3 14 4 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 ZSC Lions NL 49 3 12 15 36 18 0 3 3 12
NHL totals 499 28 66 94 195 42 4 2 6 19

International edit

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Switzerland WJC18 9th 6 1 0 1 6
2006 Switzerland WJC 7th 6 1 0 1 4
2006 Switzerland WJC18 D1 12th 5 0 2 2 22
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
2016 Switzerland WC 11th 7 1 2 3 4
2019 Switzerland WC 8th 7 0 1 1 18
2022 Switzerland OG 8th 5 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 29 5 9 14 56
Senior totals 38 4 5 9 44

References edit

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Canadiens lock up Weber". Montreal Canadiens. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Bruins' Ryder gets revenge against Habs". Yahoo! Sports. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  4. ^ Pat Hickey (10 February 2011). "Bruins, Habs light it up in Beantown". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  5. ^ "Weber doesn't receive Qualifying offer from Canadiens". Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  6. ^ Vancouver Canucks (1 July 2015). "Canucks re-sign Yannick Weber". nhl.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  7. ^ Daniel Goffenberg (6 February 2016). "Canucks defenceman Yannick Weber clears waivers". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  8. ^ Vancouver Canucks (10 February 2016). "Canucks recall Weber & Friesen from Comets". nhl.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Predators sign Weber to one-year contract". Nashville Predators. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Yannick Weber spielt die saison seines lebens". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Predators sign Yannick Weber to 1-year contract". The Tennessean.
  12. ^ "Weber, Irwin, Bitetto sign with Predators".
  13. ^ Bratten, Brooks (2 January 2021). "Predators Announce 2021 Training Camp Roster, Schedule". Nashville Predators. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  14. ^ Stanley, Robby. "Granlund and Sbisa are "non-roster" players right now. Yannick Weber was released from his PTO. Philip Tomasino has been assigned to Chicago (AHL)". Twitter. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Defenseman Yannick Weber to a One-Year Contract". National Hockey League. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Verpflichtung von Yannick Weber". zsclions.ch (in Swiss High German). 8 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Bulldogs defenceman Yannick Weber named to Switzerland Olympic team". Hamilton Bulldogs. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2011.

External links edit