Michael Grabner

Michael Grabner
Grabner with the New York Islanders in January 2015
Born	(1987-10-05) 5 October 1987 (age 29) Villach, Austria
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks New York Islanders Toronto Maple Leafs
National team	Austria
NHL Draft	14th overall, 2006 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	2003–present

Michael-René Grabner (born 5 October 1987) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers 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 17 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 American Hockey League (AHL), where he played two seasons in the Canucks' farm system. He was traded during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to the Florida Panthers, but was claimed by the New York Islanders after Florida placed him on waivers with the intention of assigning him to their AHL affiliate. Grabner spent five seasons with the Islanders before being traded to the Maple Leafs in 2015. Internationally Grabner has appeared for Austria in both junior and senior tournaments, and played in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Born in Villach, Grabner began playing hockey at the age of five. He joined his EC VSV's junior team, scoring 10 points over 13 games in 2002–03. The following year, he improved to 32 goals and five assists over 23 games, while also debuting with EC VSV's men's team in the Austrian Hockey League. In the subsequent off-season, he was selected 22nd overall by the Spokane Chiefs in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft. Grabner believed that playing major junior in North America would help his goal of making it to the NHL. He had been exposed to Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz through a connection with his head coach in EC VSV, Greg Holst.