Mike Weber

Michael Weber[1] (born December 16, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He previously played with the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He is currently an assistant coach for the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League (AHL).

For the American football player, see Mike Weber (American football).

Mike Weber
Weber with the Capitals in 2016.
Born (1987-12-16) December 16, 1987
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for Buffalo Sabres
Lørenskog IK
Washington Capitals
Frölunda HC
NHL Draft 57th overall, 2006
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2007–2017

Playing career

Early

Weber played hockey for the Pittsburgh Junior B Penguins as a youth. He began his major junior career with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League during the 2003-04 season. Following his third season with the club, Weber was drafted in the second round, 57th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres during the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. In his final major junior season, Weber was traded to the Barrie Colts.

Buffalo Sabres

Weber joined the Sabres' American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans, for the 2007–08 AHL season. He was called up by the Sabres on two occasions early in the same season.[2][3] He was recalled for a third time in March 2008 and scored his first NHL point on March 12 with an assist in his hometown against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[4] His first NHL goal was scored on December 28, 2010 against Nikolai Khabibulin of the Edmonton Oilers.[5]

Weber with the Sabres in 2013.

On July 4, 2011, the Sabres signed Weber to a two-year, $1.9 million contract extension.[6][7] Weber struggled during the 2011–12 season as he finished it with a minus-19 with the Sabres failing to make the playoffs. His play improved a lot for the shortended 2012–13 season after the acquisition of his longtime best friend Steve Ott.[8][9] Weber established himself as a leader to the Sabres young defensive core. However, the Sabres once again failed to make the playoffs for the second season in a row. Due to his improvement the Sabres re-signed Weber to a 3-year, $5 million contract extension.[10]

On February 20, 2015, after being on the receiving end of a borderline hit by Tanner Glass of the New York Rangers, Weber lifted Glass by the scruff of the neck and over the ice to be delivered to the game's linesmen to serve his penalty. Weber left the game early, provoking a fight between Glass and Weber's teammate Tyson Strachan.[11]

Washington Capitals

During the 2015–16 season, having spent all nine of his professional years with the Sabres, Weber was traded to the Washington Capitals for a third round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft on February 23, 2016.[12] Used sparingly as a depth defenseman, Weber was unable to help the Capitals progress deep into the playoffs, and became a free agent over the summer.

Weber in the 2010 AHL All-Star Game.

Later career

On August 25, 2016, unable to secure an NHL contract, Weber agreed to a professional try out contract with the St. Louis Blues.[13] He was released from his PTO on October 7.[14] He went on to sign a two-way professional try-out contract with the Iowa Wild on October 20, 2016.[15] In adding veteran leadership, Weber quickly established himself as team captain and on February 28, 2017, he was signed to a two-way contract with NHL affiliate, the Minnesota Wild, for the remainder of the season.[16]

Weber signed with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League on November 9, 2017.[17] However, after just 10 games with the club, Weber announced his retirement from professional hockey on December 27 due to a lingering knee injury.[18]

Coaching career

Following his retirement from professional hockey Mike Weber joined the Windsor Spitfires, his former OHL team, as an assistant coach in January 2018.[19]

On September 17, 2020, Weber was hired as an assistant coach by his former team, the Rochester Americans, of the American Hockey League.[20]

Personal

Weber was raised in suburban Pittsburgh and attended Seneca Valley High School in Harmony, Pennsylvania , and later attended St. Anne's High School in Tecumseh, Ontario while playing in the OHL.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins EmJHL 28 4 11 15 109 3 0 0 0 20
2003–04 Windsor Spitfires OHL 65 0 2 2 49 — — — — —
2004–05 Windsor Spitfires OHL 68 2 6 8 132 11 0 1 1 18
2005–06 Windsor Spitfires OHL 68 5 21 26 181 7 0 0 0 12
2006–07 Windsor Spitfires OHL 30 3 16 19 86 — — — — —
2006–07 Barrie Colts OHL 30 3 12 15 86 7 0 6 6 10
2007–08 Rochester Americans AHL 59 1 13 14 178 — — — — —
2007–08 Buffalo Sabres NHL 16 0 3 3 14 — — — — —
2008–09 Portland Pirates AHL 42 1 7 8 94 — — — — —
2008–09 Buffalo Sabres NHL 7 0 0 0 19 — — — — —
2009–10 Portland Pirates AHL 80 5 16 21 153 4 1 0 1 14
2010–11 Buffalo Sabres NHL 58 4 13 17 69 7 0 1 1 6
2011–12 Buffalo Sabres NHL 51 1 4 5 64 — — — — —
2012–13 Lørenskog IK GET 5 1 5 6 10 — — — — —
2012–13 Buffalo Sabres NHL 42 1 6 7 70 — — — — —
2013–14 Buffalo Sabres NHL 68 1 8 9 73 — — — — —
2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 64 1 6 7 68 — — — — —
2015–16 Buffalo Sabres NHL 35 1 4 5 32 — — — — —
2015–16 Washington Capitals NHL 10 0 0 0 28 2 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Iowa Wild AHL 56 1 7 8 92 — — — — —
2017–18 Frölunda HC SHL 10 0 3 3 12 — — — — —
AHL totals 237 8 43 51 517 4 1 0 1 14
NHL totals 351 9 44 53 437 9 0 1 1 6

References
  1. "Michael Weber – Buffalo Sabres – Official NHLPA Profile Page". NHLPA.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  2. Sabres recall Weber from Rochester Archived October 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, October 25, 2007; accessed February 23, 2015.
  3. Mike Weber recalled from Rochester - 11/05/2007 Archived November 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins Box Score — March 12, 2008".
  5. "Sabres defeat Oilers". December 28, 2010. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  6. "Mike Weber update". USA Today. July 4, 2011.
  7. "Mike Weber - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps".
  8. "Former Windsor Spitfires Mike Weber and Steve Ott, shown here, skated Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ont. The longtime friends are playing together this upcoming season after Ott was traded to Buffalo from the Dallas Stars".
  9. "Sabres trade star goalie Ryan Miller, captain Steve Ott to Blues".
  10. "Sabres sign D Mike Weber". Yahoo! Sports. December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  11. YouTube video of Weber-Glass incident, sportsnetcanada, February 22, 2015; accessed February 24, 2016.
  12. "Sabres trade Mike Weber to Capitals for Draft Pick". February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  13. "St. Louis Blues sign Mike Weber to PTO". Yahoo! Sports. August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  14. "Mike Weber: Released by St. Louis".
  15. "IOWA SIGNS MIKE WEBER TO AHL CONTRACT | Iowa Wild".
  16. "Wild signs veteran defenseman Mike Weber for rest of season". Minnesota Star Tribune. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  17. "Weber till Frölunda".
  18. "Weber avslutar karriären".
  19. "Updated: Former Spitfires' captain and NHLer Weber back home with club as a coach". Windsor Star. January 31, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  20. "AMERKS NAME MAIR, WEBER ASSISTANT COACHES". amerks.com. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
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