Mattias Weinhandl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Right wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (89 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
Minnesota Wild New York Islanders |
| Nationality |  Sweden |
| Born | June 1, 1980, Ljungby, SE |
| NHL Draft | 78th overall, 1999 New York Islanders |
| Pro Career | 1999 – present |
Mattias Weinhandl (vayn-han-del), (born June 1, 1980, in Ljungby, Sweden) is a Swedish ice hockey player who currently plays for the Houston Aeros of the AHL.
Weinhandl, a 6'0", 195 pound right winger, was drafted 78th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He has played 170 career NHL games, scoring 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points. He also overcame a serious eye injury in 1999 to make the Islanders two seasons later. He was claimed off of waivers by the Minnesota Wild on March 4, 2006.
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[edit] Eye injury
On November 13, 1999, the 19-year-old Weinhandl was playing for team Sweden in a match against the Czech Republic in the U20 Four Nation Tournament. Approximately 51 minutes into the game, Weinhandl was struck in the left eye by Czech player Michal Travnicek's stick. The incident came mere seconds after Weinhandl hooked Travnicek in the hip area to prevent him from getting past him. Travnicek fell down and upon rising, assaulted Weinhandl with his stick, aiming it in a way that it would reach under Weinhandl's half visor and strike the Swede in the face. Weinhandl's forehead was fractured and his vision in the eye was reduced to 10%. The International Ice Hockey Federation judged the incident to be an attack and banned Travnicek from participating in international play for 3 years.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Modo
From the 1999-00 season to the 2001-2002 season, Weinhandl played for Modo in the Swedish Elitserien. His first season there, he was on a very successful line with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, now of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The line was dubbed "Line 19", as Weinhandl and both Sedins were 19 years of age at the time. He returned to play for Modo again in the 2004-2005 season due to the NHL lockout. Weinhandl led the team in scoring with 46 points (26 goals and 20 assists) in 50 games and was third in the league in points, behind only Henrik Zetterberg of Timra and Kristian Huselius of Linkoping and tied with Shawn Horcoff of Mora.
[edit] NHL
[edit] New York Islanders
Weinhandl broke into the NHL during the 2002-2003 season. He tallied his first NHL point (an assist) in his first NHL game on November 4, 2002 against the Calgary Flames. He picked up his first NHL goal 23 days later on November 27, 2002 against the Ottawa Senators' goalie Patrick Lalime. He played in that season's YoungStars game, which took place in Sunrise, Florida during the All-Star break and picked up a goal and an assist. He missed a number of games during the early part of the season due to a sprained shoulder, but finished the year with 23 points (6 goals, 17 assists) in 47 games.
The following season, Weinhandl was forced to start the season for the Isles' farm team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to rehab an ankle injury that kept him out of the 2003 playoffs and required surgery over the summer. Upon being deemed fit to play for the Isles, Weinhandl played for the most part on a line with Alexei Yashin, and notched 20 points (8 goals,12 assists) in 55 games.
[edit] Minnesota Wild
Upon returning from his impressive 2004-2005 campaign in Sweden, Weinhandl was quickly signed to a 2 year, 1.6 million dollar contract to keep him with the Islanders. However, Weinhandl quickly fell out of favor on Long Island and was given an average of 7:36 of icetime a game, playing mostly on the team's fourth line. He recorded 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 53 games for the Islanders before he was waived and claimed by the Minnesota Wild on March 4, 2006. In 15 games for Minnesota, Weinhandl was given more icetime and picked up 2 goals and 3 assists, nearly doubling his season output up to that point.
In the 2006-2007 season, Weinhandl was victimized by the Wild's new additions and was shifted down on the depth chart. He was a healthy scratch in 13 of the team's first 28 games (missing an additional 3 games after suffering a concussion) before being waived by the Wild on December 8, 2006. He went unclaimed and was assigned to the Wild's minor league affiliate in Houston on December 9. Before being sent down he tallied 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 games, averaging 6:28 of icetime a game during that span.
[edit] External links
- Weinhandl's career statistics
- NHL.com > Players : Mattias Weinhandl
- New York Islanders player profile
- Michal Travnicek of Czech Republic receives long suspension Account of Weinhandl's eye injury
