Yannick Weber

Yannick Weber
230px Weber with the Nashville Predators in 2017
Born	(1988-09-23) 23 September 1988 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

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.

Playing career

Early career

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

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.

The Canadiens signed Weber to a three-year entry-level contract in the summer of 2008. 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.

File:Yannick Weber.png

Weber with the Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens

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

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.

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

File:Yannick Weber 02-2015.JPG

Weber warming up in February 2015.

Nashville Predators

On 1 July 2016, Weber left the Canucks after three seasons, signing a one-year contract as a free agent with the Nashville Predators. 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.

On 13 June 2017, the Predators signed Weber to a one-year contract extension worth $650,000. 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.

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

Pittsburgh Penguins

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

ZSC Lions

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

International play

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. 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. He did not register a point in five games at the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				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

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

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database