Christian Wolanin (born March 17, 1995) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-born
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
player currently playing for the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). Wolanin was selected by the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
in the fourth round, 107th overall, in the
2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Wolanin began his hockey career with the
Green Bay Gamblers
The Green Bay Gamblers are a Junior ice hockey#Tier I, Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). They play in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center.
History Professional hockey in Gre ...
and
Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...
in the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...
(USHL). While with the Lumberjacks, Wolanin was named to the USHL Second All-Star Team.
After playing in the USHL, Wolanin committed to the
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...
.
While majoring in communications at North Dakota, Wolanin played in 32 games during his freshman season, and ranked third in the conference among rookie defensemen in scoring as UND won the national championship. He was named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team at the conclusion of the season.
In his sophomore season, Wolanin tied for fifth amongst NCHC defensemen in scoring but led all conference defensemen during the playoffs.
Wolanin helped the Fighting Hawks qualify for the
2017 Frozen Faceoff after he recorded the game-tying goal in game two of the NCHC Quarterfinals against the St. Cloud Huskies to send the game to overtime.
After playing three seasons with the
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (formerly known as the Fighting Sioux) are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Originally in the Division II North Central Con ...
, Wolanin signed a two-year entry level contract with the Senators. He made his NHL debut on March 22, 2018, in a 6–2 loss to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
.
He scored his first NHL goal April 2, 2018 in a game against the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
.
Wolanin spent the beginning of the
2018–19 season with the Senators
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL) affiliate, the
Belleville Senators
The Belleville Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League team, the Ottawa Senators. Based in Bellevill ...
, but was recalled to the NHL on October 25. On January 23, 2019, Wolanin was added to the 2019
AHL All-Star Game roster.
On July 4, 2019, Wolanin was signed to a two-year, $1.8 million contract extension with the final year on a one-way basis. Wolanin was hampered by injuries throughout the duration of his two-year contract. While in his final season under contract in the pandemic delayed
2020–21 season, Wolanin was traded by the Senators to the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
in exchange for
Michael Amadio on March 29, 2021.
![Christian Wolanin during the 2023 AHL All-Star Skills Competition](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Christian_Wolanin_during_the_2023_AHL_All-Star_Skills_Competition.jpg)
Wolanin re-signed with the Kings on July 6, 2021, agreeing to a one-year, $750,000 contract extension. After attending the Kings 2021 training camp, Wolanin remained on the roster to open the season. Before making an appearance, Wolanin was placed on waivers and subsequently claimed by the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
on October 16, 2021. Wolanin remained with the Sabres as added blueline depth insurance featuring in a lone contest, going scoreless in a 5–3 defeat to the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
on November 8, 2021. Wolanin's brief tenure with the Sabres ended on December 1, 2021, after he was re-claimed off waivers by the Kings and was immediately re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
As a free agent in the following off-season, Wolanin was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 14, 2022.
Personal life
Wolanin's father,
Craig, played in 695 NHL games and won a
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
with the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
in 1996. As a result of his father's career, Wolanin lived in Quebec City, Denver, Tampa and Toronto before his family permanently settled in
Rochester, Michigan
Rochester is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of Detroit.
Rochester was the first European settleme ...
.
He is a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States. and chose to play for the U.S. national team for the first time at the
2019 IIHF World Championship
The 2019 IIHF World Championship was hosted from 10 to 26 May 2019 by Slovakia. It was the second time that Slovakia has hosted the event as an independent country, as was the case in 2011. The host cities were Bratislava and Košice, as announce ...
.
Fox, Hughes, Wolanin Added To 2019 U.S. Men's National Team
/ref>
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolanin, Christian
1995 births
Living people
Abbotsford Canucks players
American men's ice hockey defensemen
Belleville Senators players
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Canadian people of American descent
Green Bay Gamblers players
Ice hockey players from Michigan
Ice hockey people from Quebec City
Los Angeles Kings players
Muskegon Lumberjacks players
North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players
Ontario Reign (AHL) players
Ottawa Senators players
Ottawa Senators draft picks
People from Rochester, Michigan
Vancouver Canucks players