Daniel Vukovic (born February 19, 1986) 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 ...

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

former 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played for

Genève-Servette HC The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at the ...

and

SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers The SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland and are members of the National League. History The Lakers were founded in 1945 and were known as SC Rapperswil-Jona until 2005, when the club change ...

in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). He has dual citizenship in Canada and Switzerland.

Playing career

A native of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and a graduate of

St. Michael's College School St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Canada ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Vukovic enrolled at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 2004 and won the men's national collegiate ice hockey championship with the Spartans in 2007. As a senior (2007–08), he earned All-CCHA Honorable Mention status and won the hardest shot competition at the NCAA Skills Challenge. He graduated in 2008. Subsequently, he turned pro and signed with

of the Swiss top-flight

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

(NLA). He made his debut for the club during the

2008–09 NLA season The 2008–09 National League A season, was the second ice hockey season of the National League A since the reorganization of the Swiss league and the 71st in the history of Swiss professional hockey. Regular season Playoffs Relegation E ...

. Vukovic reached the NLA playoffs with Servette in 2009-10 and in 2013 and 2014, he won the

Spengler Cup The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss tea ...

with the team. In June 2015, he signed a new contract extension that will keep him at the club through the 2018–19 season. Daniel's brother Nicholas Vukovic,who he emulated his game around, used to play with

Jason Spezza Jason Rocco Anthony Spezza (born June 13, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Spezza played 19 career seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2002 to 2022, and is currently a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs' front ...

back in high school. Vukovic ended his 11-year tenure with Genève-Servette HC at the conclusion of the 2019 playoffs. He played a total of 472 regular season games with Geneva, putting up 82 points and appeared in 79 playoffs games, scoring 13 points. Vukovic also played 11

Champions Hockey League The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe. Backgrou ...

games with the team and 12

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

games (5 points). He quickly became a fan favorite in Geneva for his dedication on the ice and his friendship off the ice. In late March 2019, he signed with the

International play

In December 2015, Vukovic won the

with Team Canada.

References

External links

* 1986 births Living people Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian ice hockey defencemen Genève-Servette HC players Ice hockey people from Ontario Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players Sportspeople from North York {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1980s-stub