Marc-André Gragnani (born March 11, 1987) 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 ...
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 h ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
currently playing with
Djurgårdens IF
Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm.
Name
The club is name ...
of the
Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He spent four-and-a-half seasons playing for the Buffalo Sabres 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 ...
and their
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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
affiliate, the
Portland Pirates. He also played half a season with Vancouver before signing with Carolina as a free agent. On July 3, 2015, Gragnani signed a one-year, two-way contract with the
New Jersey Devils for whom he appeared four times.
Playing career
He played minor hockey for the Dauphins de Deux-Rives followed by four years in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...
(QMJHL). He was selected 87th overall 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 ...
in the
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30.
Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...
and signed a professional contract with the Sabres in June 2007. After completing his junior career with the
PEI Rocket, Gragnani began his professional career within the Sabres organization in the
2007–08 season, making his debut on February 23, 2008. Although originally drafted as a
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
, Gragnani shifted to the
left wing position during his first season.
In April 2009, he established a new record for Portland defencemen with 51 points in the regular season. He also set the Portland franchise record for assists by a defenceman in a single season with 42. In 2011, he broke both of his own records by registering 48 assists and 60 points in a single season.
Gragnani was called up to the parent Buffalo Sabres in March 2011. His first NHL goal was a game-winning overtime goal in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
on April 3, 2011. Gragnani signed a two-year contract extension with the Sabres in the 2011 offseason.
After making the Sabres lineup for the first time out of training camp and earning a regular roster spot to begin the
2011–12 season, he was made a consistent healthy scratch by February 2012. At the
NHL trade deadline
In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...
, on February 27, he was traded along with forward
Zack Kassian
Zack Adam Kassian (born January 24, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his junior career, he won a Memorial Cup with the Windsor Spitfires in 2010. Selected 13t ...
to 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 (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
in exchange for forward
Cody Hodgson
Cody Douglas Hodgson (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centreman.
Hodgson played at the major junior level for four seasons with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After being select ...
and defenceman
Alexander Sulzer. By that point in the season, Gragnani had played only once in the Sabres' previous month of games. Joining Vancouver, he was made a healthy scratch for the team's first game following the trade before making his Canucks debut on March 1, a 2–0 win against the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
. He finished the year playing in 14 games for Vancouver and did not appear in the playoffs.
By the end of the season, Gragnani had not played in enough games to earn
unrestricted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...
status, remaining a
restricted free agent
A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...
if he was tendered a qualifying offer. With no intention of re-singing Gragnani, the Canucks unsuccessfully attempted to trade him at the
2012 NHL Entry Draft
The 2012 NHL Entry Draft was the 50th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The top thr ...
. Unable to move Gragnani, Vancouver chose not to give him a qualifying offer.
As an unrestricted free agent Gragnani signed a one-year
two-way contract
A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...
with the Carolina Hurricanes.
On May 22, 2013, he signed a two-year contract in the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
with
HC Lev Praha
Hockey Club Lev Praha (stylized as HC LEV Praha) was a professional ice hockey team located in Prague, Czech Republic, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons.
In their two seasons played, ...
of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. In the
2013–14 season, Gragnani scored just 9 points in 42 games, but helped the club reach the
Gagarin Cup
The Gagarin Cup (russian: Кубок Гагарина, Kubok Gagarina) is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was ...
finals in the post-season.
With the Bankruptcy of Lev Praha leading to the club folding, Gragnani settled the remaining year of his contract to become a free agent. On July 10, 2014, Gragnani moved to the Swiss
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 h ...
, signing a one-year deal with
SC Bern
Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. For the 18th year in a row, the club is the mos ...
.
On July 3, 2015, after two seasons abroad, Gragnani returned to the NHL in signing as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the
New Jersey Devils. In the
2015–16 season, Gragnani was assigned for the majority of the year to AHL affiliate, the
Albany Devils
The Albany Devils were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The top affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the A-Devils played their home games at the Times Union Center in Albany, ...
. He was recalled to the Devils to appear in four games.
As a free agent in the off-season, Gragnani opted to return to Europe, signing a one-year deal with
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
ian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL on August 1, 2016. After two seasons with Minsk, Gragnani left the team however opted to continue in the KHL for the
2018–19 season, signing a one-year contract with Chinese outfit,
HC Kunlun Red Star
HC Kunlun Red Star () is a Chinese ice hockey club that joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to the 2016–17 season.
History
Preparation of the team
In March 2016, representatives of Kunlun Red Star and the KHL signed a protocol o ...
, on August 13, 2018.
On August 2, 2019, Gragnani continued his career in the KHL, returning for a second stint with HC Dinamo Minsk on a one-year contract.
International play
During the
2017–18 season, Gragnani was selected to represent
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at the
2018 Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Used in an offensive roving role, Gragnani contributed with 3 assists in 6 games to help Canada claim the bronze medal.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gragnani, Marc-Andre
1987 births
Albany Devils players
Buffalo Sabres draft picks
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Belarus
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in China
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Canadian people of Italian descent
Carolina Hurricanes players
Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players
Djurgårdens IF Hockey players
HC Dinamo Minsk players
HC Kunlun Red Star players
HC Lev Praha players
Ice hockey people from Montreal
Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Living people
Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics
New Jersey Devils players
Olympic bronze medalists for Canada
Olympic ice hockey players of Canada
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
P.E.I. Rocket players
People from L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève
Portland Pirates players
Rochester Americans players
SC Bern players
Vancouver Canucks players