Michael Raffl (born 1 December 1988) is an Austrian 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 ...

left winger currently with Lausanne HC of the Swiss

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 previously played in 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) for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

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) ...

and Dallas Stars, as well as EC VSV in the Austrian ICE Hockey League (IceHL).

Early life

Raffl was born on 1 December 1988 in

Villach Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the po ...

, Austria, to a hockey-playing family. His father Peter played with the

Villacher SV EC Grand Immo VSV are an ice hockey team in the ICE Hockey League. They play their home games at Stadthalle (capacity approximately 4500 spectators) in Villach, Austria. The team colors are blue and white. Their mascot is an eagle - Villach's co ...

(EC VSV) for 22 years, and served as head coach of the town's

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

team. Raffl and his older brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

spent most of their childhood in the

Villacher Stadthalle Stadthalle Villach is an indoor sporting arena located in Villach, Austria. The arena has a capacity of 4,500 peoplevillach.atStadthalle Villach: Infos für Veranstalter/ref> and was built in 1969. It is currently home to the EC VSV ice hockey t ...

arena. Raffl said that it was "pretty popular to play hockey" in Villach, "but it wasn't professional", and it was difficult for players to head overseas and play in the

(NHL). Growing up, he was close friends with future NHL player

Michael Grabner Michael-René Grabner (born 5 October 1987) is an Austrian professional ice hockey player who is currently an unrestricted free agent. Grabner grew up playing for the local team in Villach, EC VSV. He moved to North America at the age of 17 and j ...

, who lived "a two-minute walk" away from the Raffls.

Playing career

As a youth, Raffl played in the 2002

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a team from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

NHL

Philadelphia Flyers

On 31 May 2013 Raffl signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the

. He began the 2013–14 season with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the

Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and w ...

. He was recalled to the NHL on 12 October, and he scored his first career NHL goal on 9 December 2013, against Craig Anderson of 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 ...

. Raffl signed a two-year contract extension with the Flyers worth $2.2 million on 22 March 2014. Through the second year of his contract with the Flyers in the 2015–16 season, Raffl was signed remain with the organization in agreeing to a three-year deal on February 29, 2016. Raffl's 2016–17 season was riddled with injuries and he only appeared in a career-low 52 games that season. In October 2016, Raffl was placed on injured reserve to recover from an upper-body injury. In March 2017, Raffl was injured in a game against 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 ...

and was set to be out for 6–8 weeks. Raffl signed a two-year contract extension with the Flyers on March 26, 2019. On 3 December 2019, Raffl suffered a broken finger in a 6–1 game against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. He was ruled out for approximately four weeks. On November 28, 2020, Raffl was loaned by the Flyers to

in the ICE Hockey League until the commencement of the delayed 2020–21 North American season. He played four games there before he was recalled to the Flyers.

Washington Capitals

At the NHL trade deadline on April 12, 2021, the Flyers traded Raffl to the

in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick. His debut with the team was delayed after suffering an upper-body injury with the Flyers, and he began practicing with the team on April 21. Raffl made his team debut the following day, replacing

Daniel Sprong Daniel Sprong (born March 17, 1997) is a Dutch professional ice hockey forward for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sprong was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (46th overall) of the ...

in a 1–0 shootout victory against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

Dallas Stars

On July 29, 2021, the Dallas Stars signed Raffl to a one-year, $1.1 million contract. In the season, Raffl established himself within the Stars checking-line, making 76 regular season appearance in collecting 7 goals and 16 points. He added 2 goals and 3 points in the playoffs, exiting in a game 7 defeat to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in the first-round.

Return to Europe

Unable to agree on a contract extension with the Stars, Raffl left as a free agent and returned to Europe in agreeing to a two-year contract with Swiss club, Lausanne HC of the NL on 4 August 2022.

International play

Raffl participated at the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2011 IIHF World Championship Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...

as a member of the Austria men's national ice hockey team, and was also named to team Austria for the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Personal life

Raffl's father, Peter, is a former player who spent the entirety of his career in Austria. His brother

currently plays for

EC Red Bull Salzburg EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that currently plays in the ICE Hockey League. The club play their home games at the Eisarena Salzburg. History The history of ice hockey in Salzburg at the highe ...

of EBEL. Raffl is close friends with Flyers' teammate

Scott Laughton Scott Laughton (born May 30, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Oakville, Ontario, Laughton spent his junior hockey career playing ...

and assisted Laughton with his proposal to fiancée Chloe.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raffl, Michael 1988 births Living people Adirondack Phantoms players Austrian ice hockey left wingers Dallas Stars players EC VSV players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Lausanne HC players Leksands IF players Olympic ice hockey players for Austria Sportspeople from Villach Philadelphia Flyers players Undrafted National Hockey League players Washington Capitals players Austrian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland