Arthur Michael Robert Weaver (born May 2, 1978) 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 ...

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 ...

Playing career

As a youth, Weaver played in the 1992

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 the Chinguacousy Blues

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Bramalea, Ontario Bramalea (''Bram-a-lee'') is a large suburban district in the City of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Bramalea was created as an innovative "new town", and developed as a separate community from the city. Located in the former Chinguacousy Towns ...

. He later joined the Richmond Hill-Vaughan Kings of OMHA. After being a 7th round draft choice of the

OHL OHL or Ohl may refer to: Initialisms *Latvian Hockey Higher League, known in Latvian as the ''Optibet hokeja līga'' *Oberste Heeresleitung, the Supreme Army Command of Germany in World War I *Obrascón Huarte Lain, a Spanish construction company * ...

's Guelph Storm in 1995, Weaver decided to remain playing OHA Junior A hockey to maintain his NCAA scholarship eligibility. Weaver played Tier II Jr.A. with both the

Thornhill Islanders The Caledon Admirals are a Junior 'A' ice hockey team based in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Henry Carr The Admirals lineage traces back to the Henry Carr Crusaders. Like the Toronto St. ...

and the Bramalea Blues. His final season with the Blues he led the club to a

Dudley Hewitt Cup The Dudley-Hewitt Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy awarded to the Central Canadian Junior A champion. The trophy is currently decided by round robin tournament format, at the conclusion of the playoffs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, ...

as OHA Junior A Champions and a berth in the 1999 Royal Bank Cup in Yorkton, Saskatchewan; Weaver's team was eliminated in the semi-finals. The diminutive defenceman acquired a scholarship with the Michigan State Spartans and spent four very productive years in the CCHA that included two First All-Star team nods and two Best Defensive Defenceman awards. Undrafted by the NHL, Weaver was signed as a free agent by the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

on June 15, 2000. He spent the subsequent season with Atlanta's IHL affiliate, Orlando, with whom he won the Turner Cup as IHL champions. In 2001–02, Weaver played his first 16 games in the NHL, in addition to helping the Thrashers' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to a Calder Cup championship. Most of his four seasons as a Thrasher would be spent in the AHL. In the summer of 2004, Weaver would sign with the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent. After playing 2004–05 with the Kings' AHL affiliate, Manchester, Weaver would play 2005–06 and 2006–07 in the NHL. On August 8, 2007, Weaver was signed again as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, just before the start of the 2007–08 season, he was placed on waivers and picked up by Vancouver, where he played in 55 games. In the proceeding off season, he was signed by the St. Louis Blues. On August 3, 2010, Weaver left the Blues as a free agent and signed a two-year $1.8 million contract with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. In the 2013–14 season, his fourth with the Panthers, Weaver was traded to Montreal Canadiens for 5th round draft pick in

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...

on March 4, 2014. On May 15, 2015, it was announced by Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, that Weaver will not return to the Montreal Canadiens next season. Having gone un-signed over the summer, on October 5, 2015, Weaver announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Mike 1978 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from Ontario Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Montreal Canadiens players Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) players St. Louis Blues players Sportspeople from Brampton Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver Canucks players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans