Riley Holzapfel (born August 18, 1988) is a Canadian 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 contracted by the Vienna Capitals in the

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

(EBEL).

Playing career

Holzapfel played

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL). He was drafted 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 ...

at the

2006 NHL Entry Draft The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006. The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006. The draft was ...

, chosen 43rd overall. On September 6, 2007, Riley signed a three-year entry level contract with the Thrashers. In 2008, he played for Canada in the

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

where Canada went on to win gold in a 3-2 victory over Sweden. On February 13, 2012, Holzapfel was traded by 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 ...

to the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

in exchange for Maxime Macenauer. He was then immediately assigned to Ducks AHL affiliate, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

. He signed a one-year, two-way contract as a free agent with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

on July 1, 2012, but spent the season in AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In July 2013, he signed a two-year deal with the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

club HV71. After a further third season in Sweden with newly promoted Karlskrona HK in 2015–16 season, Holzapfel left as a free agent to sign a one-year deal with Austrian club, the Vienna Capitals of the EBEL on July 20, 2016. After leading the Capitals with 53 points in 54 games in the 2016–17 season, and contributing with 23 points in just 12 post-season games, he received the Ron Kennedy Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzapfel, Riley 1988 births Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Wolves players HV71 players Karlskrona HK players Living people Moose Jaw Warriors players Ice hockey people from Regina, Saskatchewan St. John's IceCaps players Syracuse Crunch players Vienna Capitals players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden