Steven Lee Wagner (born March 6, 1984) is an American 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 ...

defenseman 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 ...

. He most notably played with 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 ...

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) before playing abroad for

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern pa ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL).

Playing career

After two years in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

with the

Des Moines Buccaneers The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season. History The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...

and

Tri-City Storm The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and G ...

Wagner went to

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

. He played three seasons with the Mavericks, having his most successful year during the 2006–07 season when he scored 29 points in 38 games. That year he was signed by the

and also appeared in 14 games with the Blues minor league affiliate

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

, scoring 3 points. For the 2007–08 season Wagner's solid play during training camp earned him an opening day spot on the Blues roster. He played his first NHL game in the season opener on October 4, 2007 against the Phoenix Coyotes in Phoenix where he played 22 shifts for 16:22 of ice time. In his second game he earned his first career assist, and on October 20, 2007, he scored his first career goal against his home state team, the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. On February 11, 2010, Wagner was traded by the Blues to 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 ...

in exchange for

Nate Guenin Nathaniel Lawrence Guenin (born December 10, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Guenin played high school hockey in the Pittsburgh suburb of Hopewell. He ...

. On June 14, 2010, as an unrestricted free agent, Wagner re-signed to 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 Penguins. He was again reassigned as expected to spend the duration of the 2010–11 season playing for the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In the 2011 Calder Cup playoffs, Wagner became the first Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player to record a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

, scoring three goals in the first period against the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: * Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hock ...

in a series clinching victory. On June 9, 2011, Wagner signed a one-year deal with European DEL team, Adler Mannheim.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Steve 1984 births Living people Adler Mannheim players American men's ice hockey defensemen Des Moines Buccaneers players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Minnesota Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey players Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players St. Louis Blues players Tri-City Storm players Undrafted National Hockey League players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni