Tyler Graovac (born April 27, 1993) 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 hock ...

player. He is currently playing with

HC Vityaz Hockey Club Vityaz (, en, HC Knight) is a professional ice hockey team based in Podolsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely kn ...

of 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 ...

(KHL). Graovac was selected by 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 ...

in the 7th round (191st overall) of the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...

Playing career

Graovac played four seasons of major junior hockey in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) with the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's Canadian Centennial, centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's c ...

and

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The team moved to Hamilton, Ontario at ...

, registering a total of 58 goals, 72 assists, and 76 penalty minutes, in 228 OHL games. He was recognized for his outstanding play when, following his final year, he was awarded the

William Hanley Trophy The William Hanley Trophy is awarded annually by Ontario Hockey League to the most sportsmanlike player. It is named for Bill Hanley, a former secretary-manager of the Ontario Hockey Association who served in that capacity for twenty-five years. T ...

as the OHL's most sportsmanlike player, and was further honoured when he was named

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

(CHL) Sportsman of the Year. On April 2, 2013, the

signed Graovac to a three-year, two-way

entry-level 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 ...

worth $750,000. In the 2014–15 season, his second professional season, Graovac made his NHL debut with the Wild on December 29, 2014 against 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 ...

. On October 5, 2016, he was placed on waivers by the

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

. On June 14, 2017, he was traded by the Wild to the

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) ...

in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

. Graovac opened the 2017–18 season on the Capitals roster, however appeared in just 5 scoreless games before he was waived and reassigned to AHL affiliate, the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

for the remainder of the season. On July 1, 2018, having left the Capitals as a free agent, Graovac was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with 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 2018–19 season, Graovac played exclusively with the Flames' AHL affiliate, the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The Hea ...

. In 65 games with the Heat, he led the team with 24 goals, finishing second in points with 50. Unable to earn a recall with the Flames, Graovac left as a free agent at the conclusion of his contract. On July 1, 2019, Graovac agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with fellow Canadian club, the Vancouver Canucks. Following the Canucks training camp, Graovac was sent to their AHL affiliate, the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

. He was recalled to the Canucks on November 13. Graovac scored two goals in eight games with the Canucks before leaving a December 1 game against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

due to a long-term lower-body injury. On December 13, 2020, the Vancouver Canucks re-signed Graovac to a one-year, two-way contract. After attending the Canucks training camp, Graovac was initially assigned to the Utica Comets. On January 20, 2021, Graovac was re-assigned by the Canucks to the

AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, due to shorter quarantine recall regulations. He contributed with 9 points in as many games with the Moose before returning to the Canucks and contributing with 3 goals and 4 points in 14 games. As a free agent from the Canucks, Graovac left the NHL and signed his first contract abroad in agreeing to a one-year deal with Belarusian based club,

HC Dinamo Minsk Hockey Club Dinamo Minsk (russian: Дина́мо-Минск; be, Дынама-Мінск, ''Dynama-Minsk'') is an ice hockey team based in Minsk, Belarus. They are members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. Dinamo has qu ...

of the KHL, on July 26, 2021. At the conclusion of his contract with Minsk, Graovac continued in the KHL in joining Russian based club, HC Vityaz, on a one-year contract on July 27, 2022.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graovac, Tyler 1993 births Belleville Bulls players Canadian ice hockey centres HC Dinamo Minsk players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Ontario Iowa Wild players Living people Manitoba Moose players Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players Ottawa 67's players Sportspeople from Brampton Stockton Heat players Utica Comets players Vancouver Canucks players HC Vityaz players Washington Capitals players