Marc-André Gragnani (born March 11, 1987) is a former

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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 l ...

. He most recently played with

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

then of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL). He spent four-and-a-half seasons playing for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

. He also played half a season with Vancouver before signing with Carolina as a free agent. On July 3, 2015, Gragnani signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

for whom he appeared four times.

Playing career

He played minor hockey for the Dauphins de Deux-Rives followed by four years in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

(QMJHL). He was selected 87th overall by the

in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd entry draft for the National Hockey League. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, it was postponed to July 30 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Special procedures were required to determine the order ...

and signed a professional contract with the Sabres in June 2007. After completing his junior career with the PEI Rocket, Gragnani began his professional career within the Sabres organization in the 2007–08 season, making his debut on February 23, 2008. Although originally drafted as a

, Gragnani shifted to the

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politic ...

position during his first season. In April 2009, he established a new record for Portland defencemen with 51 points in the regular season. He also set the Portland franchise record for assists by a defenceman in a single season with 42. In 2011, he broke both of his own records by registering 48 assists and 60 points in a single season. Gragnani was called up to the parent Buffalo Sabres in March 2011. His first NHL goal was a game-winning overtime goal in a game against the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

on April 3, 2011. Gragnani signed a two-year contract extension with the Sabres in the 2011 offseason. After making the Sabres lineup for the first time out of training camp and earning a regular roster spot to begin the 2011–12 season, he was made a consistent healthy scratch by February 2012. At the

NHL trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

, on February 27, he was traded along with forward

Zack Kassian Zack Adam Kassian (born January 24, 1991) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger and pro scout for the Edmonton Oilers. He most recently played for HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga. During his major junior ...

to the

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

in exchange for forward

Cody Hodgson Cody Douglas Hodgson (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centreman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Hodgson played at the junior ice hockey#Major junio, major juni ...

and defenceman

Alexander Sulzer Alexander Sulzer (born May 30, 1984) is a German former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Born in Kaufbeuren, West Germany, Sulzer went through the ...

. By that point in the season, Gragnani had played only once in the Sabres' previous month of games. Joining Vancouver, he was made a healthy scratch for the team's first game following the trade before making his Canucks debut on March 1, a 2–0 win against 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 (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. He finished the year playing in 14 games for Vancouver and did not appear in the playoffs. By the end of the season, Gragnani had not played in enough games to earn

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

status, remaining a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

if he was tendered a qualifying offer. With no intention of re-singing Gragnani, the Canucks unsuccessfully attempted to trade him at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Unable to move Gragnani, Vancouver chose not to give him a qualifying offer. As an unrestricted free agent Gragnani signed 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 o ...

with the Carolina Hurricanes. On May 22, 2013, he signed a two-year contract in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

with

HC Lev Praha Hockey Club Lev Praha (stylized as HC LEV Praha) was a professional ice hockey team located in Prague, Czech Republic, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. In their two seasons played, Le ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. In the 2013–14 season, Gragnani scored just 9 points in 42 games, but helped the club reach the

Gagarin Cup The Gagarin Cup () is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was supposedly named after Gagarin because the last po ...

finals in the post-season. With the Bankruptcy of Lev Praha leading to the club folding, Gragnani settled the remaining year of his contract to become a free agent. On July 10, 2014, Gragnani moved to the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

, signing a one-year deal with

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is a professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rin ...

. On July 3, 2015, after two seasons abroad, Gragnani returned to the NHL in signing as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the

. In the 2015–16 season, Gragnani was assigned for the majority of the year to AHL affiliate, the

Albany Devils The Albany Devils were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The top affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the A-Devils played their home games at the Times Union Center in Albany, ...

. He was recalled to the Devils to appear in four games. As a free agent in the off-season, Gragnani opted to return to Europe, signing a one-year deal with

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL on August 1, 2016. After two seasons with Minsk, Gragnani left the team however opted to continue in the KHL for the 2018–19 season, signing a one-year contract with Chinese outfit,

HC Kunlun Red Star HC Kunlun Red Star () is a professional ice hockey club based in Beijing, China. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club joined the KHL prior to the 2016–17 season. History Preparation of the t ...

, on August 13, 2018. On August 2, 2019, Gragnani continued his career in the KHL, returning for a second stint with HC Dinamo Minsk on a one-year contract.

International play

During the 2017–18 season, Gragnani was selected to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Used in an offensive roving role, Gragnani contributed with 3 assists in 6 games to help Canada claim the bronze medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gragnani, Marc-Andre 1987 births Albany Devils players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Carolina Hurricanes players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Djurgårdens IF (men's hockey) players HC Dinamo Minsk players HC Kunlun Red Star players HC Lev Praha players Ice hockey people from Montreal Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Living people Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics New Jersey Devils players Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey P.E.I. Rocket players People from L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève Portland Pirates players Rochester Americans players SC Bern players Vancouver Canucks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden 21st-century Canadian sportsmen