Michael Weber (born December 16, 1987) 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 h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He previously played with 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 in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

and

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, a ...

of 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) and Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He is currently an assistant coach for 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

(NHL).

Playing career

Early

Weber played hockey for the Pittsburgh Junior B Penguins as a youth. He began his major junior career with the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

of 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 overa ...

during the 2003-04 season. Following his third season with the club, Weber was drafted in the second round, 57th overall, by the

during 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 ...

. In his final major junior season, Weber was traded to the Barrie Colts.

Professional

Buffalo Sabres

Weber joined the Sabres'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

affiliate, the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

, for the 2007–08 AHL season. He was called up by the Sabres on two occasions early in the same season. He was recalled for a third time in March 2008 and scored his first NHL point on March 12 with an assist in his hometown against 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 ...

. His first NHL goal was scored on December 28, 2010 against

Nikolai Khabibulin Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin (; rus, Николай Александрович Хабибулин, p=xəbʲɪˈbulʲɪn, born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", h ...

of 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 ...

On July 4, 2011, the Sabres signed Weber to a two-year, $1.9 million contract extension. Weber struggled during the 2011–12 season as he finished it with a minus-19 with the Sabres failing to make the playoffs. His play improved a lot for the shortened 2012–13 season after the acquisition of his longtime best friend Steve Ott. Weber established himself as a leader to the Sabres young defensive core. However, the Sabres once again failed to make the playoffs for the second season in a row. Due to his improvement the Sabres re-signed Weber to a 3-year, $5 million contract extension. On February 20, 2015, after being on the receiving end of a borderline hit by

Tanner Glass Tanner Glass (born November 29, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Known as a physical player, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguin ...

of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, Weber lifted Glass by the scruff of the neck and over the ice to be delivered to the game's linesmen to serve his penalty. Weber left the game early, provoking a fight between Glass and Weber's teammate Tyson Strachan.

Washington Capitals

During the 2015–16 season, having spent all nine of his professional years with the Sabres, Weber was traded to the

for a third round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft on February 23, 2016. Used sparingly as a depth defenseman, Weber was unable to help the Capitals progress deep into the playoffs, and became a free agent over the summer. Mike Weber

Later career

On August 25, 2016, unable to secure an NHL contract, Weber agreed to a professional try out contract with the

. He was released from his PTO on October 7. He went on to sign a two-way professional try-out contract with the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was f ...

on October 20, 2016. In adding veteran leadership, Weber quickly established himself as team captain and on February 28, 2017, he was signed to a two-way contract with NHL affiliate, 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 ...

, for the remainder of the season. Weber signed with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League on November 9, 2017. However, after just 10 games with the club, Weber announced his retirement from professional hockey on December 27 due to a lingering knee injury.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from professional hockey Mike Weber joined the Windsor Spitfires, his former OHL team, as an assistant coach in January 2018. On September 17, 2020, Weber was hired as an assistant coach by his former team, the

, of the

Personal

Weber was raised in suburban

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and attended

Seneca Valley High School Seneca Valley High School (SVHS) is a U.S. public high school (grades 9-12) in Germantown, Maryland. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. Its enrollment for the 2019–2020 school year was 1,226 students. The new building ...

Harmony, Pennsylvania Harmony is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 890 at the 2010 census. It is located approximately north of Pittsburgh. Geography Harmony is located in southwestern Butler County, along the northeastern ...

, and later attended St. Anne's High School in

Tecumseh, Ontario Tecumseh is a town in Essex County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on Lake St. Clair east of Windsor and had a population of 23,229 at the 2016 census. It is part of the Windsor census metropolitan area, and is a part of the Windsor- ...

while playing in the OHL.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Mike 1987 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Barrie Colts players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Frölunda HC players Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Ice hockey coaches from Pennsylvania Iowa Wild players Lørenskog IK players Portland Pirates players Rochester Americans players Washington Capitals players Windsor Spitfires players Ice hockey people from Pittsburgh