Tyler Cuma (born January 19, 1990) is an Austrian-Canadian 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 ...

currently playing for

HC TWK Innsbruck HC Tiroler Wasserkraft Innsbruck is an Austrian professional ice hockey team in the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). They play their home games at OlympiaWorld Innsbruck complex in Innsbruck. History The club was founded in 1994 as HC Innsbruck and in ...

of the

ICE Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League, ICEHL), 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 c ...

(ICEHL). He was drafted by the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

in the first round, 23rd overall, in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL entry draft was the 46th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL entry draft ...

when he was playing for 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 centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play thei ...

Playing career

Junior

Cuma began his major junior career in the OHL with the

in 2006–07. He was drafted sixth overall in the 2006 OHL Priority Draft. He recorded 19 (3 goals, 16 assists) points in his rookie season before improving to 32 (4 goals, 28 assists) points in 59 games in 2007–08. That year, he was named the 67's Top Scholastic Player and played in the OHL All-Star Game. Cuma's 2008–09 season, his third with the 67's, was cut short after sustaining a knee injury during

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

's 2009 World Junior selection camp in December 2008. He appeared in just 21 games, scoring nine points. It was thought that he might have made the Minnesota Wild's roster that year. Cuma's last year in the OHL was the 2009–10 season, where he got 22 points (5 goals, 17 assists) in 52 games.

Professional

Cuma's first AHL season was in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, when he played for the Houston Aeros. That year, he played 31 games, getting 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) before suffering a knee injury in February. In the 2011–12 season, Cuma played 73 games, getting 9 assists for the Houston Aeros. Cuma made his NHL debut in April, playing for the Minnesota Wild in a game against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

, getting 2 PIM in 11 minutes on ice. In

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, Cuma spent the entire season with the Houston Aeros, playing in 42 games, getting 12 points (1 goal, 11 assists). He suffered a foot injury which caused him to miss a month. As a free agent from the Wild, Cuma belatedly signed a trial contract into the 2014–15 season with Austrian club, the

Graz 99ers The Moser Medical Graz99ers are an Austrian professional ice hockey team from Graz, Styria. The club was founded in 1999 after the previous club, EHC Graz, folded prior to the 1998–99 season due to financial difficulties. The Graz99ers started ...

of the EBEL on September 30, 2014. Cuma opted to remain in the EBEL the following season, although leaving Graz as a free agent to sign with rivals, the

Vienna Capitals The Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey team that participate in the ICE Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria, at Steffl Arena. In the 2004–05 season, the Capitals claimed ...

on October 5, 2015. After sitting out the 2018–19 season, Cuma returned to the professional ranks, using his Austrian citizenship in obtaining a one-year non import contract with

of the EBEL on May 13, 2019. Having another season long hiatus, Cuma extended his professional career for the 2021–22 season, returning to the ICEHL with the Dornbirn Bulldogs on July 10, 2021.

International play

Cuma has represented

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 ...

the

2008 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships were held in Kazan, Russia. The championships began on April 13, 2008, and finished on April 23, 2008. Games were played at TatNeft Arena and Arena Kazan in Kazan. Canada defeated Russia 8–0 in the final to ...

Style of play

Cuma is a two-way defenseman, who has a slightly offensive bent.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuma, Tyler 1990 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian ice hockey defencemen Dornbirn Bulldogs players Graz 99ers players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players HC TWK Innsbruck players Iowa Wild players Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players NHL first-round draft picks Ottawa 67's players Ice hockey people from Scarborough, Ontario Vienna Capitals players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen