Wacey Rabbit (born November 16, 1986) 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 ...

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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

who played in the

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 ...

(AHL) and current assistant coach of the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat SaskTe ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL).

Playing career

Rabbit played

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in the

(WHL). During his draft year in 2004–05, he recorded 67 points and was then selected in the 5th round, 154th overall, by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

. Rabbit turned pro in 2006–07 season with Boston's

(AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins. However, after he was demoted to the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

in January,

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in t ...

general manager Scott Bonner requested that the Boston Bruins send Rabbit back down to junior to bolster the Giants for the 2007 Memorial Cup. Rabbit was then traded from the Saskatoon Blades for Kenton Dulle and a second-round pick in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft. Returning to the WHL, Rabbit helped the 2007 Memorial Cup hosts, the Vancouver Giants, to the WHL Finals against the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

with 20 points in 22 games, but they were defeated in seven games. In the subsequent Memorial Cup, the Giants met the Tigers again in the final game and won the CHL title. In 2007–08, Rabbit returned to Providence and recorded 26 points in 66 games. The following season, he improved to 34 points in 74 games. After the Bruins declined to extend his contract in the 2009 off-season, he was signed by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals on October 2, 2009. In the 2009–10 season, Rabbit appeared in 76 games with the Admirals, posting a professional career-low of 18 points. Without an NHL offer, Rabbit left North America and secured a try-out as a free agent with Croatian team KHL Medveščak of the

Erste Bank Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), 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 currently f ...

on August 30, 2010. After only a week on trial on September 7, 2010, Rabbit was signed by Medveščak to a one-year contract with an optional second year. Wacey played with the Florida Panthers AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

, during the 2011–12 season, helping them qualify for the Calder cup playoffs and beat the Chicago Wolves in the first round. On June 21, 2012, Rabbit returned to Europe, signing a contract with Norwegian club,

Lørenskog IK Lørenskog Ishockeyklubb (founded in 1963) is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Lørenskog, Norway. The team competed in GET-ligaen from 2008 to 2018. In May 2018, the club did not receive a new licence, due to long-term economic problems. Sea ...

of the

GET-ligaen Eliteserien, known as Fjordkraftligaen due to sponsorship, is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. It comprises 10 clubs and works on the premise of promotion and relegation, in which the t ...

. After three standout seasons in Norway, Rabbit left as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with Japanese club, Nippon Paper Cranes of the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH) on July 28, 2015. After a further season in Italy with HC Pustertal Wölfe of the

Alps Hockey League The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a 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 s ...

, Rabbit returned to play in North America for the first time in five years, in accepting an ECHL contract to play with new entrant the

Jacksonville Icemen The Jacksonville Icemen are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Jacksonville, Florida, that began play in the 2017–18 season. The team is affiliated with the New York Rangers and plays their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Are ...

on August 31, 2017. Rabbit played in just 2 games to open the 2017–18 season with the Icemen before opting to return to Europe in agreeing to a one-year deal with Czech club,

HC Dukla Jihlava HC Dukla Jihlava, founded in 1956, is an ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. It won the Czechoslovak Extraliga title 12 times: six consecutive championships beginning in 1967, then in 1974, four consecutive championships beginning in 1982, an ...

on November 21, 2017. At the conclusion of the season, Rabbit returned to North America as a free agent and later re-united with the Jacksonville Icemen, agreeing to a one-year deal on August 14, 2018. After 15 professional seasons, Rabbit announced his retirement from professional hockey on August 26, 2021.

Coaching career

After serving as an assistant coach of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Rabbit joined the staff of the Saskatoon Blades as an assistant coach on June 27, 2022.

Personal life

Rabbit, of

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

descent, was born in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

and raised in the nearby

Kainai Nation The Kainai Nation (or , or Blood Tribe) ( bla, Káínaa) is a First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,800 members in 2015, up from 11,791 in December 2013. translates directly to 'many chief' (fro ...

in southern Alberta.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbit, Wacey 1986 births Living people Boston Bruins draft picks Canadian ice hockey centres Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players HC Dukla Jihlava players First Nations sportspeople Jacksonville Icemen players KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Lørenskog IK players Milwaukee Admirals players Nippon Paper Cranes players Providence Bruins players HC Pustertal Wölfe players San Antonio Rampage players Saskatoon Blades players Ice hockey people from Lethbridge Vancouver Giants players