Andrew Verner (born November 20, 1972) 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 ...
retired
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
. He most recently played for
Sheffield Steelers
The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...
, in the UK's
Elite Ice Hockey League
The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...
.
Playing career
Verner was born in
York, Ontario. He played 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 overa ...
for the
Peterborough Petes
The Peterborough Petes are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team has played at the Peterborough Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, since 1956, and is the oldest continuously operating team in the league.
...
. He was drafted 34th overall by 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 ...
in the
1991 NHL Entry Draft
The 1991 NHL Entry Draft was the 29th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. A total of 264 players were drafted. The worst team in the previous 1990–91 season, the Quebec Nordiques, was give ...
, but spent three seasons playing 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 ...
for the
Cape Breton Oilers
The Cape Breton Oilers were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team was the top minor league affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Oilers' organization relocated the team from Hali ...
and never managed to play in the NHL.
Since 1995, Verner has played in European leagues, beginning with a spell in Austria for
EHC Lustenau
Eishockey Club Lustenau, commonly referred to as EHC Lustenau or simply Lustenau, is an ice hockey team in Lustenau, Austria. They play in the Inter-National League, the second level of ice hockey in Austria and Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, ...
, followed by a season in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...
's
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
with
HPK
Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK) is a professional ice hockey team in the Liiga, the top men's ice hockey league in Finland. Their home ice is the Ritari-areena in Hämeenlinna. HPK was established in 1929. The parent club of the team is HPK Edu ...
where he served as the team's starting goalie. He then spent two seasons in
Sweden playing in the
Elitserien
Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan.
Elitserien leagues at present:
* Elitserien (badmin ...
with
Malmö IF
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...
. He moved to the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
, spending two seasons with the
Kölner Haie
The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.
The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...
and two seasons with the
Hannover Scorpions
The Hannover Scorpions are a professional ice hockey team, which plays in the Oberliga, Germany's third tier ice hockey league. They previously played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1996 to 2013.
History
Founded in 1975 as ESC Wedemark, the ...
. He returned to Austria to play for
EC KAC in 2003 and stayed with the team until 2008 where he joined the Newcastle Vipers in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
He spent the 08/09 season playing for the Newcastle Vipers in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League. At the end of that season he was made a free agent before signing for
Sheffield Steelers
The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...
in October '09 as a replacement for injured goalie
Kevin Reiter
Kevin Reiter (born November 4, 1981, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He last played in the Central Hockey League with the Fort Wayne Komets and retired from playing after the 2010–11 season. ...
. In 2010, Verner retired after playing 17 professional seasons.
On May 2, 2012, The Peterborough Petes hired Andrew as their new full-time goaltending coach taking over for Ron Tugnutt who is stepping aside as the team's goaltending consultant after two seasons.
On August 21, 2014, The Peterborough Petes named Andrew as an Assistant Coach serving under Head Coach Jody Hull.
On January 5, 2018, Andrew Verner was named the interim head coach of the Ontario Hockey Leagues Peterborough Petes.
References
External links
*
1972 births
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Cape Breton Oilers players
Edmonton Oilers draft picks
EHC Lustenau players
Hannover Scorpions players
HPK players
Ice hockey people from Toronto
EC KAC players
Kölner Haie players
Living people
Malmö Redhawks players
Newcastle Vipers players
People from Weston, Toronto
People from York, Toronto
Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
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