Evan Weinger (born April 18, 1997) is an American professional
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 ...
winger who is currently playing with the
Vienna Capitals
Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey club that participate in the Erste Bank Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria, at Albert Schultz Eishalle. In the 2004–05 season, the Cap ...
of the
ICE 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 ...
(ICEHL). As an undrafted player, he was signed out of
major junior hockey
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 ...
by the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...
organization.
Playing career
Amateur
Weinger was born on April 18, 1997, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
.
He began his minor hockey career with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings in the
Tier 1 Elite Hockey League
The Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), formerly Midwest Elite Hockey League, is located primarily in the Midwest United States and is the premier amateur youth hockey league in the United States. Players from all over the country move to the are ...
before being drafted in the 13th round of the 2012
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 ...
(WHL) by the
Portland Winterhawks
The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split thei ...
. He remained with the Jr. Kings for the 2013–14 season, recording 12 goals and 14 assists, before signing with the Winterhawks. During his rookie season, Career led team rookies in scoring with seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 61 games. As a result, he was ranked 161st amongst North American skaters by the
NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the prof ...
prior to the
2015 NHL Entry Draft
The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the ...
.
After going undrafted into the NHL twice, Weinger was signed to an
Amateur tryout contract by his hometown
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
and participated in their 2017 training camp. Upon being returned to the WHL, Weinger was traded to the
Brandon Wheat Kings
The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hocke ...
in exchange for a third round draft choice in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft on October 10, 2017. At the time of the trade, Weinger had played in 187 regular season games and amassed 37 goals, 89 points and 97 penalty minutes. During the
2017–18 season, Weinger recorded 50 points in 55 games and signed an
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) contract with the
San Jose Barracuda
The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team will play at Tech CU Arena beginning in the 2022-23 season.
The Barracuda is a relocation of th ...
to begin his professional career.
Professional
In his first professional season in San Jose, Weinger played in 60 games and recorded 22 points while also spending time on their top-10 penalty killing unit. When the Barracuda qualified for the
2018 Calder Cup playoffs
The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 19, 2018, with the playoff format that was introduced in 2016. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series in the division semifi ...
, he played in four games and tied the team lead in points with four. Following his rookie season, Weinger signed a one-year contract extension on May 28, 2019.
During the shortened
2019–20 season, Weinger led the team in shorthanded goals and points-per-game, and finished second on the team in
Plus–minus
Plus−minus (+/−, ±, plus/minus) is a sports statistic used to measure a player's impact on the game, represented by the difference between their team's total scoring versus their opponent's when the player is in the game. In ice ...
with +12. As a result of his second successful season, Weinger signed another contract extension to remain with the Barracuda. While the league was paused due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, Weinger was loaned to the
HC TPS
TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 10-time champion of SM-liiga and 1-time champion of SM-sarja. They play in Turku, Finland, at Gatorade Center. In terms of championships, TPS is the second all-time most successful team in SM-Li ...
in the
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 ...
. He played in nine games for the team, recording one goal, before returning to the AHL. On February 13, 2021, Weinger played in his 100th career AHL game.
Following his fifth professional season in the AHL, Weinger halted his North American career in signing his first contract abroad by agreeing to a one-year contract with Austrian based club, the Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League, on May 30, 2023.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinger, Evan
1997 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey right wingers
Brandon Wheat Kings players
Ice hockey people from Los Angeles
Portland Winterhawks players
San Diego Gulls (AHL) players
San Jose Barracuda players
HC TPS players
Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players