Mark Olver
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Mark Olver (born January 1, 1988) is a
Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...
- German 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 ...
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 eccentricity ...
currently playing under contract to the
Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, t ...
of the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
. He previously played in the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
with the
Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
. Mark is the younger brother of Darin Olver, who was his teammate in his tenure with
Eisbären Berlin The Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also ...
.


Playing career


Amateur

Olver originally played Midget AAA hockey in Michigan with the Marquette Electricians. In two seasons with the Electricians, Olver led the team in scoring in each season and in 2004–05 was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Following in the footsteps of his father
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(an assistant coach) and his brother Darin, a junior at
Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...
, he committed as a recruit of the Wildcats in 2005. Before he was eligible to attend college, Olver initially joined the Chilliwack Chiefs of the
British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...
. However, on the eve of the season, Mark was controversially released by the Chiefs, under the advice of owner Morey Keith. Ultimately seen as an act of personal retribution by Keith against John Olver, Mark was then recruited to join the
Omaha Lancers The Omaha Lancers are a Junior ice hockey#Tier I, Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ra ...
of the
United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
. In his second season with the Lancers in 2006–07, Olver displayed offensive potential to lead the team with 29 goals 35 assists and 64 points to earn the honour as Omaha's Forward of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Graduating from Millard North High School, Olver then joined Northern Michigan Wildcats of the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previ ...
as an undersized skilled forward. As a freshman in 2007–08, Olver returned from an early season concussion to lead all NCAA Rookies in goals (21) and the Wildcats in scoring with 38 points in 39 games to be selected to the CCHA All-Rookie Team. Passed over in the two previous draft years due to size concerns, Olver was selected in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the
Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
in the fifth round, 140th overall. Olver consolidated his offensive potential the succeeding year as sophomore, winning CCHA player of the month in January as he again led the Wildcats in scoring with 35 points in 40 games. In the 2009–10 season, as player of the month in February he helped a re-emerging NMU advance to the NCAA finals for the first time since 1999 before suffering a 4-3 defeat to St Cloud State in the West Regional semi-finals. In the wake of leading the Wildcats for a third consecutive season in scoring he was named to the CCHA First All-Star team and the NCAA West First-All American team. Mark also led the CCHA with 49 points in 40 games as a junior earning selection as a top 10 finalist in the Hobey Baker Award.


Professional

On March 30, 2010, after a three-year collegiate career with the Wildcats, Olver was signed by the Avalanche to a two-year entry-level contract. Continuing his 2009–10 season, he was immediately assigned to AHL affiliate, the
Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...
, on an amateur try-out contract. In his professional debut, Olver scored his first pro goal in a 3-1 victory over the Peoria Rivermen on April 1, 2010. In 6 games, Olver posted 2 goals to finish the year with the Monsters. After four seasons within the Avalanche organization, as a restricted free agent, Olver opted to sign his first European contract, agreeing to a one-year deal with the HC Sochi for their inaugural 2014–15 season in the
Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...
on May 27, 2014. Due to injury he played only one game for HC Sochi. On July 17, 2015, Olver left Sochi as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with Swiss club, Kloten Flyers of the
National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...
. Olver began the 2015–16 season with the Flyers, appearing in just 8 games and contributing 3 points before opting to terminate his contract in order to play alongside older brother Darin in Germany with
Eisbären Berlin The Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also ...
of the DEL on October 28, 2015. After one season in Berlin, Olver opted to return to North America as a free agent. He later signed a one-year deal with the
Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...
' new AHL affiliate, the
Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...
on August 17, 2016. In the 2016–17 season, Olver amassed 6 goals and 17 points in 41 games with the Roadrunners before he was loaned to another AHL club, the Bakersfield Condors, on March 6, 2017. He appeared in just 9 games with 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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
affiliate, contributing 3 assists to complete the year. As a free agent, Olver opted for a second stint in Germany, returning to Eisbären Berlin. He agreed to a one-year deal on July 11, 2017. Following four seasons in Berlin, Olver left as a free agent and signed a one-year deal with Kölner Haie on July 27, 2021. In the 2021–22 season, Olver added a veteran presence to the forward group and recorded 7 goals and 20 points through 42 regular season games. On April 21, 2022, he agreed to a one-year contract extension to continue with Kölner Haie. After ten seasons abroad, Olver opted to return to North America and extend his professional career, agreeing to a contract with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL on September 24, 2024.


Personal life

Olver holds dual citizenship, his maternal grandparents originally having emigrated from Germany to Canada.


Career statistics


Awards and honours


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olver, Mark 1988 births AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Bakersfield Condors players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian ice hockey centres Colorado Avalanche draft picks Colorado Avalanche players Eisbären Berlin players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players EHC Kloten players Kölner Haie players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Northern Michigan University alumni Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players Omaha Lancers players HC Sochi players Tucson Roadrunners players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen