Maxim Birbraer (; born December 15, 1980) is a

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

-born Israeli former 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Birbraer is Jewish and has played for the

Israel national ice hockey team The Israel national ice hockey team () is the national men's ice hockey team of Israel. Israel was ranked 35th as of May 2017 by the International Ice Hockey Federation. In 2019, the team won the gold medal in the 2019 IIHF World Championship Div ...

. Since June 2025, Birbraer has been the President and General Manager of

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

side

Fife Flyers The Fife Flyers are a Ice hockey in Scotland, Scottish professional ice hockey team in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Established in 1938, the Flyers are the oldest still-extant club in the country. The Flyers play their home games at Fife Ice Arena, which ...

Playing career

Birbraer was born in

Ust-Kamenogorsk Oskemen ( ) or Ust-Kamenogorsk ( rus, Усть-Каменогорск, p=ˌʊsʲtʲ kəmʲɪnɐˈgorsk) is the largest city in the east of Kazakhstan and the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. Name The city has two ...

, where he lived until the age of 14, and is Jewish. His family lived under a non-Jewish sounding surname in those years due to severe local anti-Semitism, and he was not told that he was Jewish until his parents decided to move to Israel. Although he had played schoolboy hockey in Russia, he assumed that he would have to give up the ice when he was 14 and his family immigrated to Israel, until he discovered an indoor rink in Tel Aviv where he played in a junior league. He had lived in Israel for only 8 months when his coach, Paul Rosen, persuaded him to try out for a Canadian league with the result that he spent 2 years playing Tier 2 hockey in Ontario, where Rosen was his legal guardian. He then joined the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. He was the only

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i national ever to be drafted by an

NHL 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 ...

team when he was drafted 67th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

. Despite this, he never played in the NHL, instead spending three seasons with their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

affiliate, the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with ...

. In 2006, Birbraer signed with the

Cardiff Devils The Cardiff Devils () are a Welsh professional ice hockey team who play in the UK-based Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). The team plays at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay, currently known as ''Vindico Arena'' for sponsorship reasons. Cardiff' ...

of the

, and played with the team for 7 years. Birbraer signed with the

Telford Tigers The Telford Tigers are a National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) ice hockey team that formed in 1985. After initially closing in 1999, a new team, under the name 'Telford Wild Foxes', was formed in 2001; and re-adopted the original name in 2005. The t ...

in 2014. Birbraer continued playing for the

Swindon Wildcats The Swindon Wildcats are a professional ice hockey team based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. They play in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL). Since their inception, the Wildcats have played their home games at the 1600-capacity Link Centre i ...

until 2020, before taking two years out. He returned to play semi-professionally for the

Bristol Pitbulls The Bristol Pitbulls are an ice hockey team representing Bristol, England, currently playing in the NIHL National League. Following the closure of the Bristol ice rink in 2012, their home ice moved to Oxford Ice Rink. In October 2021, the team ...

and his final season as a player was in 2024–25 with another of the Cardiff Devils' affiliates - the Cardiff Canucks in the NIHL2.

Management career

In June 2025,

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

side

announced new ownership led by a North American group, with Birbraer confirmed as the Flyers' new President and General Manager.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Max Birbraer's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birbraer, Max 1980 births Albany River Rats players Bristol Pitbulls players Cardiff Devils players Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Wales Heilbronner Falken players Israeli expatriate ice hockey people Israeli ice hockey right wingers Israeli people of Kazakhstani-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli sportspeople Kazakhstani emigrants to Israel Kazakhstani Jews Kazzinc-Torpedo players Laredo Bucks players Living people Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL) players New Jersey Devils draft picks San Antonio Rampage players San Diego Gulls (ECHL) players Swindon Wildcats players Soviet Jews Ice hockey people from Oskemen Telford Tigers players Expatriate ice hockey players in England Expatriate ice hockey players in Wales Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Israeli expatriate sportspeople in England Israeli expatriate sportspeople in the United States Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Germany Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Russia Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Jewish Kazakhstani sportspeople