Michael "Mike" Funk (born August 15, 1986) is a Canadian 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who 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 ...

(NHL) with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

. He was drafted by the Sabres in the second round, 43rd overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Funk spent his

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

career with the

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

where he compiled 121 points and 312 penalty minutes in four seasons. Funk signed his first professional contract in June 2006 with the

, and made his NHL debut with the team on November 18 of the 2006–07 season. He played in five NHL games with the Sabres in 2006–07, recording two assists. On July 6, 2009, he was signed by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

and was playing with their American Hockey League affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

. Funk received a concussion and was forced into retirement after a hit to the head during practice from teammate Patrick Kaleta. This was also his fourth concussion in 14 months, and he was advised by doctors to stop playing hockey.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1986 births Living people Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Manitoba Moose players Ice hockey people from Abbotsford, British Columbia Portland Pirates players Portland Winterhawks players Rochester Americans players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1980s-stub