Michael Vernace (born May 26, 1986) 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 ...

former 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 ...

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

. He played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

and the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

Playing career

Born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Vernace grew up playing most of his minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, finishing his minor career with the 2001–02 Mississauga Reps Bantams. After that season, Vernace was a 9th round choice (163rd overall) in the 2001 OHL Priority Selection by the Brampton Battalion. The following season, Vernace was assigned by the Battalion to the OHA Jr.A. Bramalea Blues. Vernace was drafted 201st overall 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 ...

in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockou ...

from the

Brampton Battalion The Brampton Battalion were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team was based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and started playing in 1998. As a result of consistently having among the lowest attendance in the OHL (last plac ...

of 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 ...

. He attended Chaminade College School for his high school education. On June 1, 2006, Vernace was traded by the Sharks to the

for a 6th round drafts pick and was signed to an entry level contract. Vernace made his professional debut with the

Arizona Sundogs The Arizona Sundogs were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Prescott Valley, Arizona. They played in the Central Hockey League from 2006 to 2014 with their home games at Tim's Toyota Center. History The team name, Sundogs, re ...

of the CHL before joining the Avalanche's 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 an ...

of the AHL in the 2006–07 season. Vernace joined new Avalanche affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, for their inaugural season in the 2007–08 season, leading the Monsters in games played with 79. After spending the majority of the 2008–09 season with the Monsters, Vernace received his first NHL call-up on March 16, 2009. He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche in a 3–2 shootout loss to the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confe ...

on March 17, 2009. After not being offered a contract with the Avalanche, Vernace a free agent, signed a one-year deal with the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

on July 30, 2009. On September 26, 2009, Vernace was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

, for the beginning of the 2009–10 season. After 47 games with the Wolves, Vernace was then reassigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs on March 10, 2010. He recorded 4 assists in 18 post season games to help the Bulldogs reach the Western Conference finals. On June 23, 2010, Vernace was traded by the Thrashers, along with

Brett Sterling Brett Stewart Sterling (born April 24, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues. Sterling was selected ...

and a 7th round selection in

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial r ...

, back to the Sharks for future considerations in order to help the Thrashers facilitate an earlier trade of

Dustin Byfuglien Dustin Byfuglien ( ; born March 27, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets. Drafted as a defenseman, he has played both forward and defen ...

from the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. Unable to come to terms with San Jose, Vernace signed as a free agent with the

on July 29, 2010, to a one-year,

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

. In the 2011–12 season, on December 2, 2011, Vernace was traded by the Lightning, along with James Wright, to the Florida Panthers for Mike Kostka and Evan Oberg. Assigned to AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sol ...

, his tenure was short lived when on February 25, 2012, Vernace was traded by the Panthers to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

, along with a third round pick in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Al ...

, for

Wojtek Wolski Wojciech "Wojtek" Wolski (; born February 24, 1986) is a Polish-Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florid ...

, Vernace's former teammate from the Brampton Battalion. After two seasons within the Rangers organization, Vernace left as a free agent to sign his first European contract 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 ...

on a one-year deal with

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern par ...

of 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 ...

on August 8, 2013. After 18 points in 51 games with Mannheim, Vernace belatedly signed in the Swedish second division the following season, signing for the remainder of the 2014–15 season with

Rögle BK Rögle BK (Rögle Bandyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Ängelholm that has been playing in the SHL since the 2015–16 season. Rögle has previously played in the SHL (previously named Elitserien) in 1992–1996, 2008–201 ...

on December 11, 2014. Vernace played two seasons in Europe, before opting for a return to North America and with the 2015–16 season underway, signed a contract with the Brampton Beast of the ECHL on October 28, 2015.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernace, Michael 1986 births Adler Mannheim players Albany River Rats players Arizona Sundogs players Brampton Battalion players Brampton Beast players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Colorado Avalanche players Connecticut Whale (AHL) players Fehérvár AV19 players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Norfolk Admirals players Rögle BK players San Antonio Rampage players San Jose Sharks draft picks Ice hockey people from Toronto Stockton Heat players Tampa Bay Lightning players