Michael Lee (born April 25, 1996) is an American 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 ...

defenseman 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 ...

currently playing for

HC Nové Zámky HC Nové Zámky is a professional ice hockey team playing in the Tipos Extraliga, the top level of ice hockey in the country. They play in the city of Nové Zámky, Slovakia at Nové Zámky Ice Stadium. The team is nicknamed ''Býci'', meaning " ...

of the

Slovak Extraliga The Slovak Extraliga, known as the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. Teams fro ...

. He was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

Playing career

After attending Hamden High school and the Gunnery Prep school, Lee finished High School in Penticton British Columbia while joining the

Penticton Vees The Penticton Vees are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. The junior Vees were founded in 1961, sharing the name of the senior hockey team, the Penticto ...

and helping the club win both the league championship and the

Western Canada Cup The Western Canada Cup (WCC); was the Junior 'A' ice hockey championship for western Canada from 2013 to 2017. The annual five-team event consisted of the host team and the champions from the four western leagues (Alberta Junior Hockey League, Brit ...

in 2015. He was able to earn a college scholarship to

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

on the back of his stellar season. After his sophomore year, Lee left Vermont and transferred to

, closer to his hometown. Lee debuted for the Pioneers in 2018 and saw a tremendous increase to his production. His arrival in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

coincided with Sacred Heart winning 16 games and posting its best season in nine years. Lee performed even better in his senior season and was named an All-American as well as the best defenseman in

Atlantic Hockey The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...

. The Pioneers finished the regular season with 21 wins, tying the program record. Before they could attempt to set a new benchmark, however, the Atlantic Hockey Tournament was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. With his college career finished, Lee was able to sign a one-year contract with the

Indy Fuel The Indy Fuel are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2014–15 season. Based in Fishers, Indiana, the Fuel play their home games at the Fishers Event Center, after having started play at the Indiana Farmers ...

. While the season was shortened as a result of the pandemic, Lee played well and finished second on the team in terms of defensive points. Entering the 2021–22 season, Lee returned with a second one-year deal. Having increased his offensive output, Lee was placed sixth in the ECHL in scoring from the blueline with 32 points through 41 games before he was traded by the Fuel to the Kansas City Mavericks on February 17, 2022.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Mike 1996 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey defensemen Ice hockey people from Connecticut Sportspeople from Hamden, Connecticut Hartford Wolf Pack players Indy Fuel players Kansas City Mavericks players Penticton Vees players Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey players Tri-City Storm players Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey players HC Nové Zámky players American expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia American expatriate ice hockey players in Canada 21st-century American sportsmen Ice hockey players from Connecticut