Mike Vernace
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Michael Vernace (born May 26, 1986) 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
. He 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 ...
and the
Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...
.


Playing career

Born in
Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, 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. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft 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 place ...
of the
Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...
. He attended
Chaminade College School Chaminade College School (CCS, Chaminade) is an all-boys Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Founded by the Archdiocese of Toronto, Chaminade College School opened its doors in September 1965. Initially under the con ...
for his high school education. On June 1, 2006, Vernace was traded by the Sharks to 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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
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 NHL sea ...
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 based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...
, for the beginning of the 2009–10 season. After 47 games with the Wolves, Vernace was then reassigned to the
Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the Bulldogs played home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purc ...
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, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the St. Louis Blues. Sterling was sele ...
and a 7th round selection in 2010 NHL Entry Draft, 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), nicknamed "Big Buff", is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Winnipeg Jets. Drafted as a defenceman, defenseman, he played both ...
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 (N ...
. Unable to come to terms with San Jose, Vernace signed as a free agent with the
Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in 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 o ...
. 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 Evan Oberg (born February 16, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 7 games in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning between 2010 and 2012. The rest of his career, which ...
. 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 so ...
, 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 New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
, along with a third round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, 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, Florida ...
, 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, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
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 (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...
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, 2008–20 ...
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 Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 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 21st-century Canadian sportsmen