Michael Weber (born December 16, 1987) is an American 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 previously played 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 ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

of 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) and

Frölunda HC Frölunda Hockey Club, previously known as the Frölunda Indians, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They currently play in the highest Swedish league, the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), formerly the Elitserien, where th ...

of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL). He is currently an assistant coach for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

in the

(NHL).

Playing career

Early

Weber played hockey for the Pittsburgh Junior B Penguins as a youth. He began his major junior career with the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

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 ...

during the 2003-04 season. Following his third season with the club, Weber was drafted in the second round, 57th overall, by the

during the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. In his final major junior season, Weber was traded to the

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Colts play home games at the Sadlon Arena. The Colts joined the OHL in 1995, and previously competed at lower levels of junio ...

Professional

Buffalo Sabres

Weber joined the Sabres'

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

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

, for the

2007–08 AHL season The 2007–08 AHL season was the 72nd season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Chicago Wolves won their second Calder Cup, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Calder Cup ...

. He was called up by the Sabres on two occasions early in the same season. He was recalled for a third time in March 2008 and scored his first NHL point on March 12 with an assist in his hometown against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. His first NHL goal was scored on December 28, 2010, against

Nikolai Khabibulin Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin (; rus, Николай Александрович Хабибулин, p=xəbʲɪˈbulʲɪn, born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", h ...

of the

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

On July 4, 2011, the Sabres signed Weber to a two-year, $1.9 million contract extension. Weber struggled during the 2011–12 season as he finished it with a minus-19 with the Sabres failing to make the playoffs. His play improved a lot for the shortened 2012–13 season after the acquisition of his longtime best friend

Steve Ott Steven Bradley Ott (born August 19, 1982) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and current assistant coach of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first rou ...

. Weber established himself as a leader to the Sabres young defensive core. However, the Sabres once again failed to make the playoffs for the second season in a row. Due to his improvement the Sabres re-signed Weber to a 3-year, $5 million contract extension. On February 20, 2015, after being on the receiving end of a borderline hit by

Tanner Glass Tanner Glass (born November 29, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Known as a physical player, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguin ...

of 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 ...

, Weber lifted Glass by the scruff of the neck and over the ice to be delivered to the game's linesmen to serve his penalty. Weber left the game early, provoking a fight between Glass and Weber's teammate

Tyson Strachan Tyson Strachan (born October 30, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for the Cardiff Devils in the EIHL. He was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fifth round, 137th overall, in the 2003 N ...

Washington Capitals

During the 2015–16 season, having spent all nine of his professional years with the Sabres, Weber was traded to the

for a third round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft on February 23, 2016. Used sparingly as a depth defenseman, Weber was unable to help the Capitals progress deep into the playoffs, and became a free agent over the summer. Mike Weber

Later career

On August 25, 2016, unable to secure an NHL contract, Weber agreed to a professional try out contract with the

. He was released from his PTO on October 7. He went on to sign a two-way professional try-out contract with the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The ...

on October 20, 2016. In adding veteran leadership, Weber quickly established himself as team captain and on February 28, 2017, he was signed to a two-way contract with NHL affiliate, 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 ...

, for the remainder of the season. Weber signed with

of the

on November 9, 2017. However, after just 10 games with the club, Weber announced his retirement from professional hockey on December 27 due to a lingering knee injury.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from professional hockey Mike Weber joined the Windsor Spitfires, his former OHL team, as an assistant coach in January 2018. On September 17, 2020, Weber was hired as an assistant coach by his former team, the

, of the

Personal

Weber was raised in suburban

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and attended

Seneca Valley High School Seneca Valley High School (SVHS) is a public high school serving grades 9–12 in Germantown, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system. The current building was finished in 2021, and has a capac ...

Harmony, Pennsylvania Harmony is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 890 at the 2010 census. It is located approximately north of Pittsburgh. Geography Harmony is located in southwestern Butler County ...

, and later attended St. Anne's High School in

Tecumseh, Ontario Tecumseh () is a town in Essex County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on Lake St. Clair east of Windsor and had a population of roughly 23,300 as of the 2021 census according to Statistics Canada. It is part of the Windsor census me ...

, while playing in the OHL.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Mike 1987 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Barrie Colts players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Frölunda HC players Ice hockey coaches from Pennsylvania Iowa Wild players Lørenskog IK players Portland Pirates players Rochester Americans players Washington Capitals players Windsor Spitfires players Ice hockey people from Pittsburgh