Michael Zalewski (born August 18, 1992) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

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 ...

player. He is currently under contract with EC KAC of the

ICE Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

(ICEHL). Zalewski has previously played with the

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

of 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 ...

(NHL).

Playing career

As a youth, Zalewski played in the 2005

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team from Syracuse, New York. He later played one season with the Syracuse Stars of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. Zalewski was drafted 122nd overall by the

Youngstown Phantoms The Youngstown Phantoms are a Tier I junior ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the 5,200-seat Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. The team was co-owned by ...

in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

entry draft, but did not sign with the team. This was followed by two seasons in British Columbia with the

Vernon Vipers The Vernon Vipers are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Interior Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Kal Tire Place. History The ...

of the

BCHL The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Can ...

. He committed to playing Division I college hockey for the

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Va ...

in 2010 while playing with the Vipers. After leaving the BCHL following the 2011–12 season, Zalewski attended the

where he played two seasons (2012–14) of NCAA Division I hockey with the

RPI Engineers The RPI Engineers are composed of 21 teams representing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track and fi ...

, registering 21 goals, 26 assists, 47 points, and 75 penalty minutes in 71 games. In his freshman season, he led all first year players on the team with 21 points as he helped the Engineers qualify for the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals. On March 14, 2014, the

of the NHL signed Zalewski as a free agent to an entry-level contract. On April 12, 2014, Zalewski made his NHL debut, skating 11:47 with the

in a 5-2 loss to 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 of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. On July 8, 2015, after failing to make the Canucks roster, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the Utica Comets, an Vancouver affiliate. On January 20, 2016, Zalewski signed a two-way, one year NHL contract with the Vancouver Canucks and was recalled the same day. Zalewski left the Canucks' organization after three full seasons, signing a one-year deal with the Straubing Tigers 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 July 17, 2017, joining his brother

Steven Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

who had played for Straubing the previous two years. In the 2017–18 season, Zalewski tallied 14 goals and 31 points in 51 games. With the conclusion of his contract with Straubing, Zalewski signed a one-year deal with

Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL. The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...

on July 5, 2018. On August 22, 2019, Zalewski moved to the neighboring

Austrian Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

, agreeing to a one-year contract with the

Vienna Capitals Vienna Capitals are an Austrian professional ice hockey club that participate in the Erste Bank Hockey League. Founded in 2001, the Capitals play their home games in Vienna, Austria, at Albert Schultz Eishalle. In the 2004–05 season, the Cap ...

. In his lone season in the EBEL, Zalewski registered 15 goals and 33 points through 46 regular season games. He recorded 2 assists in 3 playoff games before the post-season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. As a free agent approaching the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, Zalewski returned to previous club, Kölner Haie, on a one-year contract on December 11, 2020.

Personal life

Zalewski has two brothers who play professional hockey as well,

, formerly with

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

and San Jose of the

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

; and Rich, of the Southern Hockey League. One of his sisters, Annika, plays college hockey for Colgate.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zalewski, Mike 1992 births American men's ice hockey left wingers Graz 99ers players Ice hockey players from New York (state) EC KAC players Kölner Haie players Living people People from New Hartford, New York Sportspeople from Oneida County, New York RPI Engineers men's ice hockey players Sportspeople from Utica, New York Straubing Tigers players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utica Comets players Vancouver Canucks players Vernon Vipers players Vienna Capitals players