Serge Payer (born May 7, 1979) 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 ...

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 ...

player. Payer retired at the end of the 2011 season, where he played with

Vålerenga Ishockey Vålerenga Ishockey (; abbreviated as VIF) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey team based in Oslo, Norway. Vålerenga has been the dominant force in Norwegian hockey since the 1960s, claiming 26 national championships and 29 regular season tit ...

of the

GET-ligaen EliteHockey Ligaen (EHL) is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association. It comprises 10 clubs and works on the premise of promotion and relegation, in which the two teams who placed last must play ...

. Payer played 119 career

NHL 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 ...

games with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

and

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

, scoring 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points.

Playing career

Payer was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

on 30 September 1997. In 1999, Payer's career nearly came to an end when he was diagnosed with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...

while playing junior hockey for the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

. After a 10-month battle with the disease and a subsequent bout with

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

, he returned to the Rangers before eventually making his NHL debut on November 13, 2000, against 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 ...

. He scored his first NHL goal in a game against the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre (now: Canadian Tire Centre) in front of family and friends. He has started a foundation to raise money for Guillain–Barré syndrome research and to promote public awareness of the disease. He holds a boat cruise once a year in Ottawa, in his name, with close friends, family, and the public. Payer signed as a free agent with 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 August 20, 2007, but was not able to crack their NHL roster. After playing two seasons for

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

team

Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the Yayla Arena. Founded in 1936 by entrepreneur Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liab ...

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 ...

, he signed a contract with Norwegian team

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for i ...

of the

on 5 January 2011. Serge has now retired from pro hockey and works as an agent and advisor for elite hockey talent through his company, Unlimited Sports Management.

Career statistics

References

External links

Serge Payer Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payer, Serge 1979 births Binghamton Senators players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Norway Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Florida Panthers players Franco-Ontarian people Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Clarence-Rockland Kitchener Rangers players Krefeld Pinguine players Living people Louisville Panthers players Ottawa Senators players San Antonio Rampage players Undrafted National Hockey League players Utah Grizzlies (AHL) players Vålerenga Ishockey players