Wacey Rabbit (born November 16, 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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played in the

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 ...

(AHL) and current assistant coach of the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966, and are the only club that has played ev ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL).

Playing career

Rabbit played

major junior Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's nationa ...

in the

(WHL). During his draft year in 2004–05, he recorded 67 points and was then selected in the 5th round, 154th overall, by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd entry draft for the National Hockey League. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, it was postponed to July 30 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Special procedures were required to determine the order ...

. Rabbit turned pro in 2006–07 season with Boston's

(AHL) affiliate, the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

. However, after he was demoted to the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

in January,

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team playing based in Langley, British Columbia, and playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Founded in 2001, the Giants won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in 2006 and th ...

general manager Scott Bonner requested that the Boston Bruins send Rabbit back down to junior to bolster the Giants for the

2007 Memorial Cup The 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup was played in May 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Pacific Coliseum. It was the 89th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League ...

. Rabbit was then traded from the Saskatoon Blades for Kenton Dulle and a second-round pick in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft. Returning to the WHL, Rabbit helped the

hosts, the Vancouver Giants, to the WHL Finals against the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

with 20 points in 22 games, but they were defeated in seven games. In the subsequent Memorial Cup, the Giants met the Tigers again in the final game and won the CHL title. In 2007–08, Rabbit returned to Providence and recorded 26 points in 66 games. The following season, he improved to 34 points in 74 games. After the Bruins declined to extend his contract in the 2009 off-season, he was signed by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals on October 2, 2009. In the 2009–10 season, Rabbit appeared in 76 games with the Admirals, posting a professional career-low of 18 points. Without an NHL offer, Rabbit left North America and secured a try-out as a free agent with Croatian team

KHL Medveščak The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

of the Erste Bank Hockey League on August 30, 2010. After only a week on trial on September 7, 2010, Rabbit was signed by Medveščak to a one-year contract with an optional second year. Wacey played 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 ...

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 ...

, during the 2011–12 season, helping them qualify for the Calder cup playoffs and beat the Chicago Wolves in the first round. On June 21, 2012, Rabbit returned to Europe, signing a contract with Norwegian club,

Lørenskog IK Lørenskog Ishockeyklubb (founded in 1963) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey team based in Lørenskog, Norway. The team competed in GET-ligaen from 2008 to 2018. In May 2018, the club did not receive a new licence, due to long-term economic p ...

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 ...

. After three standout seasons in Norway, Rabbit left as a free agent to sign a one-year contract with Japanese club,

Nippon Paper Cranes The were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan. History The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sanyō K ...

of the

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey (; ) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and formerly China and Russia. The league is headquartered in Japan. At the end of ...

(ALIH) on July 28, 2015. After a further season in Italy with

HC Pustertal Wölfe HC Pustertal Wölfe – Val Pusteria Wolves are an Italian professional ice hockey team from Bruneck, Italy. As of the 2021–22 season, the team plays in the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). They formerly played in the Alps Hockey League and Serie A ...

of the

Alps Hockey League The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in Central Europe. The league is made up of teams from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. It was established in 2016 as a result of a merger between Serie A and the Int ...

, Rabbit returned to play in North America for the first time in five years, in accepting an ECHL contract to play with new entrant the Jacksonville Icemen on August 31, 2017. Rabbit played in just 2 games to open the 2017–18 season with the Icemen before opting to return to Europe in agreeing to a one-year deal with Czech club,

HC Dukla Jihlava HC Dukla Jihlava, founded in 1956, is an ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. It won the Czechoslovak Extraliga title 12 times: six consecutive championships beginning in 1967, then in 1974, four consecutive championships beginning in 1982, an ...

on November 21, 2017. At the conclusion of the season, Rabbit returned to North America as a free agent and later re-united with the Jacksonville Icemen, agreeing to a one-year deal on August 14, 2018. After 15 professional seasons, Rabbit announced his retirement from professional hockey on August 26, 2021.

Coaching career

After serving as an assistant coach of the

Alberni Valley Bulldogs The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are a junior ice hockey team based in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Weyerhaeuser Arena. ...

of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

(BCHL), Rabbit joined the staff of the Saskatoon Blades as an assistant coach on June 27, 2022.

Personal life

Rabbit, of

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

descent, was born in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

and raised in the nearby

Kainai Nation The Kainai Nation () (, or , romanized: ''Káínawa'', Blood Tribe) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,965 members in 2024, up from 11,791 in December 2013. tra ...

in southern Alberta.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabbit, Wacey 1986 births Living people Boston Bruins draft picks Canadian ice hockey centres Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players HC Dukla Jihlava players First Nations sportspeople Jacksonville Icemen players KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Lørenskog IK players Milwaukee Admirals players Nippon Paper Cranes players Providence Bruins players HC Pustertal Wölfe players San Antonio Rampage players Saskatoon Blades players Ice hockey people from Lethbridge Vancouver Giants players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen