William Butcher (born January 6, 1995) is an American 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 ...

who currently plays for

EHC Red Bull München Eishockeyclub Red Bull München (or EHC Red Bull München; English: ''Munich Red Bulls Ice Hockey Club'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Munich, Germany. The club is a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of p ...

in 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 ...

(DEL). Butcher was selected in the fifth round, 123rd overall, by 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 ...

in the 2013 NHL entry draft.

Early life

Butcher was born on January 6, 1995, in

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 35,967 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison and is part of the Madison metropolitan area. ...

to parents Joe and Julie.

Playing career

Butcher played college hockey at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

from 2013 to 2017. For his play in the 2016–17 season, Butcher won the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

as the best player in men's college hockey. He was also named a NCHC First-Team All-Star, NCHC Player of the Year, and NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year for 2016–17. He helped Denver win the 2017 NCAA Championship. On August 27, 2017, as an NHL free agent, Butcher signed a two-year, entry-level maximum contract with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

worth an annual base salary of $925,000. After participating in his first training camp with the Devils, Butcher made the Devils' opening night roster for the 2017–18 season. In the Devils' home opener, Butcher made his NHL debut against the

on October 7, 2017, a game in which he became the first Devils' player in franchise history to record three points in his debut, registering three assists on the power play in a 4–1 victory. On July 31, 2019, Butcher signed a three-year contract extension with the Devils. On February 18, 2020, Butcher suffered a season-ending injury during the game between the Devils and

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 ...

. He appeared in 56 games, recording four goals and 17 assists during the 2019–20 season. After completing his fourth season with the Devils, and with his role diminishing in each season, Butcher was traded by New Jersey along with a fifth-round draft pick in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

to 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 ...

on July 28, 2021 for future considerations, in a move to clear cap space for the Devils. In the 2021–22 season, Butcher saw his offensive impact decrease for the fifth consecutive season, collecting two goals and eight points in just 37 games with the Sabres. At the conclusion of his contract with Buffalo, Butcher was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the

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

on July 22, 2022. In the following

2022–23 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, Butcher was assigned to the AHL for the first time in his career, joining affiliate the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Cedar Park, Texas. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars. They play their homes games at the H-E-B Center. History In ...

. He remained in Texas for the duration of his contract, leading the blueline in scoring with 43 points while setting a franchise record with 37 assists for a defenseman in a single season. As a free agent from the Stars, Butcher was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with 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 ...

on July 3, 2023. However, halfway through the season, Butcher was traded 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 ...

in exchange for forward

Maxim Čajkovič Maxim Čajkovič (born 3 January 2001) is a Slovak professional ice hockey winger currently under contract with HC Litvínov of the Tipsport Extraliga. Career Early career Maxim Čajkovič was born on 3 January 2001 in Bratislava. He represent ...

. At the conclusion of his contract with the Wild, Butcher left as a free agent and signed his first contract abroad, agreeing to a one-year deal with Kazakhstan-based club

Barys Astana Hockey Club Barys ( ), also referred to as Barys Astana or HC Barys, is a professional ice hockey club based in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It is one of the founding members ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League 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 ...

(KHL) on July 25, 2024. In the 2024–25 season, on October 18, Butcher was released by the team following just 15 appearances along with fellow North American ex-NHLers Michael McLeod and

Nathan Beaulieu Nathan Anthony Richard Beaulieu (born December 5, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently a player of HC Nové Zámky in Tipos Extraliga. He was selected in the first round, 17th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens ...

. On November 22, 2024, Butcher signed to play the remainder of the 2024–25 season with Red Bull Munich of the

(DEL).

International play

Butcher was named to the senior

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

roster to compete at the

2018 IIHF World Championship The 2018 IIHF World Championship was an international ice hockey tournament hosted by the Denmark, Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, held from 4 to 20 May 2018. The IIHF announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. South Kor ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher, Will 1995 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey defensemen Barys Astana players Buffalo Sabres players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Dubuque Fighting Saints players Hobey Baker Award winners Ice hockey people from Madison, Wisconsin Ice hockey players from Wisconsin Iowa Wild players EHC München players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions New Jersey Devils players People from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Dane County, Wisconsin Texas Stars players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players