Thomas Vanek

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Position	Wing
Shoots	R
Nickname	Vansy
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 208 lb (95 kg)
NHL Team	Buffalo Sabres
Nationality	Austria
Born	January 19, 1984, Baden bei Wien, Austria
NHL Draft	5th overall, 2003 Buffalo Sabres
Pro Career	2004 – present

Thomas Vanek (born on 19 January 1984 in Baden bei Wien, Austria) is an Austrian ice hockey player. He was born to parents Jarmila and Zdenek Vanek, who moved 1982 from the Czech Republic to Austria. He is 6 ft 2 in and weighs 208 lbs. Vanek was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 5th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest draft pick in Austrian history. Vanek's main claim-to-fame is his scoring ability; he simply knows where to go and what to do to put the puck in the net. Scoring is his main asset to whatever team he has played on.

While playing for the Sioux Falls Stampede Thomas attended O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After playing junior hockey for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL, Vanek became a standout player for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, leading the team in goals (31), assists (31) and points (62) in the 2002-03 season. He won the 2003 NCAA National Championship and was named MVP of the Frozen Four, he was also named Minnesota’s team MVP for 2003 becoming the first freshman to receive the honor. He scored the most points by a Golden Gopher freshman in 2003 since Aaron Broten when he scored 72 in 1979-80. He was the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Mike Antonovich in 1969-70. He netted 31 goals in his freshman season to lead the nation in goal scoring. He was also the 2003 WCHA Rookie of the Year, the third Golden Gopher to win the award.

Vanek was a member of Team Austria in the 2004 IIHF World Championships, where he collected seven points in six games (2 goals and 5 assists). Vanek led the Golden Gophers in goals (26) and points (51) for the second-straight season and finished fifth in points among Division I leaders with 51. Vanek was the Twin Cities Best College Athlete for 2004.

Vanek spent 2004-05 with the Sabres' AHL affiliate Rochester Americans, recording 68 points in 74 games and helped Rochester to the best record in the AHL. Vanek finished second on the team in points, 11 points behind Chris Taylor, but led the team in goals with 42 and in power play goals with 25. He finished second among rookies in points and led all rookies in goals scored, the latter of which was second in the league among all players.

Vanek signed a three-year deal with Buffalo on September 3, 2004 and began playing for the main Sabres roster in the 2005-06 NHL season.

On December 12th 2006 in a game against Montreal he became just the second NHL player after Brian Rolston to score with a slap shot in the shootout.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Career Statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999-00	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	35	15	18	33	12	3	0	1	1	8
2000-01	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	20	19	10	29	15	8	5	4	9	2
2001-02	Sioux Falls Stampede	USHL	53	46	45	91	54	3	0	0	0	9
2002-03	U. of Minnesota	NCAA	45	31	31	62	60
2003-04	U. of Minnesota	NCAA	38	26	25	51	72
2004-05	Rochester Americans	AHL	74	42	26	68	62	5	2	3	5	10
2005-06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	81	25	23	48	72	10	2	0	2	6
2006-07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	80	42	40	82	40	-	-	-	-	-