Mattias Weinhandl
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| Position | Right wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m) 187 lb (85 kg/13 st 5 lb) |
| KHL Team | HC Dynamo Moscow |
| Nationality |  Sweden |
| Born | June 1, 1980 , Ljungby, SE |
| NHL Draft | 78th overall, 1999 New York Islanders |
| Pro career | 1999 – present |
Mattias Weinhandl (born June 1, 1980, in Ljungby, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for HC Dynamo Moscow on loan from Linköpings HC of the Swedish Elite League.
Weinhandl was drafted 78th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He has played 182 career NHL games, scoring 19 goals and 37 assists for 56 points. He also overcame a serious eye injury in 1999 to make the Islanders two seasons later. He was claimed off of waivers by the Minnesota Wild on 2006-03-04.
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[edit] Eye injury
On 1999-11-13, the 19-year-old Weinhandl was playing for team Sweden in a match against the Czech Republic in the U20 Four Nation Tournament. Approximately 51 minutes into the game, Weinhandl was struck in the left eye by Czech player Michal Travnicek's stick. The incident came mere seconds after Weinhandl hooked Travnicek in the hip area to prevent him from getting past him. Travnicek fell down and upon rising, assaulted Weinhandl with his stick, aiming it in a way that it would reach under Weinhandl's half visor and strike the Swede in the face. Weinhandl's forehead was fractured and his vision in the eye was reduced to 10%. The International Ice Hockey Federation judged the incident to be an attack and banned Travnicek from participating in international play for three years.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] NHL
[edit] New York Islanders
Weinhandl broke into the NHL during the 2002–03 season. He tallied his first NHL point (an assist) in his first NHL game on 2002-11-04 against the Calgary Flames. He picked up his first NHL goal 23 days later on 2002-11-27 against the Ottawa Senators' goalie Patrick Lalime. He played in that season's YoungStars game, which took place in Sunrise, Florida during the All-Star break and picked up a goal and an assist. He missed a number of games during the early part of the season due to a sprained shoulder, but finished the year with 23 points (6 goals, 17 assists) in 47 games.
The following season, Weinhandl was forced to start the season for the Islanders' minor league team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to rehab an ankle injury that kept him out of the 2003 playoffs and required surgery over the summer. Upon being deemed fit to play for the Islanders, Weinhandl played for the most part on a line with Alexei Yashin, and notched 20 points (8 goals,12 assists) in 55 games.
[edit] Minnesota Wild
Upon returning from his 2004–05 campaign in Sweden, Weinhandl was quickly signed to a 2 year, 1.6 million dollar contract to keep him with the Islanders. Weinhandl played mostly on the team's fourth line. He recorded 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 53 games for the Islanders before he was waived and claimed by the Minnesota Wild on 2006-03-04. In 15 games for Minnesota, Weinhandl picked up 2 goals and 3 assists.
In the 2006–07 season, Weinhandl was a healthy scratch in 13 of the team's first 28 games (missing an additional 3 games after suffering a concussion) before being waived by the Wild on 2006-12-08. He went unclaimed and was assigned to the Wild's minor league affiliate in Houston on December 9. Before being sent down he tallied 1 goal and 1 assist in 12 games.
[edit] AHL
[edit] Houston Aeros
Weinhandl found some success in the minor league. He played in 48 games with the Houston Aeros, scoring 18 goals and 27 assists with a total of 20 penalty minutes. During that span he had several multi-point games, including four assists in one of the final games of the season.
[edit] Elitserien
[edit] Modo
From the 1999–00 season to the 2001–02 season, Weinhandl played for Modo in the Swedish elite league Elitserien. His first season there, he was on a very successful line with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, now of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The line was dubbed "Line 19", as Weinhandl and both Sedins were 19 years of age at the time. He returned to play for Modo again in the 2004–05 season due to the NHL lockout. Weinhandl led the team in scoring with 46 points (26 goals and 20 assists) in 50 games and was third in the league in points, behind only Henrik Zetterberg of Timrå IK and Kristian Huselius of Linköpings HC and tied with Shawn Horcoff of Mora IK.
[edit] Linköpings HC
Weinhandl signed with Linköpings HC on April 22, 2007. He received a 2 year deal worth 7.2 million Swedish kronor, with an option for a third year. During the 2007–28 season Weinhandl enjoyed a good return to Sweden, scoring 35 goals to win the Håkan Loob Trophy. He also netted 27 assists for a total of 62 points, second in the league only to his line mate Tony Mårtensson.
Weinhandl drew the attention of the Russian Super League and on April 23, 2008, it was announced that he will be loaned out to HC Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Continental Hockey League for the 2008-09 season.[1] That same day, he also signed a contract extension with Linköping, ensuring his return and keeping him in LHC's possession through 2012.
[edit] References
- Michal Travnicek of Czech Republic receives long suspension Account of Weinhandl's eye injury
- 300 000 i månaden Information on Weinhandl's signing with LHC
