Marc-Andre Gragnani
Encyclopedia
Marc-André Gragnani is a Canadian
professional ice hockey
player currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres
of the National Hockey League
(NHL).
(QMJHL) for P.E.I. Rocket
and his minor hockey for the Dauphins de Deux-Rives. He was drafted in the third round, 87th overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
by the Buffalo Sabres and signed a professional contract with the Sabres in June 2007.
Although originally drafted as a defenceman
, Gragnani shifted to the left wing
position during his first professional season. He made his NHL debut on February 23, 2008 for the Sabres.
In April 2009, he established a new record for Portland defencemen with 51 points in the regular season. He also set the Portland franchise record for assists by a defenceman in a single season with 42. In 2011, he broke both of his own records, by registering 48 assists and 60 points, in a single season, as a defenceman.
Gragnani was called up to the parent Buffalo Sabres in March 2011. His first NHL goal was a game-winning overtime goal in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes
on April 3, 2011.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player currently playing for the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL).
Playing career
He played junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey LeagueQuebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League...
(QMJHL) for P.E.I. Rocket
P.E.I. Rocket
The P.E.I. Rocket are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The franchise was granted in 1999, however the Rocket were originally located in Montreal, Quebec and called the Montreal Rocket. In 2003 they were relocated to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island...
and his minor hockey for the Dauphins de Deux-Rives. He was drafted in the third round, 87th overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft.As a lockout cancelled the games of the 2004–05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22, 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years...
by the Buffalo Sabres and signed a professional contract with the Sabres in June 2007.
Although originally drafted as a defenceman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
, Gragnani shifted to the left wing
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
position during his first professional season. He made his NHL debut on February 23, 2008 for the Sabres.
In April 2009, he established a new record for Portland defencemen with 51 points in the regular season. He also set the Portland franchise record for assists by a defenceman in a single season with 42. In 2011, he broke both of his own records, by registering 48 assists and 60 points, in a single season, as a defenceman.
Gragnani was called up to the parent Buffalo Sabres in March 2011. His first NHL goal was a game-winning overtime goal in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
on April 3, 2011.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | P.E.I. Rocket P.E.I. Rocket The P.E.I. Rocket are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The franchise was granted in 1999, however the Rocket were originally located in Montreal, Quebec and called the Montreal Rocket. In 2003 they were relocated to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island... |
QMJHL | 61 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 42 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2004–05 | P.E.I. Rocket | QMJHL | 68 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | P.E.I. Rocket | QMJHL | 62 | 16 | 55 | 71 | 75 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 2006–07 | P.E.I. Rocket | QMJHL | 65 | 22 | 46 | 68 | 58 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 2007–08 AHL season The 2007–08 AHL season is the 72nd season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Chicago Wolves won their second Calder Cup, defeating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Calder Cup Final.-Team changes:... |
Rochester Americans Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
78 | 14 | 38 | 52 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:... |
NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 AHL season The 2008–09 AHL season is the 73rd season of the American Hockey League. 29 teams each played 80 games in the regular season, which ran from October 8 until April 12.-Team and NHL affiliation changes:... |
Portland Pirates Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates is a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. They play in the Cumberland County Civic Center in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the... |
AHL | 76 | 9 | 42 | 51 | 59 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the season, following three seasons where teams only played against two divisions in the... |
Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 2009–10 AHL season The 2009–10 AHL season was the 74th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 regular-season games each from October 2 to April 11... |
Portland Pirates | AHL | 66 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 2010–11 AHL season The 2010–11 AHL season is the 75th season of the American Hockey League. An all-time high of thirty teams will play 80 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on October 8, 2010 and ended on April 10, 2011... |
Portland Pirates | AHL | 63 | 12 | 48 | 60 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 2010–11 NHL season The 2010–11 NHL season was the 94th season of operation of the National Hockey League . It was the fourth consecutive season that opened in Europe with NHL Premiere . A record three events were scheduled, all in previous NHL Premiere cities: Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Prague, Czech... |
Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships -Final standings: and are relegated to Division I for the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships.-Scoring leaders:-Goaltending leaders:- Group A in Maribor, Slovenia :-Group B in Sosnowiec, Poland :... |
Canada | WJC18 IIHF World U18 Championships The IIHF World U18 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships and World... |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2011 | Canada | WC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Junior int'l totals | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
||
| First All-Star Team | 2011 2010–11 AHL season The 2010–11 AHL season is the 75th season of the American Hockey League. An all-time high of thirty teams will play 80 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on October 8, 2010 and ended on April 10, 2011... |
|
| Eddie Shore Award Eddie Shore Award The Eddie Shore Award is presented annually to the AHL's best defenceman. The award winner is chosen by AHL media and players. The award is named after Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Shore.-Winners:-Other Eddie Shore Award:... |
2011 | |