Phil Groeneveld is a 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...

 goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

 currently playing for HC Alleghe in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

's Serie A league.

Career

Born in Oshawa, Ontario

Oshawa, Ontario

Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

, Groeneveld has played for clubs in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, the Netherlands

Nederlandse IJshockey Bond

The Nederlandse IJshockey Bond is the official governing body of ice hockey in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1933 as a three team league with The Hague, Amsterdam and Tilburg. It joined the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1935...

, and Italy

Serie A (hockey)

Serie A is the name of the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy, which first began play in 1924. They are conducted under the authority of the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio...

. A 6' 0 (184 cm), 190 lbs. (86 kg) goaltender

Goaltender

In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...

, Groeneveld began his pro career in the United States in 1995 with the Wichita Thunder

Wichita Thunder

The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team plays in the Central Hockey League. From 1992 until January 2010 the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City...

. Later in the same season he joined the Fort Worth Fire

Fort Worth Fire

The Fort Worth Fire were a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. Their home games were played in the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. They began operations in 1992 and ceased operations in 1999....

, also of the CHL

Central Hockey League

The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

. The following season he joined French club Viry-Châtillon EH where he remained for two years before joining a second French team, Rouen HE 76, for whom he played the next four seasons.

Groeneveld spent 2004-5 with Amsterdam Bulldogs and Verdun Dragons

Verdun Dragons

The Verdun Dragons were a hockey team based in Verdun, Quebec. The team was part of the Ligue nord-américaine de hockey . The Dragons played at the Verdun Auditorium. They won the Futura Cup against the Saint-Georges Garaga in 2003-2004....

 of the QSPHL. For 2005-6 he played for SV Renon in Serie A

Serie A (hockey)

Serie A is the name of the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy, which first began play in 1924. They are conducted under the authority of the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio...

 in Italy. Groeneveld spent 2006-07 with three different clubs, 5 games for Riviere-du-Loup

Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec

Rivière-du-Loup is a small city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Kamouraska.-History:...

 CIMT of the CQSHL, a game for Tilburg Trappers, and 33 games for HC Alleghe in Serie A. For 2008-9 he played for HC Alleghe.

International

Groeneveld plays internationally for the Netherlands national ice hockey team

Netherlands national ice hockey team

The Dutch men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey of the Netherlands.The Netherlands are currently ranked 25th in the IIHF World Ranking and currently compete in IIHF World Championship Division I....

. In 2005 he played for the Netherlands national team for the first time, in Olympic qualifying and the 2005 World Championships

2005 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships

The 2005 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held March 7 - May 15, 2005, in 7 cities in 6 countries: Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria ; Debrecen, Hungary ; Eindhoven, the Netherlands ; Zagreb, Croatia ; Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro ; Mexico City, Mexico...

 (Division 1). He played 5 games in each of the 2006 and 2007 World Championships too.

Source