Michael Vernace

Michael Vernace
Michael Vernace
Born	May 26, 1986 (age 40); Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenseman (retired)
Years active	2006–2018
Known for	Played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning

Michael Vernace (born May 26, 1986) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Playing career

Originating from Toronto, Ontario, Vernace advanced through the ranks of the Greater Toronto Hockey League before being chosen 163rd overall in the 2001 OHL Priority Selection by the Brampton Battalion. Prior to that, he played with the OHA Jr.A. Bramalea Blues. In the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, he was picked 201st overall by the San Jose Sharks while representing the Brampton Battalion in the Ontario Hockey League. He is an alumnus of Chaminade College School.

On June 1, 2006, Vernace was traded from the Sharks to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick and subsequently signed an entry-level contract. His professional debut came with the Arizona Sundogs of the CHL, followed by a stint with Albany River Rats, Colorado’s AHL affiliate, during the 2006–07 season. The next year, he led Lake Erie Monsters—then a new Avalanche affiliate—in games played with 79 appearances. After primarily playing for Lake Erie during the 2008–09 campaign, Vernace received his first NHL call-up on March 16, 2009, and made his NHL debut on March 17 against the Minnesota Wild.

Following Colorado’s decision not to renew his contract, Vernace entered free agency and signed a one-year agreement with the Atlanta Thrashers on July 30, 2009. He spent most of that season with their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves before being reassigned to Hamilton Bulldogs in March 2010. During the playoffs, he contributed four assists over 18 games as Hamilton advanced to the Western Conference finals.

On June 23, 2010, Atlanta traded Vernace back to San Jose along with Brett Sterling and a seventh-round pick as part of a transaction connected to Dustin Byfuglien’s earlier trade. Unable to finalize terms with San Jose, he opted for a one-year two-way contract with Tampa Bay Lightning on July 29, 2010.

In the course of the 2011–12 season, Vernace was involved in a trade from Tampa Bay to Florida Panthers alongside James Wright in exchange for Mike Kostka and Evan Oberg on December 2, 2011. After a brief tenure with Florida’s AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage, he was traded again on February 25, 2012, to the New York Rangers along with a third-round draft pick in return for Wojtek Wolski, who had previously been his teammate at Brampton Battalion.

After spending two seasons within the Rangers’ system, Vernace signed his inaugural European contract on August 8, 2013, joining Adler Mannheim in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He tallied 18 points across 51 games before transferring midseason in December 2014 to Rögle BK competing in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan.

Following two European seasons, Vernace returned to North America during the 2015–16 season by signing with the Brampton Beast of the ECHL on October 28, 2015.

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002–03	Mississauga Reps 18U AAA	GTHL	38	13	27	40	28	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Bramalea Blues	OPJHL	33	3	12	15	16	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Brampton Battalion	OHL	2	1	1	2	0	11	2	3	5	8
2004–05	Brampton Battalion	OHL	68	12	38	50	42	6	2	2	4	0
2005–06	Brampton Battalion	OHL	68	10	62	72	54	11	1	5	6	6
2006–07	Arizona Sundogs	CHL	24	3	11	14	20	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Albany River Rats	AHL	30	1	11	12	35	—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL	79	3	26	29	59	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL	65	3	14	17	52	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Colorado Avalanche	NHL	12	0	0	0	8	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Chicago Wolves	AHL	47	2	10	12	29	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL	15	0	1	1	23	18	0	4	4	8
2010–11	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL	10	0	1	1	2	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	68	7	21	28	60	6	0	2	2	8
2011–12	Norfolk Admirals	AHL	22	2	10	12	23	—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	San Antonio Rampage	AHL	22	0	4	4	7	—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Connecticut Whale	AHL	21	1	1	2	20	9	0	2	2	0
2012–13	Connecticut Whale	AHL	69	8	27	35	51	—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Adler Mannheim	DEL	51	1	17	18	34	4	0	0	0	2
2014–15	Rögle BK	HockeyAllsvenskan	18	1	3	4	44	7	0	0	0	2
2015–16	Brampton Beast	ECHL	56	5	31	36	117
2015–16 AHL season	Stockton Heat	AHL	5	0	0	0	2
2016–17 ECHL season	Brampton Beast	ECHL	23	2	11	13	12
2016–17 Austrian Hockey League season	Fehérvár AV19	Austrian Hockey League	14	2	3	5	10
2017–18 Metal Ligaen season	Rungsted Seier Capital	Metal Ligaen	48	6	12	18	74
AHL totals			443	27	125	152	361	33	0	8	8	16
NHL totals			22	0	1	1	10	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and honours

Award	Year
OHL
OHL First All-Rookie Team	2004–05

External links