Eliteprospects
Austria Thomas Vanek
#26 Detroit Red Wings / NHL - 18/19
1-time AHL All-Rookie Team 1
1-time NCAA (Championship) Winner 1
1-time NCAA (West) Second All-American Team 1
1-time NHL Second All-Star Team 1
1-time USHL First All-Star Team 1
1-time USHL Most Points 1
Date of Birth
Jan 19, 1984
Position
LW/RW
Age
41
Height
6'2" / 188 cm
Place of Birth
Baden bei Wien, AUT
Weight
214 lbs / 97 kg
Nation
Austria
Shoots
R
Youth Team
EK Zell am See
Status
Retired
Drafted
2003 round 1 #5 overall by Buffalo Sabres

Brother-in-law: Josef Vasicek
Father: Zdenek Vanek
Son: Blake Vanek

Vanek became the highest-drafted Austrian player in NHL history when he was taken 5th overall in 2003. The big winger played for 8 teams during his career: the Sabres, Islanders, Canadiens, Wild, Red Wings, Panthers, Canucks, and Blue Jackets. He was an 8x 25-goal scorer and retired in 2019 with 373 goals and 789 points.

Team Staff profile of Thomas Vanek also available

© Photo: Buffalo Sabres

Use/Embed statistics

Thomas Vanek Statistics

S Team League GP G A TP PIM +/-   POST GP G A TP PIM +/-
1999-00 Rochester Jr. Americans NAHL 14* 6* 4* 10* 8* -* |
Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 35* 15* 18* 33* 12* -* | Playoffs 3 0 1 1 0 -
2000-01 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 20* 19* 10* 29* 15* -* | Playoffs 8 5 4 9 2 -
2001-02 Sioux Falls Stampede “C” USHL 53* 46* 45* 91* 54* -* | Playoffs 3 0 0 0 9 -
Austria U20 WJC-20 D1 5* 5* 6* 11* 2* 5* |
2002-03 Univ. of Minnesota NCAA 45* 31* 31* 62* 60* -* |
Austria U20 WJC-20 D1 5* 9* 4* 13* 10* 5* |
2003-04 Univ. of Minnesota NCAA 38* 26* 25* 51* 72* -* |
Austria U20 “C” WJC-20 6* 3* 1* 4* 37* -8* |
Austria WC 6* 2* 5* 7* 0* 2* |
2004-05 Rochester Americans AHL 74* 42* 26* 68* 62* -3* | Playoffs 5 2 3 5 10 4
Austria OGQ 3* 1* 0* 1* 0* -1* |
2005-06 Buffalo Sabres NHL 81* 25* 23* 48* 72* -11* | Playoffs 10 2 0 2 6 -1
2006-07 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82* 43* 41* 84* 40* 47* | Playoffs 16 6 4 10 10 2
2007-08 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82* 36* 28* 64* 64* -5* |
Austria WC D1 5* 5* 5* 10* 6* 2* |
Austria (all) International 5* 5* 5* 10* 6* -* |
2008-09 Buffalo Sabres NHL 73* 40* 24* 64* 44* -1* |
Austria WC 6* 1* 3* 4* 2* -1* |
Austria (all) International 6* 1* 3* 4* 2* -* |
2009-10 Buffalo Sabres NHL 71* 28* 25* 53* 42* 9* | Playoffs 3 2 1 3 2 1
2010-11 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80* 32* 41* 73* 24* 2* | Playoffs 7 5 0 5 0 -7
2011-12 Buffalo Sabres “A” NHL 78* 26* 35* 61* 52* -6* |
2012-13 Graz99ers EBEL 11* 5* 10* 15* 4* -3* |
Buffalo Sabres “A” NHL 38* 20* 21* 41* 20* -1* |
Austria “A” WC 7* 4* 2* 6* 2* -2* |
Austria (all) International 7* 4* 2* 6* 2* -2* |
2013-14 Buffalo Sabres “C” NHL 13* 4* 5* 9* 4* -5* |
New York Islanders NHL 47* 17* 27* 44* 34* 4* |
Montréal Canadiens NHL 18* 6* 9* 15* 8* 8* | Playoffs 17 5 5 10 4 -4
Austria “C” OG 4* 0* 1* 1* 4* -4* |
Austria (all) International 4* 0* 1* 1* 4* -4* |
2014-15 Minnesota Wild NHL 80* 21* 31* 52* 37* -6* | Playoffs 10 0 4 4 2 -7
2015-16 Minnesota Wild NHL 74* 18* 23* 41* 22* -10* |
2016-17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 48* 15* 23* 38* 16* 2* |
Florida Panthers NHL 20* 2* 8* 10* 6* -7* |
Team Europe WCup 6* 0* 1* 1* 2* -2* |
2017-18 Vancouver Canucks NHL 61* 17* 24* 41* 28* -12* |
Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 19* 7* 8* 15* 8* 9* | Playoffs 6 1 1 2 2 -1
2018-19 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64* 16* 20* 36* 26* -12* |

Thomas Vanek Tournament Statistics

S Team League GP G A TP PIM +/-   POST GP G A TP PIM +/-
1996-97 Austria Stars PW QC Int PW -* -* -* -* -* -* |
1997-98 Austria Stars PW QC Int PW -* -* -* -* -* -* |

Thomas Vanek Career Totals

League Years GP G A TP PPG PIM +/- | Years GP G A TP PPG PIM +/-
AHL 1 74* 42* 26* 68* 0.92* 62* -3* | 1 5 2 * 3 * 5 * 1.00 * 10 * 4 *
EBEL (ICEHL) 1 11* 5* 10* 15* 1.36* 4* -3* | 0 * * * * * *
International 4 22* 10* 11* 21* 0.95* 14* -6* | 0 * * * * * *
NAHL 1 14* 6* 4* 10* 0.71* 8* -* | 0 * * * * * *
NCAA 2 83* 57* 56* 113* 1.36* 132* -* | 0 * * * * * *
NHL 14 1 029* 373* 416* 789* 0.77* 547* 5* | 7 69 21 * 15 * 36 * 0.52 * 26 * -17 *
OG 1 4* 0* 1* 1* 0.25* 4* -4* | 0 * * * * * *
OGQ 1 3* 1* 0* 1* 0.33* 0* -1* | 0 * * * * * *
QC Int PW 2 -* -* -* -* -* -* -* | 0 * * * * * *
USHL 3 108* 80* 73* 153* 1.42* 81* -* | 3 14 5 * 5 * 10 * 0.71 * 11 * - *
WC 3 19* 7* 10* 17* 0.89* 4* -1* | 0 * * * * * *
WC D1 1 5* 5* 5* 10* 2.00* 6* 2* | 0 * * * * * *
WCup 1 6* 0* 1* 1* 0.17* 2* -2* | 0 * * * * * *
WJC-20 1 6* 3* 1* 4* 0.67* 37* -8* | 0 * * * * * *
WJC-20 D1 2 10* 14* 10* 24* 2.40* 12* 10* | 0 * * * * * *
* Some data is missing to provide a correct summary.

Thomas Vanek Career Highlights

Season
Awards by season
Transactions
DATE STATUS FROM TO SOURCE
07/01/2018
07/01/2018 Confirmed Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings
02/26/2018
02/26/2018 Confirmed Vancouver Canucks Columbus Blue Jackets
09/01/2017
09/01/2017 Confirmed Florida Panthers Vancouver Canucks
03/01/2017
03/01/2017 Confirmed Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers
07/01/2016
07/01/2016 Confirmed Minnesota Wild Detroit Red Wings
06/24/2016
06/24/2016 Confirmed Minnesota Wild Unknown
07/01/2014
07/01/2014 Confirmed Montréal Canadiens Minnesota Wild
03/05/2014
03/05/2014 Confirmed New York Islanders Montréal Canadiens
10/27/2013
10/27/2013 Confirmed Buffalo Sabres New York Islanders
10/01/2012
10/01/2012 Confirmed Buffalo Sabres Graz99ers
Player Biography and Trivia

Drafted 2001, 1 #25 overall by Brandon Wheat Kings in the CHL Import Draft

Cult/Star player for Austria

Cult/Star player for Buffalo Sabres

Cult/Star player for Sioux Falls Stampede

Career transactions
- 2014-03-05 • Traded to the Montréal Canadiens for Sebastian Collberg and a conditional 2nd-round draft pick.
- 2013-10-27 • Traded to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson and a 2014 1st and 2015 2nd-round NHL draft pick.

Memorable dates and notes
- 2004-04-15 • Debut for Team Austria (1:2 vs. Germany in Ravensburg, GER)
- 2003-04-12 • Scored the GWG against New Hampshire in the National-Championship-Game at the NCAA-FrozenFour.
- He has Czech and Slovak parents. His father Zdeněk Vaněk (born in Hradec Králové) was a proffesional ice-hockey player as well. His mother Jarmila Vaňková is Slovak. They moved from Czechoslovakia two years before Thomas was born.