Christian Ehrhoff

Christian Ehrhoff (born 6 July 1982) is a German professional ice hockey defenceman for Krefeld Pinguine of the German DEL2.

After playing in the junior system of the Krefeld Pinguine, Ehrhoff signed a professional contract with the team in 1999, at the age of 17.

He debuted in nine games with Krefeld in Germany's premiere Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), while primarily playing with EV Duisburg of the third-tier Oberliga on loan.

Over the course of the season, he practiced mornings with Krefeld and evenings with Duisburg.

He finished his first professional season with 15 points in 41 games with Duisburg and a goal in nine games for Krefeld.

The following season, he joined Krefeld full-time and had 14 points in 58 games for the team in addition to three points in six games with Duisburg.

Selected 106th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Ehrhoff moved to North America for the 2003–04 season.

After the conclusion of the season, Ehrhoff was selected 106th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks.

One of three Germans selected by the Sharks in the draft, Ehrhoff was happy to be taken by the team, as they also had another German, Marco Sturm, on their roster at the time.

Ehrhoff attended the Sharks' subsequent training camp following the draft, but was returned to Germany as an early cut on 11 September 2001.

Continuing to play for Krefeld, he notched 24 points in 46 games.

Despite impressing with his skating and offensive skills at the Sharks' 2002 training camp, he was returned to Krefeld for the second straight year.

After notching a German career-high 27 points in 48 games in 2002–03, Ehrhoff helped Krefeld win a German championship in his final season with the club.

He recorded nine points in the postseason.

He spent three years with Krefeld, winning the German championship in 2003.

With the expectation from Sharks management that Ehrhoff would join their organization either with the NHL club or in the AHL, he was signed to a contract on 22 June 2003.

Ehrhoff made his NHL debut on 9 October 2003, against the Edmonton Oilers.

He recorded his first point, an assist, on 15 November against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Later that month, he scored his first NHL goal, a game winner against Michael Leighton in a 3–2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on 26 November.

Ehrhoff was selected to play in the 2004 NHL YoungStars Game, along with teammate Jonathan Cheechoo.

Aftering helping the Western Conference YoungStars to a 7–3 win over the East, Ehrhoff also did colour commentary during the All-Star Game for a German telecast.

Ehrhoff was often a healthy scratch with the Sharks during his rookie season and spent time with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons.

He spent one-and-a-half seasons with the Cleveland Barons, the Sharks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, before joining San Jose on a full-time basis beginning in 2005–06.

After playing six seasons within the Sharks organization, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in August 2009.

During his two seasons with the club, he won back-to-back Babe Pratt Trophies as the team's top defenceman and helped them to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Boston Bruins.

Ehrhoff would go on to play nearly 800 NHL games throughout his career.

Internationally, Ehrhoff has played for the German national team in numerous tournaments, including four Winter Olympics, seven World Championships and a World Cup.

Ehrhoff was born and raised in Moers, a city on the left bank of the Rhine.

His father, Achim, is a drummer in a band, and he has a sister named Katrin.

Ehrhoff first played hockey at the age of six, deciding to play the sport after watching an NHL game on television.

As his hometown did not have a hockey program, he played minor hockey 20 kilometres away in the Krefeld Pinguine' system.

He won a national championship with the club around the age of 12; Ehrhoff has recalled scoring in the final on a penalty shot.

Following the NHL growing up, Ehrhoff has singled out Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Bure and Uwe Krupp as his childhood heroes.

He was inspired to play in the style of an offensive defenceman after watching a video of Bobby Orr as a 10-year-old.

At the age of 16, he considered moving to North America to further his hockey career in the major junior Canadian Hockey League (CHL), but his father had developed Hodgkin's lymphoma at the time.

Ehrhoff consequently decided to stay in Germany and continued in Krefeld's system at the junior level; his father eventually overcame the cancer.

In 2018, he won silver at the Winter Olympics.

He played more than 800 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and more than 300 in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany.

He is known primarily as an offensive defenceman with strong skating and shooting abilities.

Prior to playing in the NHL, Ehrhoff spent several years playing professionally in Germany, starting with EV Duisburg of the third-tier Oberliga and the Krefeld Pinguine of the premiere Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).