Mattias Weinhandl

Mattias John Erich Weinhandl (born June 1, 1980) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger who last played for Linköpings HC of the Swedish Elitserien.

Weinhandl was drafted 78th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

He played 182 career NHL games for the Islanders and the Minnesota Wild, scoring 19 goals and 37 assists for 56 points.

He overcame a serious eye injury in 1999 to make the Islanders squad two seasons later.

On November 13, 1999, the 19-year-old Weinhandl was playing for Team Sweden in a game against the Czech Republic in the U-20 Four Nations Tournament.

Approximately 51 minutes into the game, Weinhandl was struck in the left eye by Czech player Michal Trávníček's stick.

The incident came mere seconds after Weinhandl hooked Trávníček in the hip area to prevent him from getting past him.

Trávníček fell down and upon rising, assaulted Weinhandl with his stick, aiming it in a way that it would reach under Weinhandl's half visor and strike the Swede in the face.

Weinhandl's forehead was fractured and his vision in the eye was reduced to 10%.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) judged the incident to be an attack and banned Trávníček from participating in international play for three years.

From the 1999–00 season to the 2001–02 season, Weinhandl played for Modo in the Swedish elite league Elitserien.

His first season there, he was on a very successful line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who each went on to have long careers with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.

The line was dubbed "Line 19", as Weinhandl and both Sedins were 19-years-of-age at the time.

Weinhandl broke into the NHL during the 2002–03 season.

He tallied his first NHL point (an assist) in his first NHL game on November 4, 2002 against the Calgary Flames.

He picked up his first NHL goal 23 days later, on November 27, against the Ottawa Senators' goalie Patrick Lalime.

He played in that season's YoungStars game, which took place in Sunrise, Florida during the All-Star break and picked up a goal and an assist.

He missed a number of games during the early part of the season due to a sprained shoulder, but finished the year with 23 points (six goals and 17 assists) in 47 games.

The following season, Weinhandl was forced to start the season for the Islanders' minor league team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, to rehab an ankle injury that kept him out of the 2003 playoffs and required surgery over the summer.

Upon being deemed fit to play for the Islanders, Weinhandl played for the most part on a line with Alexei Yashin, and notched 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists) in 55 games.

Upon returning from his 2004–05 campaign in Sweden, Weinhandl was quickly signed to a two-year, $1.6 million contract to keep him with the Islanders.

Weinhandl played mostly on the team's fourth line.

He returned to play for Modo again in the 2004–05 season due to the NHL lockout.

Weinhandl led the team in scoring with 46 points (26 goals and 20 assists) in 50 games and was third in the league in points, behind only Henrik Zetterberg of Timrå and Kristian Huselius of Linköping, and tied with Shawn Horcoff of Mora.

He recorded six points (two goals and four assists) in 53 games for the Islanders before he was waived and claimed by the Minnesota Wild on March 4, 2006.

In 15 games for Minnesota, Weinhandl picked up two goals and three assists.

In the 2006–07 season, Weinhandl was a healthy scratch in 13 of the team's first 28 games (missing an additional three games after suffering a concussion) before being waived by the Wild on December 8, 2006.

Unclaimed he was assigned to the Wild's minor league affiliate, the Houston Aeros, on December 9.

Before being sent down, he tallied one goal and one assist in 12 games.

Weinhandl found some success in the minor league.

He played in 48 games with the Aeros, scoring 18 goals and 27 assists with a total of 20 penalty minutes.

During that span, he had several multi-point games, including four assists in one of the final games of the season.

Weinhandl signed with Linköping on April 22, 2007.

He signed a two-year deal worth 7.2 million Swedish kronor, with an option for a third year.

During the 2007–08 season, Weinhandl enjoyed a good return to Sweden, scoring 35 goals to win the Håkan Loob Trophy.

He also netted 27 assists for a total of 62 points, second in the league only to his line mate Tony Mårtensson.

Weinhandl drew the attention of the Russian Superleague (RSL) and on April 23, 2008, it was announced that he would be loaned out to Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2008–09 season.

After Linköping's early exit in the 2009 Elitserien playoffs, it seemed that the team would bring back all of their loaned players, including Weinhandl.

However, it was announced on April 14 that Weinhandl would be staying with Dynamo Moscow in Russia for another season.

That same day, he also signed a contract extension with Linköping, ensuring his return and keeping him in Linköping's possession through 2012.