Michael Raffl

Michael Raffl (born 1 December 1988) is an Austrian professional ice hockey left winger with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars, as well as in the Austrian ICE Hockey League (IceHL) with EC VSV and in the Swiss National League (NL) with Lausanne HC.

Early life Raffl was born on 1 December 1988 in Villach, Austria, to a hockey-playing family. His father Peter played with the Villacher SV (EC VSV) for 22 years, and served as head coach of the town's under-20 ice hockey team. Raffl and his older brother Thomas spent most of their childhood in the Villacher Stadthalle arena. Raffl said that it was "pretty popular to play hockey" in Villach, "but it wasn't professional", and it was difficult for players to head overseas and play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up, he was close friends with future NHL player Michael Grabner, who lived "a two-minute walk" away from the Raffls.

Playing career As a youth, Raffl played in the 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Austria.

NHL

Philadelphia Flyers On 31 May 2013 Raffl signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. He began the 2013–14 season with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. He was recalled to the NHL on 12 October, and he scored his first career NHL goal on 9 December 2013, against Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators.

Raffl signed a two-year contract extension with the Flyers worth $2.2 million on 22 March 2014. Through the second year of his contract with the Flyers in the 2015–16 season, Raffl was signed remain with the organization in agreeing to a three-year deal on February 29, 2016.

Raffl's 2016–17 season was riddled with injuries and he only appeared in a career-low 52 games that season. In October 2016, Raffl was placed on injured reserve to recover from an upper-body injury. In March 2017, Raffl was injured in a game against the Colorado Avalanche and was set to be out for 6–8 weeks.

Raffl signed a two-year contract extension with the Flyers on March 26, 2019.

On 3 December 2019, Raffl suffered a broken finger in a 6–1 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was ruled out for approximately four weeks.

On November 28, 2020, Raffl was loaned by the Flyers to Villacher SV in the ICE Hockey League until the commencement of the delayed 2020–21 North American season. He played four games there before he was recalled to the Flyers.

Washington Capitals At the NHL trade deadline on April 12, 2021, the Flyers traded Raffl to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick. His debut with the team was delayed after suffering an upper-body injury with the Flyers, and he began practicing with the team on April 21. Raffl made his team debut the following day, replacing Daniel Sprong in a 1–0 shootout victory against the New York Islanders.

Dallas Stars On July 29, 2021, the Dallas Stars signed Raffl to a one-year, $1.1 million contract. In the season, Raffl established himself within the Stars checking-line, making 76 regular season appearance in collecting 7 goals and 16 points. He added 2 goals and 3 points in the playoffs, exiting in a game 7 defeat to the Calgary Flames in the first-round.

Raffl (center, in white) playing with Lausanne in the 2024 National League Final against Zurich.

Return to Europe Unable to agree on a contract extension with the Stars, Raffl left as a free agent and returned to Europe in agreeing to a two-year contract with Swiss club, Lausanne HC of the National League on 4 August 2022.

Following three injury-plagued seasons with Lausanne, including two as captain,

International play Raffl participated at the 2009 and 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the Austria men's national ice hockey team, and was also named to team Austria for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Personal life Raffl's father, Peter, is a former player who spent the entirety of his career in Austria. His brother Thomas currently plays for EC Red Bull Salzburg of EBEL. Raffl is close friends with Flyers' teammate Scott Laughton and assisted Laughton with his proposal to fiancée Chloe.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2006 Austria U18 D1 19th 5 0 1 1 8 2007 Austria WJC D1 15th 5 1 2 3 8 2008 Austria WJC D1 12th 5 5 8 13 0 2009 Austria OGQ DNQ 3 0 1 1 2 2009 Austria WC 14th 2 0 0 0 0 2011 Austria WC 15th 3 0 1 1 0 2013 Austria OGQ Q 3 1 1 2 2 2013 Austria WC 15th 7 2 1 3 0 2014 Austria OG 10th 4 1 2 3 4 2015 Austria WC 15th 7 1 2 3 6 2016 Austria OGQ DNQ 3 0 1 1 2 2018 Austria WC 14th 5 4 1 5 4 2019 Austria WC 16th 6 4 0 4 4 Junior totals 15 6 11 17 16 Senior totals 43 13 10 23 24