HOCKEY PLAYERS from Austria

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Austrian Hockey Players of all time. This list of famous Austrian Hockey Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Thomas Vanek (1984 - )

With an HPI of 27.76, Thomas Vanek is the most famous Austrian Hockey Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Thomas Vanek (born 19 January 1984) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey winger who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Vancouver Canucks. Vanek was drafted by the Sabres fifth overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest-drafted Austrian player in NHL history along with David Reinbacher in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

2. Michael Grabner (1987 - )

With an HPI of 22.79, Michael Grabner is the 2nd most famous Austrian Hockey Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Michael-René Grabner (born 5 October 1987) is an Austrian former professional ice hockey player. Grabner grew up playing for the local team in Villach, EC VSV. He moved to North America at the age of 17 and joined the Spokane Chiefs of the major junior Western Hockey League (WHL) to further his hockey career. After his second season with the Chiefs, he was selected 14th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Grabner played one more season in the WHL before moving to the American Hockey League (AHL), where he played two seasons in the Canucks' farm system. He was traded during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to the Florida Panthers, but was claimed by the New York Islanders after Florida placed him on waivers with the intention of assigning him to their AHL affiliate. Grabner spent five seasons with the Islanders before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015. Internationally, Grabner has appeared for Austria in both junior and senior tournaments, and played in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

3. Michael Raffl (1988 - )

With an HPI of 22.41, Michael Raffl is the 3rd most famous Austrian Hockey Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

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