Michal Birner
Michal Birner ( born March 2, 1986 in Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech ice hockey player who is since May 2012 when HC Lev Prague in the Kontinental Hockey League contract.
Career
Michal Birner began his career as a hockey player in his Czech homeland in the junior section of the HC Slavia Prague, for the first team, he made his debut in the Extraliga, the highest Czech league was in season 2003/ 04. In his only use point and he remained unpunished. He was then selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 2004 in the fourth round as a total of 116 players from the St. Louis Blues. First, however, the winger played for two years in the Canadian Junior Football League Ontario Hockey League for the Barrie Colts and Saginaw Spirit. In June 2006, he finally signed a contract with the St. Louis Blues, for their farm team Peoria Rivermen half years he played in the American Hockey League before he was transferred in December 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks. In their AHL farm team Portland Pirates, he was also able to enforce immediately. With the team, he failed in the 2007/ 08 season until the Conference Final to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The 2008/09 season began Birner at Anaheim's new AHL farm team Iowa Chops, for which, however, he only played two games before he was turned to their partners Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL. Without having attended a single game for the Condors, he moved in November 2008 to the Pelicans Lahti of the Finnish SM- liiga. In six games, the Czech prepared two goals for the Pelicans, before he was sidelined due to an arm injury until the end of the season. For the 2009/10 season the former youth international TPS Turku has been committed. With the team he immediately won the Finnish championship. For this success he contributed with 55 points scorer, with 19 goals in 73 games. In the 2011/12 season he was an assistant captain at TPS.
Since end of May 2012 Birner is the KHL rookie HC Lev Prague under contract. and was loaned in September 2012 for some games to TPS Turku.
Internationally
For Birner Czech Republic took part in the U18 World Youth Championship in 2004 and the U20 Junior World Cup in 2006. In the 2004 U18 World Championships he won the bronze medal with his team.
Awards and achievements
- 2004 bronze medal at the U18 World Youth Championship
- 2010 Finnish Champion with TPS Turku
Career Stats
( Key to Career statistics: Sp or GP = Games Played, T or G = goals scored, V or A = achieved assists; Pts or Pts = scored points scorer, SM or PIM = received penalty minutes, / - = Plus / Minus balance sheet; PP = scored majority gates; SH = scored shorthanded goals, GW = achieved victory gates; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )