Max Birbraer

Maxim Birbraer (Hebrew: מקס בירבראייר‎; born December 15, 1980) is a Kazakhstan-born Israeli former professional ice hockey forward. Birbraer is Jewish and has played for the Israel national ice hockey team.

Max Birbraer
Birbraer wore #21 with the Israeli National Team
Born (1980-12-15) December 15, 1980
Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakh SSR, USSR
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Left
Played for Albany River Rats
San Antonio Rampage
Cardiff Devils
Heilbronner Falken
National team  Israel
NHL Draft 67th overall, 2000
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1999–2019

Playing career

Birbraer was born in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, where he lived until the age of 14, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] His family lived under a non-Jewish sounding surname in those years due to severe local anti-Semitism, and he wasn't told that he was Jewish until his parents decided to move to Israel.[4][5][6] Although he had played schoolboy hockey in Russia, he assumed that he would have to give up the ice when he was 14 and his family immigrated to Israel, until he discovered an indoor rink in Tel Aviv where he played in a junior league. He had lived in Israel for only 8 months when his coach, Paul Rosen, persuaded him to try out for a Canadian league with the result that he spent 2 years playing Tier 2 hockey in Ontario, where Rosen was his legal guardian. He then joined the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.[5][4]

He was the only Israeli national ever to be drafted by a NHL team when he was drafted 67th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.[5][3] Despite this, he never played in the NHL, instead spending three seasons with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany River Rats. In 2006, Birbraer signed with the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League, and played with the team for 7 years.[7][8][9] Birbraer signed with the Telford Tigers in 2014.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Shelburne Wolves MetJHL 12 7 11 18 8 — — — — —
1998–99 Shelburne Wolves OPJHL 35 20 22 42 25 — — — — —
1999–2000 Newmarket Hurricanes OPJHL 47 50 32 82 52 — — — — —
2000–01 Albany River Rats AHL 50 7 6 13 24 — — — — —
2001–02 Albany River Rats AHL 40 6 7 13 24 — — — — —
2002–03 Albany River Rats AHL 57 6 6 12 42 — — — — —
2003–04 San Antonio Rampage AHL 17 0 2 2 6 — — — — —
2003–04 Laredo Bucks CHL 44 16 14 30 37 14 3 2 5 33
2004–05 San Diego Gulls ECHL 69 19 30 49 63 — — — — —
2005–06 Long Beach Ice Dogs ECHL 13 4 3 7 10 — — — — —
2006–07 Cardiff Devils EIHL 52 29 33 62 105 4 0 2 2 0
2007–08 Cardiff Devils EIHL 54 20 37 57 75 3 3 0 3 0
2008–09 Kazzinc-Torpedo RUS.2 34 5 15 20 32 — — — — —
2008–09 Heilbronner Falken DEU.2 16 4 5 9 4 6 0 3 3 8
2009–10 Cardiff Devils EIHL 54 22 36 58 58 4 4 3 7 0
2010–11 Cardiff Devils EIHL 54 26 42 68 44 4 1 2 3 6
2011–12 Cardiff Devils EIHL 24 11 20 31 43 — — — — —
2012–13 Cardiff Devils EIHL 31 16 13 29 18 4 4 3 7 8
2013–14 Cardiff Devils EIHL 52 16 24 40 35 — — — — —
2014–15 Telford Tigers EPIHL 48 21 33 54 46 3 1 0 1 0
2015–16 Telford Tigers EPIHL 51 26 34 60 123 2 1 0 1 0
2016–17 Swindon Wildcats EPIHL 50 16 31 47 126 6 6 3 9 2
2017–18 Swindon Wildcats GBR.2 31 15 38 53 44 4 2 6 8 2
2018–19 Swindon Wildcats GBR.2 41 12 55 67 67 1 1 2 3 0
AHL totals 164 19 21 40 94 — — — — —
EIHL totals 321 140 205 345 378 19 12 10 22 14
EPIHL totals 149 63 98 161 295 11 8 3 11 2

International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1997 Israel EJC D 5 10 2 12 4
1997 Israel WC D 5 0 1 1 2
1998 Israel EJC D 5 5 4 9 10
1998 Israel WC D 5 2 2 4 27
1999 Israel WC D 4 2 5 7 0
2000 Israel WC D 4 6 6 12 6
2008 Israel WC Div.2 5 5 6 11 4
2013 Israel WC Div.2B 5 5 8 13 6
Junior totals 10 15 6 21 14
Tier III Senior totals 10 10 14 24 10
Tier IV Senior totals 18 10 14 24 35

See also

References
  1. "Professional Hockey Review: 2010–11; European Hockey League". Jewish Sports Review. 8 (87): 8–9. September–October 2011.
  2. Kalchman, Lois (May 5, 2000). "Max Birbraer's strange journey ; Overlooked player now seen as top prospect for NHL". Toronto Star. ProQuest 438138965.
  3. Fishler, Stan (April 2, 2002). "Max Birbraer: Rising Hockey Star, Aspiring Bar Mitzvah Boy". The Forward. ProQuest 367760578.
  4. Maloney, Tom (June 21, 2000). "An unlikely rise to attention for Israeli talent: Max Birbraer's road to NHL draft: bizarre, made-for-TV story". National Post (Canada). ProQuest 329757130.
  5. Shoalts, David (December 13, 2003). "Player refuses to yield to obstacles". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  6. "My incredible Journey: Cardiff Devils rising star Max Birbraer served time in jail and the Israeli Army before he was 20, but ice hockey got him through it all". South Wales Echo. October 13, 2010. ProQuest 757683768.
  7. Phillips, Terry (August 25, 2007). "Imports set to provide Devils with a boost". South Wales Echo. ProQuest 342227002.
  8. Oakes, Michael (August 12, 2014). "Max Birbraer eyes a Grand Slam with Telford". Daily Star (London). ProQuest 1552738794.
  9. Phillips, Terry (December 3, 2009). "Birbraer's double as Devils take a thriller". South Wales Echo. ProQuest 342347356.
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