Vincent Praplan Explained

Vincent Praplan
Birth Date:10 June 1994
Birth Place:Sierre, Switzerland
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:195
Position:Forward
Shoots:Right
League:NL
Team:Genève-Servette HC
Former Teams:EHC Kloten
San Jose Barracuda
Springfield Thunderbirds
SC Bern
Ntl Team:SUI
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2012

Vincent Praplan (born June 10, 1994) is a Swiss professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL).

Playing career

Praplan played youth hockey with HC Sierre and EHC Visp before joining the EHC Kloten organization as a 15-year old. He opted to play major junior hockey in North America, skating with the North Bay Battalion in the Ontario Hockey League for the 2013–14 season. Despite scoring 19 goals and 53 points in 61 games, Praplan went undrafted before returning to the NL with EHC Kloten for the following 2014–15 season.

In the midst of his second full season with Kloten in 2015–16, Praplan agreed to a two-year contract extension with Kloten on October 20, 2015.[1]

Praplan participated in the Chicago Blackhawks' development camp in July 2017 and was invited to the San Jose Sharks prospect camp in September 2017.[2]

On August 29, 2017, with one year remaining on his contract, Praplan agreed to a one-year contract extension with Kloten to stay with the team through the 2018–19 season. Both contracts contained NHL-out clauses for both the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons.[3] On March 2, 2018, Praplan signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).[4] His contract with Kloten was immediately terminated once the team got relegated to the Swiss League at the end of the season.

After attending the San Jose Sharks 2018 training camp, Praplan was reassigned to make his North American debut with AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, to begin the 2018–19 season.[5] While limited through injury to 27 games approaching the trade deadline, Praplan contributed with 16 points for the Barracuda, before he was traded by the Sharks to the Florida Panthers for future considerations on February 22, 2019.[6]

On May 17, 2019, as an impending free agent from the Panthers, Praplan returned to his native Switzerland, joining SC Bern of the NL on a four-year deal through the 2022–23 season.[7] Following a disappointing 2021–22 season, both SCB and Praplan decided to terminate his contract with the team.

On March 16, 2022, Praplan left SC Bern following their lowest finish since 1986 and joined Genève-Servette HC on a three-year deal through the 2024–25 season.[8]

International play

Praplan first represented Switzerland at the junior level at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and later at the World Junior Championships in 2014.

Praplan was added to the Swiss national team at the senior level in preparation for the 2017 IIHF World Championship. He would make the final squad and make his full international debut in the round-robin stage. Praplan helped Switzerland past the round-robin stage and contributed with 4 goals and 7 points in 8 games to finish in 6th place.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GPG A Pts PIM
2010–11Kloten FlyersElite Jr. A11112640000
2011–12Kloten FlyersElite Jr. A36161430249651110
2012–13Kloten FlyersElite Jr. A3433296283848124
2012–13Kloten FlyersNLA50000
2013–14North Bay BattalionOHL6119345316212246
2014–15Kloten FlyersNLA464488
2015–16Kloten FlyersNLA50181533441120
2016–17EHC KlotenNLA5015274218
2017–18EHC KlotenNL4715243931
2018–19San Jose BarracudaAHL274121614
2018–19Springfield ThunderbirdsAHL142574
2019–20SC BernNL5010182818
2020–21SC BernNL4513142749925710
2021–22SC BernNL386142022
NL totals331811161971501336910

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2011SwitzerlandIH187th41010
2014SwitzerlandWJC7th50116
WC6th843 7 2
2018SwitzerlandOG10th40000
Switzerland WC8th71564
2021Switzerland WC6th40110
Junior totals 91126
Senior totals 2359146

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Extensions for Praplan and Leone . . 2015-10-20 . 2015-10-20 . de.
  2. Web site: Vincent Praplan and Noah Rod to participate in San Jose Sharks' prospect showcase tournament . swisshockeynews.ch . 2017-08-23 . 2017-08-23.
  3. Web site: EHC Kloten signs Vincent Praplan to early contract extension . swisshockeynews.ch . 2017-08-29 . 2017-08-29.
  4. Web site: Sharks Sign Forward Vincent Praplan. NHL.com. March 5, 2018. March 2, 2018.
  5. Web site: Sharks reduce training camp roster by 16 players . . September 24, 2018 . September 24, 2018.
  6. Web site: Sharks trade Vincent Praplan to Panthers . . February 22, 2019 . February 22, 2019.
  7. Web site: Vincent Praplan has signed a four-year contract with the Bears . swisshockeynews.ch . May 17, 2019 . May 17, 2019.
  8. Web site: Confirmed - SCB's Vincent Praplan joins GSHC on a three-year deal . swisshockeynews.ch . March 16, 2022 . March 16, 2022.
  9. Web site: 2017 World Championship roster . 2017-05-05 . 2017-05-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170518232341/http://reports.iihf.hockey/Hydra/416/IHM4160SUI_33_3_0_SUI.pdf . 2017-05-18 . . live .