Christian Ehrhoff

Christian Ehrhoff (born July 6, 1982) is a German professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is known primarily as an offensive defenceman with strong skating and shooting abilities.

Before playing in the NHL, Ehrhoff spent several years playing professionally in Germany, starting with EV Duisburg of the third-tier Oberliga and the Krefeld Penguins of the premiere Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He spent three years with Krefeld, winning the German championship in 2003. Selected 106th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Ehrhoff moved to North America for the 2003–04 season. He spent one-and-a-half seasons with the Cleveland Barons, the Sharks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, before joining San Jose on a full-time basis for 2005–06. Internationally, Ehrhoff has played for the German national team in numerous tournaments, including three Winter Olympics, four World Championships and a World Cup.

Early life
Ehrhoff was born and raised in Moers, a city on the left bank of the Rhine. His father, Achin, is a drummer in a band. Ehrhoff first played hockey at the age of six, deciding to play the sport after watching an NHL game on television. As his hometown did not have a hockey program, he played minor hockey 20 kilometres away in the Krefeld Penguins' system. He won a national championship with the club around the age of 12; Ehrhoff has recalled scoring in the final on a penalty shot. Following the NHL growing up, Ehrhoff has singled out Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Bure and Uwe Krupp as his childhood heroes. He was inspired to play in the style of an offensive defenceman after watching a video of Bobby Orr as a 10-year-old.

At the age of 16, he considered moving to North America to further his hockey career in the major junior Canadian Hockey League, but his father, Achin, had developed Hodgkin's lymphoma at the time. Ehrhoff consequently decided to stay in Germany and continued in Krefeld's system at the junior level; his father eventually overcame the cancer.

Germany (1999–2003)
After playing in the junior system of the Krefeld Penguins, Ehrhoff signed a professional contract with the team in 1999, at the age of 17. He debuted in nine games with Krefeld in Germany's premiere Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), while primarily playing with EV Duisburg of the third-tier Oberliga on loan. Over the course of the season, he practiced mornings with Krefeld and evenings with Duisburg. He finished his first professional season with 15 points in 41 games with Duisburg and a goal in nine games for Krefeld. The following season, he joined Krefeld full-time and had 14 points in 58 games for the team in addition to three points in six games with Duisburg. After the conclusion of the season, Ehrhoff was selected 106th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. One of three Germans selected by the Sharks in the draft, Ehrhoff was happy to be taken by the team, as they also had another German, Marco Sturm, on their roster at the time.

Ehrhoff attended the Sharks' subsequent training camp following the draft, but was returned to Germany as an early cut on September 11, 2001. Continuing to play for Krefeld, he notched 24 points in 46 games. Despite impressing with his skating and offensive skills at the Sharks' 2002 training camp, he was returned to Krefeld for the second straight year. After notching a German career-high 27 points in 48 games in 2002–03, Ehrhoff helped Krefeld win a German championship in his final season with the club. He recorded nine points in the post-season.

San Jose Sharks (2003–09)
With the expectation from Sharks management that Ehrhoff would join their organization either with the NHL club or in the AHL, he was signed to a contract on June 22, 2003. Ehrhoff made his NHL debut on October 9, 2003, against the Edmonton Oilers. He recorded his first point, an assist, on November 15 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Later that month, he scored his first NHL goal, a game winner against Michael Leighton in a 3–2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 26. Ehrhoff was selected to play in the 2004 NHL YoungStars Game, along with teammate Jonathan Cheechoo. Aftering helping the Western Conference YoungStars to a 7–3 win over the East, Ehrhoff also did colour commentary during the All-Star Game for a German telecast.

Ehrhoff was often a healthy scratch with the Sharks during his rookie season and spent time with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons. In 41 games with the Sharks during the 2003–04 season, Ehrhoff recorded 12 points in 41 games. In the 27 games he played for the Barons, he notched 14 points. He began asserting himself early in his NHL career as an excellent skater with offensive capabilities. Ehrhoff then played a full season with the Barons in 2004–05 due to the NHL lockout, tallying 35 points in 79 games. He was chosen to represent PlanetUSA in the 2005 AHL All-Star Game in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Returning to the Sharks in 2005–06, Ehrhoff recorded a 23-point campaign. He began earning more ice time near the end of the season as he improved his defensive play. On April 13, 2006, he scored the game-winning overtime goal against the Vancouver Canucks for the Sharks to clinch a playoff berth. San Jose had been eight points out of a playoff spot with a month and a half remaining in the season. Ehrhoff added eight points over 11 post-season games – first among team defencemen – in his first Stanley Cup playoffs as the Sharks were eliminated in the second round by the Edmonton Oilers. He then signed a two-year contract worth US$1.7 million in the off-season.

Ehroff responded with a career-high 33 points in 2006–07. He notched a personal best three assists in one game late in the season in a 3–2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on March 27, 2007. San Jose were once again losers in the second round of the playoffs, being eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games. Ehrhoff had two assists in 11 post-season games. His regular season production decreased to 22 points in the 2007–08 season. On December 28, 2007, Ehrhoff was awarded a penalty shot during a game against the St. Louis Blues; he missed against Manny Legace, as the Sharks won 1–0. Later in the season, he missed four games due to a lower body injury, suffered on April 6, 2008. After finishing as the second seed in the West, San Jose were defeated in the second round against the Dallas Stars. Ehrhoff notched five assists in 10 playoff games.

Ehrhoff became a restricted free agent once more in July 2008 and re-signed with the Sharks to a three-year contract worth $9.3 million. The following season in 2008–09, he reached the 40-point mark for the first time in his career with 42 points in 77 games. He had missed three games in March 2009 due to a lower body injury. Ehrhoff's personal success coincided with a franchise year for the Sharks, who earned their first Presidents' Trophy as regular season champions in team history with 117 points. In the ensuing playoffs, however, they suffered a first-round defeat to the eight-seeded Anaheim Ducks. Ehrhoff was pointless in six games.

Vancouver Canucks (2009–present)
In the summer of 2009, Ehrhoff was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on August 28, 2009, along with defenceman Brad Lukowich in exchange for prospects Patrick White and Daniel Rahimi. The deal was done primarily to clear salary cap space in anticipation of the Sharks' acquisition of star forward Dany Heatley from the Ottawa Senators. For the Canucks, Ehrhoff's acquisition addressed the need for a puck-moving defenceman to rush the puck up the ice.

Ehrhoff scored his first goal in a Canucks uniform on October 5, 2009, in a 5–3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The following month, he notched his first two-goal game in the NHL, adding an assist, in a 5–2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on November 20. Late in the season, he missed two games in April 2010 due to a sprained left knee. Prior to the last game of the regular season against the Calgary Flames, Ehrhoff was awarded the Babe Pratt Trophy as the Canucks' fan-voted best defenceman. He finished his first season in Vancouver leading all team defencemen with career-highs of 14 goals, 44 points, a +36 rating and an average ice time of 22:47 minutes per game. His 44 points tied Uwe Krupp for the most points by a German-born defenceman in an NHL season. In the subsequent 2010 playoffs, he added seven points in 12 games. Vancouver was eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round.

International career
As a junior, Ehrhoff competed for Germany's under-18 team at the inaugural 1999 IIHF World U18 Championships, hosted in Füssen and Kaufbeuren, Germany. He returned the following year for the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships in Switzerland, where Germany finished in seventh place. Ehrhoff then debuted at the under-20 level in Division I of the 2001 World Junior Championships. Hosting the tournament in the cities of Füssen and Landsberg, Germany missed a promotion to the main tournament the following year by finishing in second place behind France. Ehrhoff made his second appearance at the Division I level for the 2002 World Junior Championships in Austria, leading all tournament defencemen with three goals and 10 points in five games. He helped Germany earn a promotion to the main tournament for the following year, defeating Austria 7–1 in the gold medal game. In both years competing in the tournament, Ehrhoff earned Top Defenceman honours.

Two months after his final international junior appearance, Ehrhoff debuted with Germany's senior team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He played in seven games as the second youngest player in the tournament. Germany was eliminated by the United States in the quarterfinal with a 5–0 shutout loss. Later that year, he competed in the 2002 World Championships, scoring five points in seven games. Germany was defeated in the quarterfinal by Sweden 6–2. Ehrhoff made his second World Championships appearance in 2003, but failed to register a point as Germany were once again losers in the quarterfinal round. After his rookie season in the NHL, Ehrhoff competed for Germany in the 2004 World Cup. They lost 2–1 to Finland in the quarterfinal. The following year, he registered an assist in six games at the 2005 World Championships. Germany finished second-to-last in the tournament. After failing to qualify for the quarterfinal, they won one of three games in the relegation round.

On December 21, 2005, Ehrhoff was named to the German Olympic team, along with Sharks teammate Marcel Goc, for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. His lone goal of the tournament came against Canada, a 5–1 loss. He added an assist in the tournament for two points in five games as Germany failed to win a preliminary game, missing out on the playoff rounds. Four years later, he was named to Germany's Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Games in his NHL hometown of Vancouver. He went pointless in four games, while leading his team in ice time. Germany was eliminated by Canada in an 8–2 qualifier for the quarterfinal.

Shortly after the Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs several months later, Ehrhoff joined Germany for the 2010 World Championships. Germany played as tournament host in the cities of Cologne and Mannheim. Joining his team midway through the tournament, he missed the first three games before scoring a goal and an assist in six contests. Germany made it to the semifinal, where they were defeated by Russia 2–1. Ehrhoff assisted on Germany's lone goal and was named his team's player of the game. They went on to lose the bronze medal game 3–1 to Sweden. Their fourth place finish marked their best placing at the World Championships since 1953 when they won silver. Leading Germany in average ice time with 23:34 minutes per game, Ehrhoff was named to the Tournament All-Star Team, along with German goaltender Dennis Endras.

Playing style
Ehrhoff is known as an offensive defenceman. He has strong skating ability, which allows him to quickly carry the puck up the ice, starting plays from his team's defensive zone, as well as join offensive plays deep in the opposing team's zone. He also possesses a hard shot, which sees him earn significant time on the power play. Upon joining the NHL with San Jose, he had to adjust his game to be more defensive. He gradually became counted upon more in defensive situations and has been used on the penalty kill, as well.

Personal life
Ehroff has a wife named Farina; they have a daughter, Leni, born in mid-2009. They live in a condominium in the Vancouver neighbourhood of Yaletown, while returning to their summer home in Krefeld in the off-seasons. A native of Germany as well, Farina's family lives near Ehrhoff's hometown of Moers.