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 . Playing career . 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 .