Rhett Rakhshani

American ice hockey player

Ice hockey player

Rhett Rakhshani

Born|  (1988-03-06) March 6, 1988 (age 37)
Orange, California, U.S.
Height|  5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight|  182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb)
Position|  Right wing
Shot|  Right
Played for|  New York Islanders
HV71
Växjö Lakers
Linköping HC
Malmö Redhawks
Frölunda HC
Djurgårdens IF
Grizzlys Wolfsburg
NHL draft|  100th overall, 2006
New York Islanders
Playing career|  2010–2022

Rhett Thomas Rakhshani (born March 6, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the New York Islanders in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Rakhshani is of Iranian–German–Mexican–American descent.[1][2] He announced his retirement on December 14, 2022, after his wife had been diagnosed with cancer.

## Playing career

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As a youth, Rakhshani played in the 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the California Wave minor ice hockey team.[3]

Rakhshani played collegiately at the University of Denver between 2006 and 2010, and received All-America West First Team honors as a senior,[4] before signing with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).[5] He made his professional debut with the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL), in April 2010.[6] He attended the 2010-11 AHL All-Star Classic[7] and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team the same season.[8]

On December 13, 2010, Rakhshani suited up with the New York Islanders to make his NHL debut in an away game shutout loss against the Nashville Predators.[9]

In 2012–13, he spent his first season abroad with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).[10][11] After completing his first year in Sweden, he joined fellow SHL side Växjö Lakers, where he played from 2013 to 2015, helping win the 2014 Swedish championship. After spending the 2015-16 campaign with his third SHL team, Linköping HC, he signed to continue his SHL career with the Malmö Redhawks in June 2016.[12] In 2018 Rakshani signed a three-year contract with the Gothenburg-based SHL team Frölunda Indians.[13]

After 10 seasons in the SHL, Rakhshani left Sweden as a free agent and was signed to a one-year contract by the German club Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), on May 26, 2022.[14] However, on December 14, he announced his retirement after his wife was diagnosed with cancer.[15]

## Career statistics

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### Regular season and playoffs

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|  | Regular season |  | Playoffs

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Season | Team  | League  | GP  | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM
2004–05  | US NTDP Juniors | NAHL | 40 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 21  | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2
2004–05  | US NTDP U17  | USDP  | 14 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 32  | — | — | — | — | —
2005–06  | US NTDP U18  | USDP  | 43 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 30  | — | — | — | — | —
2005–06  | US NTDP U18  | NAHL  | 16 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 35  | — | — | — | — | —
2006–07 | University of Denver | WCHA | 40 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 38  | — | — | — | — | —
2007–08 | University of Denver  | WCHA  | 37 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 52  | — | — | — | — | —
2008–09 | University of Denver  | WCHA  | 38 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 50  | — | — | — | — | —
2009–10 | University of Denver  | WCHA  | 41 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 40  | — | — | — | — | —
2009–10 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2  | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2
2010–11 | New York Islanders | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0  | — | — | — | — | —
2010–11 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers  | AHL  | 66 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 32  | — | — | — | — | —
2011–12 | New York Islanders  | NHL  | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
2011–12 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers  | AHL  | 49 | 20 | 29 | 49 | 42  | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0
2012–13 | HV71 | SEL | 52 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 46  | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4
2013–14 | Växjö Lakers | SHL  | 55 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 26  | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12
2014–15 | Växjö Lakers  | SHL  | 51 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 37  | 18 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 8
2015–16 | Linköping HC | SHL  | 33 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 14  | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
2016–17 | Malmö Redhawks | SHL  | 41 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 22  | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 8
2017–18 | Malmö Redhawks  | SHL  | 37 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 24  | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10
2018–19 | Frölunda HC | SHL  | 38 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 30  | 16 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 6
2019–20 | Frölunda HC  | SHL  | 36 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 57  | — | — | — | — | —
2020–21 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL  | 35 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 33  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2
2021–22 | Djurgårdens IF  | SHL  | 50 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 14  | — | — | — | — | —
2022–23 | Grizzlys Wolfsburg | DEL | 21 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4  | — | — | — | — | —
NHL totals  | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2  | — | — | — | — | —
SHL totals  | 428 | 112 | 170 | 282 | 303  | 82 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 52

### International

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Year  | Team  | Event  | Result  |  | GP  | G  | A  | Pts  | PIM

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2005 | United States | U17 |  | 5  | 3  | 1  | 4  | 2
2006 | United States | WJC18 | 5th  | 6  | 5  | 1  | 6  | 4
2008 | United States  | WJC | 4th  | 6  | 2  | 2  | 4  | 2
Junior totals  | 17  | 10  | 4  | 14  | 8

## Awards and honors

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Award  | Year  |

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College
All-WCHA Third Team | 2008–09 |
All-WCHA First Team | 2009–10 | [16]
AHCA West First-Team All-American | 2009–10 | [16]
AHL
All-Star Game | 2011 |
All-Rookie Team  | 2011  |
CHL
Champions  | 2019 | [17]
SHL
Le Mat Trophy champion  | 2015, 2019 | [18]

## References

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1. ^ Chambers, Mike (November 16, 2009). "DU's Rhett Rakhshani an unusual hockey star". Denver Post.
2. ^ Fornabaio, Michael (November 14, 2010). "Sound Tigers' Rakhshani, of California, chases pucks rather than waves". ctpost.com.
3. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
4. ^ "Denver Has 3 First-Team All-Americans". USCHO.com. April 9, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
5. ^ "Rakhshani Signs with New York Islanders - The University of Denver Official Athletic Site". www.denverpioneers.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
6. ^ "TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League". theahl.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
7. ^ "Rhett Rakhshani Named to 2011 AHL Eastern Conference All-Star Team". islanders.nhl.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
8. ^ "RAKHSHANI NAMED TO AHL ALL-ROOKIE TEAM". SoundTigers.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
9. ^ "Islanders suffer defeat to Predators". New York Islanders. December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
10. ^ Fornabaio, Michael (June 20, 2012). "Sound Tiger Rakhshani heads to Sweden". Connecticut Post. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
11. ^ "LetsGoDU: Rhett Rakhshani Signs With Swedish Team". letsgodu.blogspot.fr. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
12. ^ "Rhett Rakhshani förstärker Malmö Redhawks". Malmö Redhawks. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
13. ^ "Det kändes Rhett". Frölunda Indians. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
14. ^ "Rhett Rakhshani becomes a Grizzly" (in German). Grizzlys Wolfsburg. May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
15. ^ "Rhett Rakhshani beendet seine karriere vorzeitig". grizzlys.de (in German). December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
16. ^ a b The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. 2010. p. 326\. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
17. ^ "Frolunda crowned CHL champions". Champions Hockey League. February 6, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
18. ^ "Frölunda are the Swedish Champions". Swedish Hockey League. May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhett Rakhshani.

* Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database