Mike Egener

Name: Mike Egener
Position: Defenseman/Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6.04
Weight: 213 lbs
Born: 9/26/84
Acquired: 2003 Entry Draft, 2nd Round, 34 Overall

Junior Career
The son of a Canadian military family who was born overseas at a base in Lahr, Germany, defenseman Mike Egener worked his way into the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen despite not being selected in the WHL Bantam Draft. In his rookie season in 2000-2001 Egener played 52 games notching 1 goal. The following year he showed modest improvement scoring 2 goals and 9 points in 68 games. 2001-2002 was also the season Egener began to earn a reputation as a tough customer racking up 175 penalty minutes. Following the season Egener was selected to represent Canada in the 2002 U18 World Junior Championships where he had 24 penalty minutes in eight games and won gold. Egener missed half of the 2002-2003 season with symptoms related to concussions. Despite the setback, Egener had 2 goals and 10 points in 40 games and 1was selected for the 2003 CHL Top Prospects game where he excelled in skills testing with a sub three seconds 60' dash time, a sub six seconds 150' dash time and a slapshot gunned at over 95 mph. He was also selected to represent the WHL in the Canada-Russia challenge. That summer Egener was selected early in the second round by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft after receiving medical reassurances that Egener's concussions would not be a chronic problem. The following year Egener had his best junior season with 1 goal and 17 points in 64 games to go with 228 penalty minutes. That year Egener was selected to represent the WHL in the Canada-Russia challenge and he attended the Team Canada developmental camp for the U20 World Junior Championships from which he was one of the last players cut. A credit to his character, Egener was twice selected in the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons as the Calgary Hitmen's Humanitarian of the Year for his work in the community.

Professional Career
In the summer of 2004 Mike Egener was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning and placed with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL during the lockout. Multiple knee sprains cut Egener's rookie season in half and he played just 48 games racking up 3 goals, 5 points and 183 penalty minutes. At the end of the season Egener shared the 2004-2005 Falcons Community Service award with teammates Mitch Fritz and Shane Willis. In 2005-2006 Egener was quickly dispatched from Lightning training camp back to the AHL but he was soon demoted to Johnstown of the ECHL because he was struggling with his decision making and the speed at the AHL level. In Johnstown, Egener suffered another knee injury and was sidelined for a month before briefly returning to the Chiefs lineup prior to a recall to Springfield. Egener spent the entire 2006-2007 season with Springfield where he spent a majority of his time on the team's top pairing. In 75 games Egener had 0 goals and 3 points with 152 penalty minutes and a -29 rating. At the start of the 2007-2007 season Egener was moved to wing due to roster issues in Norfolk.

Talent Analysis
Pros: Egener has exceptional mobility and good size. His akating is already NHL caliber and he possesses a powerful, albeit underutilized, slap shot. His backwards skating, in particular, may be the best of any draft pick in the Lightning's history and he is arguably the best defender one-on-one and at breaking up odd man rushes of any prospect in the organization. Egener is fearless and never shies away from the physical side of the game. He has strong character and leadership skills and is always willing to stand up for his teammates.

Cons: Injuries have slowed the development of Egener's puck moving skills. He is capable of using his speed to carry the puck to the red line, but has been hesitant to do so in the professional ranks. His dubious decision making with the puck and poor breakout passes continue to hamper his opportunities to make it to Tampa. A highly excitable competitor, Egener needs to improve his discipline as there have been incidents where he has lost control including an incident in junior where he was involved in a fight off ice in the tunnel after being thrown out of a game.

Future
Bolt Prospects has downgraded its projections for Egener, but we still believe he can be a solid third pair defenseman in the NHL. If he can stay healthy and continue to get the games in at the AHL level, there's no reason to believe he can't develop into a left handed clone of ex-Lightning defenseman Cory Sarich.

Statistics Courtesy hockeydb.com

Profile Created 2/11/06 by Pete Choquette