Christian Ehrhoff

Early life

Ehrhoff was born and raised in Moers, a city on the left bank of the Rhine. His father, Achim, is a drummer in a band, and he has a sister named Katrin. He first played hockey at age six after watching an NHL game on television. Because his hometown lacked a hockey program, he played minor hockey 20 kilometres away in the Krefeld Pinguine system, winning a national championship around age 12. He has cited Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Bure, and Uwe Krupp as childhood heroes and was inspired to play as an offensive defenceman after watching a video of Bobby Orr at age 10. At 16, he considered moving to North America for major junior hockey but stayed in Germany after his father was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma; his father eventually recovered.

Playing career

Ehrhoff signed a professional contract with Krefeld Pinguine in 1999 at age 17, debuting in nine DEL games while primarily playing on loan with EV Duisburg of the third-tier Oberliga. He practiced mornings with Krefeld and evenings with Duisburg, finishing his first professional season with 15 points in 41 games for Duisburg and a goal in nine games for Krefeld. The next season he joined Krefeld full-time, recording 14 points in 58 games. Selected 106th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2001 NHL entry draft, he attended their training camp but was returned to Germany on 11 September 2001.

He notched 24 points in 46 games for Krefeld, then after another training camp cut in 2002, he posted a German career-high 27 points in 48 games in 2002–03 and helped Krefeld win a German championship with nine postseason points. Signed by the Sharks on 22 June 2003, Ehrhoff made his NHL debut on 9 October 2003 against the Edmonton Oilers. He recorded his first assist on 15 November against the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored his first NHL goal, a game winner, on 26 November against the Chicago Blackhawks.

He was selected for the 2004 NHL YoungStars Game and did colour commentary during the All-Star Game for a German telecast.

International play

Ehrhoff played for Germany's under-18 team at the 1999 IIHF World U18 Championships and returned for the 2000 tournament. He debuted at the under-20 level in Division I of the 2001 World Junior Championships, where Germany finished second behind France. At the 2002 World Junior Championships in Austria, he led all tournament defencemen with three goals and 10 points in five games, helping Germany earn promotion to the main tournament with a 7–1 gold medal win over Austria; he earned Top Defenceman honours both years.

Two months later, he debuted with Germany's senior team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, playing seven games as the second youngest player; Germany lost 5–0 to the United States in the quarterfinal. He competed in the 2002 World Championships (five points in seven games) and the 2003 World Championships (no points), with Germany losing in the quarterfinal both times. After his rookie NHL season, he played in the 2004 World Cup, losing 2–1 to Finland in the quarterfinal.

At the 2005 World Championships he had one assist in six games as Germany finished second-to-last. Named to the 2006 Olympic team, he scored against Canada in a 5–1 loss and had two points in five games as Germany failed to win a preliminary game. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he went pointless in four games while leading his team in ice time; Germany lost 8–2 to Canada in a qualifier.

Playing style

Ehrhoff is an offensive defenceman with strong skating ability, allowing him to carry the puck up the ice and join offensive plays. He possesses a hard shot that earns him significant power-play time. After joining the NHL, he adjusted his game to be more defensive and was used on the penalty kill.