Niko Dimitrakos
Niko Dimitrakos | |
---|---|
Born | Somerville, MA, USA |
May 21, 1979
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) |
Position | Right Wing |
Shoots | Right |
DEL team Former teams |
Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg San Jose Sharks Philadelphia Flyers Skellefteå AIK CSKA Moscow Modo Hockey Adler Mannheim |
NHL Draft | 155th overall, 1999 San Jose Sharks |
Playing career | 2002–present |
Nicholas Dimitrakos (Greek: Niko Δημητράκος; born May 21, 1979 in Somerville, Massachusetts) is a Greek-American professional ice hockey right winger, who currently plays for Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Playing career[edit]
Dimitrakos was first introduced to hockey at age four by his uncle, and has loved and played it ever since. He graduated from Matignon High School (Cambridge, MA) in 1997. After graduation, Niko took a year's postgraduate course at Avon Old Farms (Avon, Ct), a prestigious hockey prep school.
Dimitrakos played his college hockey for the University of Maine Black Bears, helping the team win the 1999 NCAA Championship, and making the 1999 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. In his senior year, Dimitrakos led the team in points, with 20 goals and 31 assists in 43 games. While still a UMaine Black Bear, he was drafted by the San Jose Sharks, in the 5th round (155th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
Dimitrakos received his first NHL action toward the end of the 2002–03 NHL season. Sometimes playing on the same line as NHL star Teemu Selänne, he was credited with 6 goals and 7 assists in 21 games as a rookie. The following year, he logged 9 goals and 15 assists in 68 games. Despite his modest regular season statistics, he played well in the 2004 NHL playoffs, winning the first game of the first round against St. Louis with an overtime goal and subsequently helping San Jose advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
2005–06 was a bit of a disappointing season for Dimitrakos, however, and on March 9, 2006, he was traded by the Sharks to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a draft pick. He played in 24 games for the Flyers before being demoted to their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, in October 2006. Following the 2006–07 season, Dimitrakos signed a one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators.
Prior to the 2008–09 season, Dimitrakos signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå in Sweden. Because of his Greek citizenship, he is not counted against the non-EU player limit.
In September 2011, he returned to play in North America - signing a PTO (Professional Tryout) contract with the Vancouver Canucks and attending their training camp.[1] Dimitrakos was later released by the Vancouver Canucks on September 25, 2011.[2] On October 5, 2011, Dimitrakos agreed to a 25 game PTO contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to start the 2011–12 season.[3] After 21 games with Wilkes-Barre, Dimitrakos declined an extension to remain in the AHL and returned to his previous team in the DEL, Adler Mannheim, for the remainder of the 2011–12 season.
After contributing to Mannheim's offense to end the year, Dimitrakos signed on a one-year contract with rival DEL team Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg on July 18, 2012.[4]
Awards and honors[edit]
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
All-Hockey East Second Team | 2001–02 |
- NCAA Champion with Maine Black Bears in 1999 and 2000.
- Named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team in 1999.
- Named to the NCAA East Second All-American Team in 2002.
Career statistics[edit]
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1998–99 | University of Maine | HE | 35 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1999–00 | University of Maine | HE | 32 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2000–01 | University of Maine | HE | 29 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2001–02 | University of Maine | HE | 43 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 55 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2002–03 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 21 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2003–04 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 68 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 49 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | ||
2004–05 | SCL Tigers | NLA | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 | ||
2005–06 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 45 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 19 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
2006–07 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2006–07 | Philadelphia Phantoms | AHL | 45 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2006–07 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 17 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 | ||
2007–08 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 64 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2008–09 | Skellefteå AIK | SEL | 54 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2009–10 | CSKA Moscow | KHL | 50 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
2010–11 | Modo Hockey | SEL | 22 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2010–11 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 20 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
2011–12 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 21 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2011–12 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 20 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
NHL totals | 158 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 95 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||
KHL totals | 50 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Niko Dimitrakos is also goin to Canucks camp". The Province. 2011-09-21. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ "Canucks make training camp roster moves". Yahoo! Sports. 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
- ^ "Penguins sign NHL'er Dimitrakos to PTO". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
- ^ "Dimitrakos bursts into organge" (in German). Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg. 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2012-07-18.
External links[edit]
- Niko Dimitrakos's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Niko Dimitrakos's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
- Niko Dimitrakos's player profile at TSN.ca
Awards and achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Blake Bellefeuille |
William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player 2000 |
Succeeded by Chuck Kobasew |
- 1979 births
- Adler Mannheim players
- American ice hockey right wingers
- Binghamton Senators players
- Chicago Wolves players
- Cleveland Barons (2001–06) players
- Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- HC CSKA Moscow players
- Living people
- Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey players
- Modo Hockey players
- Nationalliga A players
- People from Boston, Massachusetts
- Philadelphia Flyers players
- Philadelphia Phantoms players
- San Jose Sharks draft picks
- San Jose Sharks players
- Skellefteå AIK players
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players
- EHC Wolfsburg players
- Ice hockey people from Massachusetts
- People from Somerville, Massachusetts