Ed Jovanovski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Position Defence
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) Jovo / Jovocop / Special Ed
Height
Weight		 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
210 lb (95 kg/14 st 0 lb)
NHL Team
F. teams		 Phoenix Coyotes
Vancouver Canucks
Florida Panthers
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born June 26, 1976 (1976-06-26) (age 31),
Windsor, Ontario, CAN
NHL Draft 1st overall, 1994
Florida Panthers
Pro career 1995 – present

Ed Jovanovski (Macedonian: Ед Јовановски) (born June 26, 1976 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a Macedonian Canadian professional hockey player who plays in the National Hockey League for the Phoenix Coyotes. Former teams include the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. He is known for his smooth skating, offensive flair, on and off ice leadership and heavy body checks.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Major junior

Jovanovski played two recorded seasons of minor hockey in his hometown of Windsor before beginning his major junior career in 1993–94 in the OHL; he continued to play in his hometown for the Windsor Spitfires. In his rookie season with the Spitfires, Jovanovski led all team defencemen in scoring, with 50 points in 62 games, and was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team, as well as the OHL Second All-Star Team. That off-season, Jovanovski was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.

After being drafted, Jovanovski played one more season for Windsor and was named to the OHL First All-Star Team before joining the Florida Panthers in 1995–96. The 1994–95 season also saw Jovanovski compete for Canada at the 1995 World Juniors, where he helped Canada capture gold.

[edit] NHL

[edit] Florida Panthers

In his rookie season in the NHL, Jovanovski embarked on a cinderella run with the Florida Panthers to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, Jovanovski's only Finals appearance thus far. The Panthers were eventually swept by the Colorado Avalanche in four games, but on an individual basis, Jovanovski established himself as an NHL star in the making, earning a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination as the league's best rookie, as well as NHL All-Rookie Team honours. The following two seasons, Jovanovski would put up numbers similar to his rookie campaign.

On January 17, 1999, midway through the 1998–99 season, Jovanovski would be involved in a blockbuster, seven-player trade to the Vancouver Canucks, sending him with Dave Gagner, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes and a first round draft choice in 2000 (Nathan Smith) in exchange for superstar Pavel Bure, Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and a third round draft choice in 2000 (Robert Fried).

[edit] Vancouver Canucks

Joining the Canucks in the midst of a rebuilding period for the franchise, Jovanovski quickly established himself as a top defencemen in Vancouver's lineup. After one full season with the Canucks, Jovanovski underwent a breakout campaign in 2000–01, leading all team defencemen with 47 points in 79 games, earning him the first of three consecutive Babe Pratt trophies (the fan-voted Canucks' best defenceman). Jovanovski's contributions in 2000–01 helped the Canucks return to the playoffs after a six-year absence.

In 2002, Jovanovski competed for Team Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics, capturing gold. Jovanovski earned an assist on the gold medal winning goal, scored by Joe Sakic on a two-man advantage.

As a Canuck, Jovanovski enjoyed consistent offensive production, indicated by three consecutive 40-point campaigns (spanning from 2000–01 to 2002–03); his ability to join the rush as a defencemen complemented the Canucks' up-tempo style of play. Offensively and defensively, he was a key member of the Canucks' regular season success that culminated in a Northwest Division title in 2003–04.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Jovanovski played for Team Canada in the 2004 World Cup and 2004 World Championships, earning gold both times. In the World Cup, however, Jovanovski only played one game, injuring himself in the first game against the US.

When the NHL resumed play in 2005–06, Jovanovski was on pace for a career year, but was cut short due to a groin injury that occurred twice before the season was over. In his last season with the Canucks, he finished 2005–06 with 33 points in 44 games.

[edit] Phoenix Coyotes

Failing to come to terms with the Canucks, Jovanovski joined the Phoenix Coyotes in July 2006, signing a five-year, $32.5 million contract. His first season with the Coyotes, however, was plagued once more with injury, limiting him to 29 points in 54 games. Like the Canucks when they first acquired Jovanovski, the Coyotes also signed Jovanovski during a rebuilding period.

In 2007–08, Jovanovski set career-highs in assists and points, recording 39 and 51 respectively.

[edit] Family

Jovanovski's parents are Canadian immigrants from Macedonia. Coming from an athletic family, his father Kostadin was a professional soccer player in Yugoslavia. In 2005, Jovanovski was the subject of a documentary by Macedonian-Canadian Bill Yancoff entitled "The Late Bloomer: Ed Jovanovski", which explored his career, family tragedy and his attachments to his Macedonian heritage.

Jovanovski and his wife, Kristin, have four children — Kylie, Kyra, Cole and Coco.

[edit] Awards and achievements

OHL

  • OHL All-Rookie Team - 1994
  • OHL Second All-Star Team - 1994
  • OHL First All-Star Team - 1995

NHL

Team

[edit] Movements

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Florida Panthers NHL 70 10 11 21 137 22 1 8 9 52
1996–97 Florida Panthers NHL 61 7 16 23 172 5 0 0 0 4
1997–98 Florida Panthers NHL 81 9 14 23 158 - - - - -
1998–99 Florida Panthers NHL 41 3 13 16 82 - - - - -
1998–99 Vancouver Canucks NHL 31 2 9 11 44 - - - - -
1999–00 Vancouver Canucks NHL 75 5 21 26 54 - - - - -
2000–01 Vancouver Canucks NHL 79 12 35 47 102 4 1 1 2 0
2001–02 Vancouver Canucks NHL 82 17 31 48 101 6 1 4 5 8
2002–03 Vancouver Canucks NHL 67 6 40 46 13 14 7 1 8 22
2003–04 Vancouver Canucks NHL 56 7 16 23 64 7 0 4 4 6
2005–06 Vancouver Canucks NHL 44 8 25 33 58 - - - - -
2006–07 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 54 11 18 29 63 - - - - -
2007–08 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 80 12 39 51 73 - - - - -
NHL Totals 821 109 288 397 1221 58 10 18 28 92

[edit] International play

Medal record
Competitor for Flag of Canada Canada
Men's Ice Hockey
Olympic Games
Gold 2002 Salt Lake City
World Cup
Gold 2004 World Cup of Hockey
World Championships
Silver 2005 Austria
World Junior Championships
Gold 1995 Canada

Played for Team Canada in:

[edit] International statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1995 Canada WJC 7 2 0 2 4
1998 Canada WC 6 2 1 3 6
2000 Canada WC 9 1 1 2 8
2002 Canada Oly. 6 0 3 3 4
2004 Canada WCH 1 0 0 0 0
2005 Canada WC 9 1 2 3 8
2008 Canada WC
Junior Int'l Totals 7 2 0 2 4
Senior Int'l Totals 31 4 6 10 26

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Alexandre Daigle		 1st Overall Pick in NHL Entry Draft
1994		 Succeeded by
Bryan Berard
v • d • e
National Hockey League first overall draft picks

Monahan • Gauthier • Veilleux • Gibbs • Pagnutti • Plasse • Houle • Perreault • Lafleur • Harris • Potvin • Joly • Bridgman • Green • McCourt • Smith • Ramage • Wickenheiser • Hawerchuk • Kluzak • Lawton • Lemieux • Clark • Murphy • Turgeon • Modano • Sundin • Nolan • Lindros • Hamrlik • Daigle • Jovanovski • Berard • Phillips • Thornton • Lecavalier • Stefan • DiPietro • Kovalchuk • Nash • Fleury • Ovechkin • Crosby • Johnson • Kane
v • d • e
Florida Panthers first-round draft picks
Niedermayer • Jovanovski • Dvorak • Nilson • Brown • Shvidki • Weiss • Krajicek • Bouwmeester • Taticek • Horton • Stewart • Olesz • McArdle • Frolik • Ellerby