Pavol Demitra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position Center
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) Demo
Height
Weight
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
200 lb (91 kg/14 st 4 lb)
NHL Team
F. teams
Minnesota Wild
Los Angeles Kings
St. Louis Blues
Ottawa Senators
Nationality Flag of Slovakia Slovakia
Born November 29, 1974 (1974-11-29) (age 33),
Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia
NHL Draft 227th overall, 1993
Ottawa Senators
Pro career 1993 – present

Pavol Demitra (Born November 29, 1974 in Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player. He plays all offensive positions. He is currently playing for the Minnesota Wild.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Pavol Demitra currently plays for the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Ninth Round, 227th overall. Prior to his NHL career, he has played for the Dukla Trenčín of the Czechoslovak Extraliga, AHL Prince Edward Island Senators and IHL Grand Rapids Griffins.

Demitra was signed to a three-year contract prior to the 2005–06 NHL season by the Los Angeles Kings. On June 24, 2006, the day of the NHL draft, Demitra was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for highly-touted American prospect, Patrick O'Sullivan, and Minnesota's first-round selection (17th overall; Kings chose the 6'1", 192 pound American center, Trevor Lewis).

Demitra joined the Wild and was placed on a line with best friend Marian Gaborik. In the first seven games of the season Demitra and Gaborik were quite productive, averaging a point per game, but when Gaborik went down with a groin injury, his production slipped. When Gaborik returned, he, alongside Pavol Demitra, ammased a large amount of Minnesotas goals and points.

Playing for St. Louis Blues in 1999–2000 Demitra made a significant gesture toward his teammate Scott Young in a last game of regular season against Los Angeles Kings. Young needed one goal to launch his 300 000$ bonus for scoring 25 goals (he had 24 at the time). Demitra himself was in pursuit of 90 points plateau for which he would collect 500 000$ in bonuses (he had 89 at the time). In the waning seconds of the game Demitra rushed toward an open net. He did not shoot, instead he passed the puck to Young. However Young's shot was blocked by defenceman Jaroslav Modry and both players ran short of the bonuses. Asked by reporters after the game why he gambled his 500 000$ Demitra simply said:" Scott just needed this goal." General Manager Larry Pleau still awarded both players with bonuses.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Records

  • In 2001–02 finished seventh in league scoring with 78 points
  • In 2002–03 finished sixth in league scoring with 93 points
  • 5th place on St. Louis Blues all-time scoring list with 204 goals and 289 assists

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 ZTS Dubnica CSFR-2 28 13 10 23 12 -- -- -- -- --
1992–93 ZTS Dubnica CSFR-2 4 3 0 3 2 -- -- -- -- --
1992–93 HC Dukla Trenčín CSFR 46 10 18 28 -- -- -- -- -- --
1993–94 Ottawa Senators NHL 12 1 1 2 4 -- -- -- -- --
1993–94 Prince Edward Island AHL 41 18 23 41 8 -- -- -- -- --
1994–95 Prince Edward Island AHL 61 26 48 74 23 5 0 7 7 0
1994–95 Ottawa Senators NHL 16 4 3 7 0 -- -- -- -- --
1995–96 Ottawa Senators NHL 31 7 10 17 6 -- -- -- -- --
1995–96 Prince Edward Island AHL 48 28 53 81 44 -- -- -- -- --
1996–97 HC Dukla Trenčín SVK 1 1 1 2 -- -- -- -- -- --
1996–97 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 22 8 13 21 10 -- -- -- -- --
1996–97 St. Louis Blues NHL 8 3 0 3 2 6 1 3 4 6
1996–97 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 42 20 30 50 24 -- -- -- -- --
1997–98 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 22 30 52 22 10 3 3 6 2
1998–99 St. Louis Blues NHL 82 37 52 89 16 13 5 4 9 4
1999–00 St. Louis Blues NHL 71 28 47 75 8 -- -- -- -- --
2000–01 St. Louis Blues NHL 44 20 25 45 16 15 2 4 6 2
2001–02 St. Louis Blues NHL 82 35 43 78 46 10 4 7 11 6
2002–03 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 36 57 93 32 7 2 4 6 2
2003–04 St. Louis Blues NHL 68 23 35 58 18 5 1 0 1 4
2004–05 HC Dukla Trenčín SVK 54 28 54 82 39 12 4 13 17 14
2005–06 Los Angeles Kings NHL 58 25 37 62 42 -- -- -- -- --
2006–07 Minnesota Wild NHL 71 25 39 64 28 -- -- -- -- --
NHL Totals 682 266 379 645 240 66 18 25 43 26
AHL Totals 150 72 124 196 75 5 0 7 7 0
IHL Totals 64 28 43 71 34 -- -- -- -- --
CSFR Totals 32 16 10 26 -- -- -- -- -- --

[edit] International Play

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Wayne Gretzky
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
2000
Succeeded by
Joe Sakic
Preceded by
Mark Parrish
Minnesota Wild captains
October 2007
Succeeded by
Brian Rolston