Joel Prpic
| Joel Prpic | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | September 25, 1974 Sudbury, ON, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| EBEL team Former teams |
KHL Medveščak NHL Boston Bruins Colorado Avalanche AL Seibu Prince Rabbits |
| NHL Draft | 233rd overall, 1993 Boston Bruins |
| Playing career | 1997–present |
Joel Melvin Prpic (Croatian surname: Prpić) (born September 25, 1974) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player of Croatian ancestry[1] who is currently playing with Croatian team, KHL Medveščak Zagreb, in the Austrian Hockey League.
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[edit] Playing career
As a towering 6 foot forward for the Waterloo Siskins in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association Prpic was selected in the ninth round, 233rd overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Opting to pursue an education Prpic was recruited to play collegiate hockey with St. Lawrence University in the ECAC.
After his senior year and developing as one of the biggest forwards in hockey, Joel turned pro in the 1997–98 season with the Bruins AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Scoring an effective 35 points in 73 games as a checking forward, Prpic made his NHL debut in a solitary game with the Bruins, a playoff-clinching win, against the New York Islanders.
Returned to Providence for the following season, it was not until the 1999–2000 season in which Joel played a further 14 games with Boston. He recorded his first point on a Cameron Mann goal and had his first multi-point game with another assist on a goal to Steve Heinze in a 5-4 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 4, 2000.[2]
On August 29, 2000, Joel then signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Colorado Avalanche. He was sent to AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for the majority of the 2000–01 season, but played in three games for the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche, recording two penalty minutes against the Phoenix Coyotes in a 2-1 victory on November 29, 2000.[2] Prpic left the Avalanche in the off-season and signed a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks on August 15, 2001.
In the 2001–02 season, Prpic never appeared with the Sharks but led the Sharks affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, with 80 games and scoring a professional high 48 points. Prpic left North America the following season having played in just 18 career games in the NHL, 15 for the Boston Bruins and three for the Colorado Avalanche, before joining Kokudo Keikaku Tokyo of the Asia League in the 2002–03 season. Prpic was one of the first notable players to join the developing Asian league and had held the record as the tallest to ever play in the League until Steve McKenna joined the league for the 2006–07 season.[3] He holds the records for the most penalty minutes in a season by receiving 175 in the 2006–07 season.[4]
After his seventh season with the Prince Rabbits organization in the Asia League, Joel left to sign a one-year deal as a free agent with Croat team, KHL Medveščak, of the Erste Bank Eishockey League on September 10, 2009.[5] In signing with Zagreb, Prpic returned to the roots of his ancestors, with eligibility and ambition to play with the Croatian national team.[1]
In the 2009–10 season, Prpic scored 43 points in a team-leading 54 games. On April 20, 2010, he was re-signed to a two-year contract as Medveščak finished seventh in the league.[6] Prpic has expressed desire to end his career with KHL Medveščak.[7]
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Lawrence University | ECAC | 31 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | St. Lawrence University | ECAC | 32 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | St. Lawrence University | ECAC | 32 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | St. Lawrence University | ECAC | 34 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 73 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 75 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 163 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 48 | ||
| 1999–00 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 70 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 143 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 58 | ||
| 1999–00 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 74 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 128 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | ||
| 2000–01 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 80 | 10 | 38 | 48 | 174 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Kokudo | JIHL | 29 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Kokudo | AL | 16 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Kokudo | AL | 34 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 170 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 24 | ||
| 2005–06 | Kokudo | AL | 16 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 48 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 54 | ||
| 2006–07 | Seibu Prince Rabbits | AL | 24 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 175 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 16 | ||
| 2007–08 | Seibu Prince Rabbits | AL | 27 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 147 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Seibu Prince Rabbits | AL | 35 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 174 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 48 | ||
| 2009–10 | KHL Medveščak | EBEL | 54 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 143 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 46 | ||
| 2010–11 | KHL Medveščak | EBEL | 51 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 163 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Striker of Croation descent has announced fight for fifth position and march to the EBHL Championship" (in Croatian). www.jutarnji.hr. 2010-01-19. http://www.jutarnji.hr/joel-prpic--karijeru-zelim-zavrsiti-u-zagrebu/499837/. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
- ^ a b "Legendsofhockey- Joel Prpic". LegendsofHockey.net. 2010-07-20. http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=11173. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ Kevin Dupont (2006-12-19). "Where Rising Sun Meets Ice". Boston Herald. http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/articles/2006/11/19/where_rising_sun_meets_ice/. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- ^ "Asia League Records". Asia League. http://www.alhockey.com/games/record/. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ "KHL Medveščak to challenge with new additions" (in Croatian). hrhokej.et. 2009-09-10. http://www.hrhokej.net/ebel/clanci/502-medveak-pred-izazovom.html. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ "John Hecimovic and Joel Prpic extend contracts with Medveščak" (in Croatian). hrhkej.net. 2010-04-20. http://www.hrhokej.net/ebel/clanci/842-john-heimovi-i-joel-prpi-produili-vjernost-medveaku.html. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ "Joel Prpic: Karijeru želim završiti u Zagrebu" (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. 2010-01-19. http://www.jutarnji.hr/joel-prpic--karijeru-zelim-zavrsiti-u-zagrebu/499837/. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joel Prpic |
- 1974 births
- Boston Bruins draft picks
- Boston Bruins players
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Canadian people of Croatian descent
- Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Hershey Bears players
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- KHL Medveščak players
- Kokudo Keikaku players
- Living people
- People from Greater Sudbury
- Providence Bruins players
- St. Lawrence Saints men's ice hockey players
