Tom Kostopoulos

Tom Kostopoulos
Born	January 24, 1979 (1979-01-24) Mississauga, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Calgary Flames Pittsburgh Penguins Los Angeles Kings Montreal Canadiens Carolina Hurricanes
NHL Draft	204th overall, 1999 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	2001–present

Thomas Kostopoulos (born January 24, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kostopoulos previously played with the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Kostopoulos is of Greek descent.

Playing career

In his early years, Tom graduated from Fairwind Senior Public School in 1993. After playing much of his minor hockey in the GTHL with the Toronto Marlboros and Mississauga Reps, Kostopoulos played 1 year with the Brampton Capitals of the OJHL (OHA). He was a 2nd round pick (18th overall) in the 1996 OHL Priority Selection by the London Knights.

Kostopoulos was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Before that he played junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. He made his professional minor-league hockey debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. Kostopoulos made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the 2001-02 season and enjoyed his best season so far with Pittsburgh in 2003-04. During the 2005 off season, he played with the Manchester Monarchs, having signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Kings. On July 3, 2007 he signed a free-agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

Kostopoulos is known as the team joker in the dressing room. He once sewed someone's keys inside their pocket. The joker stories from the team are not limited to this; in fact there are numerous other stories that have surfaced around the team.

Kostopoulos's nickname during his tenure for the London Knights was "Tommy Non-stopoulos" due to his extraordinary on-ice work ethic.

On January 22, 2008, he recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in a 8-2 victory against the Boston Bruins. His fight victim was Shane Hnidy.

On November 10, 2008, Kostopoulos was suspended for three games for a hit on Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Van Ryn during the game between the teams on November 8. He was given a boarding major penalty and ejected from the game. Kostopoulos will also forfeit US-$ 33,000 in pay. Kostopoulos responded about the incident by saying," First and foremost, I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn...this is an unfortunate turn of events. I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck. I didn't anticipate him turning and couldn't stop. I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well. I never intend on injuring another player. I feel bad. I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible." NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in announcing the suspension that while Van Ryn was not in a defenseless position, his injuries—including a concussion--were significant enough to warrant suspending Kostopoulos.

Personal life

Kostopoulos was born in Mississauga, Ontario, on January 24, 1979. He named his brother Chris, a coach in Texas, as his biggest influence in hockey. He and his wife Lisa have two children: Lily and Luc. His brother, Chris, has three sons, Cameron, Tyler, and Josh Kostopoulos. Chris is married to Wendy Kostopoulos. Tom has one half sister, Laurie Bodley. They spend their offseasons in Oakville, Ontario.

Family

His mother is Cheryl Kostopoulos, who is of English heritage, and his father is George Kostopoulos, who is Greek.

He is of Greek descent, and in 2008 was the grand marshal of the Hellenic Community of Montreal's Greek Independence Day parade. Kostopoulos is involved with the Canadian Cancer Society as well as Garth Brooks' Teammates For Kids Foundation.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996–97	London Knights	OHL		64	13	12	25	67		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	London Knights	OHL		66	24	26	50	108		16	6	4	10	26
1998–99	London Knights	OHL		66	27	60	87	114		25	19	16	35	32
1999–00	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		76	26	32	58	121		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		80	16	36	52	120		21	3	9	12	6
2001–02	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		11	1	2	3	9		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		70	27	26	53	112		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		71	21	42	63	131		6	1	2	3	7
2002–03	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		8	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		21	7	13	20	43		24	7	16	23	3
2003–04	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		60	9	13	22	67		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Manchester Monarchs	AHL		64	25	46	71	99		6	0	7	7	10
2005–06	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		76	8	14	22	100		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		76	7	15	22	73		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		67	7	6	13	113		12	3	1	4	6
2008–09	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		78	8	14	22	106		4	0	1	1	4
2009–10	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		82	8	13	21	106		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		17	1	3	4	30		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Calgary Flames	NHL		59	7	7	14	44		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				534	56	88	144	648		16	3	2	5	10

External links

• Tom Kostopoulos's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Tom Kostopoulos's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• {http://thebiofile.com/2011/12/biofile-with-tom-kostopoulos/ Tom Kostopoulos bio - profile interview}