| Niko Dimitrakos | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Dimitrakos with theBinghamton Senators in 2007 | |||
| Born | (1979-05-21)May 21, 1979 (age 46) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | San Jose Sharks SCL Tigers Philadelphia Flyers Skellefteå AIK CSKA Moscow Modo Hockey Adler Mannheim Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg Ilves | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | 155th overall,1999 San Jose Sharks | ||
| Playing career | 2002–2014 | ||
Nicholas Dimitrakos (Greek:Νίκο Δημητράκος; born May 21, 1979) is aGreek-American former professionalice hockeyright winger who played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) with theSan Jose Sharks andPhiladelphia Flyers.
Dimitrakos was first introduced to hockey at age four by his uncle, and has loved and played it ever since.[citation needed] As a youth, he played in the 1993Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with aminor ice hockey team fromBeverly, Massachusetts.[1] He graduated fromMatignon High School (Cambridge, MA) in 1997. After graduation, Niko took a year's postgraduate course atAvon Old Farms (Avon, CT), a prestigious hockey prep school.[citation needed]
Dimitrakos played his college hockey for theUniversity 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 theSan Jose Sharks, in the 5th round (155th overall) of the1999 NHL Entry Draft.[citation needed]
Dimitrakos received his first NHL action toward the end of the2002–03 NHL season. Sometimes playing on the same line as NHL starTeemu 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.[citation needed][2]
2005–06 was a bit of a disappointing season for Dimitrakos, however, and on March 9, 2006, he was traded by the Sharks to thePhiladelphia Flyers in exchange for a draft pick. He played in 24 games for the Flyers before being demoted to theirAHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, in October 2006. Following the 2006–07 season, Dimitrakos signed a one-year contract with theOttawa Senators.[3]
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.[citation needed]
In September 2011, he returned to play in North America - signing a PTO (Professional Tryout) contract with theVancouver Canucks and attending their training camp.[4] Dimitrakos was later released by the Vancouver Canucks on September 25, 2011.[5] On October 5, 2011, Dimitrakos agreed to a 25-game PTO contract with theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to start the2011–12 season.[6] 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 the2011–12 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.[7]
In January 2014, Dimitrakos signed a contract for the rest of the2013–14 season with Finnish club,Ilves.[8] He contributed with 7 points in 9 games before opting to retire from professional hockey after 12 seasons.[citation needed]
Dimitrakos represent United States at the2003 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.[9]
| 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 | ||
| 2012–13 | Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg | DEL | 13 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Ilves | Liiga | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 158 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 95 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| KHL totals | 50 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | United States | WC | 13th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player 2000 | Succeeded by |