Pavol Demitra
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| Position | Center |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
ft in
( m) 206 lb (94 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
Minnesota Wild Los Angeles Kings St. Louis Blues Ottawa Senators |
| Nationality |  Slovakia |
| Born | November 29 1974 , 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 Slovakian professional ice hockey player. He plays left wing and centre. He is currently playing for the Minnesota Wild.
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 defenseman Jaroslav Modry and both player 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."
Awards
- Voted Best player overall in Slovakia for the year 2003
- Lady Byng Memorial Trophy award winner in 2000
- Played in the 2000 NHL All-Star game
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
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 | ||||
International Play
- Played for Team Slovakia in the 1996 Ice Hockey World Championships
- Played for Team Slovakia in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
- Bronze medal with Slovakia in 2003 Ice Hockey World Championships
- Played for Team Slovakia in the 2004 Ice Hockey World Championships
- Played for Team Slovakia in the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championships
- Played for Team Slovakia in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino
- Team Slovakia - 55 caps / 19 goals
References
See also
| 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 TBD in November 2007 |
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