Tony Hrkac

Tony Hrkac
Hrkac in 2008
Born	(1966-07-07) July 7, 1966 Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	St. Louis Blues Quebec Nordiques San Jose Sharks Chicago Blackhawks Dallas Stars Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Atlanta Thrashers
NHL draft	32nd overall, 1984 St. Louis Blues
Playing career	1987–2005 2009–2010
Website	http://www.hrkac.com

Anthony John Hrkac (/ˈhɜːrkəs/; born July 7, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Croatian and Ukrainian ancestry who played eighteen seasons of professional hockey.

Playing career

Collegiate

Hrkac was drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Hrkac played collegiately at the University of North Dakota, and was the recipient of the Hobey Baker Award for top men's collegiate hockey player during the 1986–87 season. He led the team (along with future Chicago Blackhawks teammate and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Ed Belfour) —widely known during this period as the "Hrkac Circus" (the name rhymes) — to a national championship and his 116 points that season still stands as the NCAA single-season scoring mark.

Professional

He made his National Hockey League debut with the Blues during the 1987 NHL playoffs, appearing in three games. After two-plus seasons with the Blues, he was traded (along with Greg Millen) to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Jeff Brown.

In his NHL career, Hrkac would play for the Blues, Nordiques, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Atlanta Thrashers. Hrkac's rights were also briefly owned by the Pittsburgh Penguins when they acquired him and Bobby Dollas from the Edmonton Oilers for forward Josef Beranek. On June 26, ten days after initially acquiring Hrkac, the Penguins lost Hrkac to the Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft. Less than two weeks later, Hrkac was moved; this time to the Dallas Stars. He was traded on July 9, 1998, for future considerations.

In 758 career NHL games, Hrkac scored 132 goals and added 239 assists. He also appeared in 41 playoff games, scoring seven goals and adding seven assists. Four of those seven goals came in one game against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 10, 1988, setting a St. Louis Blues record for most goals scored in a playoff game by one player. Hrkac was a member of the 1998–99 Dallas Stars team which won the Stanley Cup.

Hrkac returned to the minor leagues in 2003 after he was unable to sign with an NHL club. He was a key player on the Calder Cup champion Milwaukee Admirals in 2003–04. While there were rumors that the St. Louis Blues were seeking to sign him for one last stint with his original team, Hrkac retired after the 2004–05 season.

On March 14, 2008, Hrkac's number 26 jersey was retired by the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, through his two tenures with the club between 1994 and 2005.

Hrkac came out of retirement for the 2008–09 season, at the age of 42, by signing with the AHL's Houston Aeros on March 11, 2009.

Coaching career

On September 19, 2006, Concordia University Wisconsin officials announced that the university added Division III men's and women's hockey to its sports line-up for the 2007–2008 school year. Hrkac was named the first men's hockey coach in Concordia history serving as coach until February 2012, with a coaching record of 10-109-10 while at Concordia.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1983–84	Orillia Travelways	OPJHL		42	52	54	106	20		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	University of North Dakota	WCHA		36	18	36	54	16		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Canada	Intl		62	19	30	49	36		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	University of North Dakota	WCHA		48	46	70	116	48		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	St. Louis Blues	NHL		—	—	—	—	—		3	0	0	0	0
1987–88	St. Louis Blues	NHL		67	11	37	48	22		10	6	1	7	4
1988–89	St. Louis Blues	NHL		70	17	28	45	8		4	1	1	2	0
1989–90	St. Louis Blues	NHL		28	5	12	17	8		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		22	4	8	12	2		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Halifax Citadels	AHL		20	12	21	33	4		6	5	9	14	4
1990–91	Halifax Citadels	AHL		3	4	1	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		70	16	32	48	16		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	San Jose Sharks	NHL		22	2	10	12	4		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		18	1	2	3	6		3	0	0	0	2
1992–93	Indianapolis Ice	IHL		80	45	87	132	70		5	0	2	2	2
1993–94	Peoria Rivermen	IHL		45	30	51	81	25		1	1	2	3	0
1993–94	St. Louis Blues	NHL		36	6	5	11	8		4	0	0	0	0
1994–95	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		71	24	67	91	26		15	4	9	13	16
1995–96	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		43	14	28	42	18		5	1	3	4	4
1996–97	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		81	27	61	88	20		3	1	1	2	2
1997–98	Michigan K-Wings	IHL		20	7	15	22	6		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Dallas Stars	NHL		13	5	3	8	0		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		36	8	11	19	10		12	0	3	3	2
1998–99	Dallas Stars	NHL		69	13	14	27	26		5	0	2	2	4
1999–00	New York Islanders	NHL		7	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		60	4	7	11	8		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		80	13	25	38	29		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		80	18	26	44	12		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		80	9	17	26	14		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		68	20	39	59	20		22	8	12	20	8
2004–05	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		77	12	28	40	14		6	0	1	1	8
2008–09	Houston Aeros	AHL		12	2	2	4	4		19	4	10	14	8
2009–10	Houston Aeros	AHL		17	0	3	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				758	132	239	371	173		41	7	7	14	12

Awards and honors

Award	Year
College
All-WCHA First Team	1986–87
AHCA West First-Team All-American	1986–87
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	1987
Hobey Baker Award	1986–87
IHL
James Gatschene Memorial Trophy	1992–93
Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy	1992–93

-Won the Stanley Cup with the 1998-99 Dallas Stars

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Official website