John Hecimovic

John Hecimovic
Born (1984-03-31) March 31, 1984 (age 40)
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for South Carolina Stingrays
Straubing Tigers
Pensacola Ice Pilots
HYS The Hague
KHL Medveščak
Dornbirner EC
National team  Croatia
NHL draft 264th overall, 2003
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2005–2013

John Hećimović (born March 31, 1984) is a Canadian-born Croatian former professional ice hockey player. He most notably played in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga with KHL Medveščak and Dornbirner EC. Hećimović's ancestors hail from Perušić in Lika.[1]

Playing career

Hećimović was selected in the 9th round (264th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers. John was drafted from Major Junior Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. In his fifth season with the Sting (2004–05) he was traded to the Mississauga IceDogs to finish his junior career.[2]

In his career Hećimović has played in the 2nd Austrian, German, and Swiss league. In the 2008–09 season he was the leading scorer of the Dutch Championship, helping HYS The Hague win the title. On June 3, 2009, Hećimović signed as a free agent with Croatian team, KHL Medveščak, joining the prestigious EBEL league.[3] In the 2009–10 season, his first with the Bears, John scored 20 goals in 49 regular season games. At the 2010 Šalata Winter Classic, Hećimović became the first and top scorer with two goals, within EBEL history to score at Šalata in the defeat against Villach 2-3.[4] On April 20, 2010, he was re-signed to a two-year contract as Medveščak finished seventh in the league.[5]

Hećimović moved onto a tryout at HDD Olimpija Ljubljana. In October 2011 he signed a one-month deal with Anyang Halla.[6]

On December 8, 2011, Hećimović was signed by the Nippon Paper Cranes of the Asia League for the remainder of the 2011–12 season.[7] After finishing the season with the Nippon Paper Cranes, Hećimović returned to the EBEL for one final season with Dornbirner EC.

In 2013, Hećimović played for the Croatian national team at the IIHF World Championship Division II.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Sarnia Sting OHL 62 6 11 17 27 4 0 0 0 5
2001–02 Sarnia Sting OHL 65 30 19 49 64 5 1 3 4 2
2002–03 Sarnia Sting OHL 60 30 32 62 112 6 4 2 6 6
2003–04 Sarnia Sting OHL 60 30 32 62 98 5 2 3 5 6
2004–05 Sarnia Sting OHL 12 7 4 11 18 — — — — —
2004–05 Mississauga IceDogs OHL 39 19 14 33 99 5 2 2 4 2
2005–06 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 24 5 10 15 40 — — — — —
2005–06 Straubing Tigers GER.2 11 4 3 7 37 3 1 0 1 29
2006–07 Pensacola Ice Pilots ECHL 44 23 32 55 66 — — — — —
2007–08 Pensacola Ice Pilots ECHL 5 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2007–08 HYS The Hague NED 25 23 23 46 21 3 2 1 3 41
2008–09 HYS The Hague NED 16 14 7 21 26 10 5 11 16 10
2009–10 KHL Medveščak AUT 49 20 19 39 38 11 3 7 10 4
2009–10 KHL Medveščak Zagreb II CRO — — — — — 1 0 1 1 0
2010–11 KHL Medveščak AUT 47 22 26 48 50 5 2 2 4 2
2010–11 KHL Medveščak Zagreb II CRO — — — — — 1 3 1 4 0
2011–12 Anyang Halla ALH 10 5 1 6 4 — — — — —
2011–12 Nippon Paper Cranes ALH 14 5 8 13 10 3 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Dornbirner EC AUT 23 4 8 12 14 — — — — —
ECHL totals 73 28 44 72 106 — — — — —
AUT totals 119 46 53 99 102 16 5 9 14 6

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2012 Croatia OGQ 2 1 4 5 0
2013 Croatia WC D2A 5 6 6 12 0
Senior totals 7 7 10 17 0

References

  1. ^ "Canadian-Croatian Hecimovic new re-enforcement for Bears". indexa.hr (in Croatian). 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  2. ^ "Sting finalize deals from 2004–05". Sarnia Sting. 2005-08-02. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  3. ^ "John Hecimovic in Medveščak". net.hr (in Croatian). 2009-06-03. Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
  4. ^ "Hit was clean". sportnet.hr (in Croatian). 2010-01-30. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  5. ^ "John Hecimovic and Joel Prpic extend contracts with Medveščak". hrhkej.net (in Croatian). 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  6. ^ NEW WARRIOR
  7. ^ "Halla recruit John Hecimovic". Anyang Halla. 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  8. ^ "Team Roster - Croatia" (PDF). IIHF. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
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