Alexander Stojanov (born April 25, 1973) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player of Macedonian descent who spent three seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He is best known for his trade from Vancouver to Pittsburgh in exchange for

Markus Näslund Markus Sten Näslund (born 30 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former general manager for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, formerly named Elitserien). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) f ...

, in what is recognized as one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the NHL. Selected seventh overall in the

1991 NHL Entry Draft The 1991 NHL Entry Draft was the 29th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. A total of 264 players were drafted. The worst team in the previous 1990–91 season, the Quebec Nordiques, was give ...

, he is now widely regarded as a

draft bust A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team sele ...

Playing career

Born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, Stojanov was a first round selection of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, chosen one selection after future superstar

Peter Forsberg Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...

was taken by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. The 6'4" Stojanov had crafted a fearsome reputation in junior hockey, and impressed scouts by pummeling the much-hyped

Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals pr ...

in a fight during their draft year. He also possessed a soft pair of hands and a nice scoring touch around the net, scoring 25 goals for the

Hamilton Dukes The Dukes of Hamilton were a junior ice hockey team that represented Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons from 1989 to 1991. History In October 1988, with the Toronto Marlboros losing hundreds of thousands of d ...

, and earned comparisons to

Bob Probert Robert Alan Probert (June 5, 1965 – July 5, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. Probert played for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. While a successful player by some measures, including bei ...

, considered the NHL's top enforcer at the time. Stojanov's Duke team then relocated to

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

and became the Storm where he had an injury-plagued 1991–92 campaign. Stojanov's club went 4–51–11 in what amounted to an expansion team, however, the first rounder only played in 33 of 66 games that season. In 1992–93, Stojanov was traded midway through the season to the Newmarket Royals for Ryan Vanden Bussche, Mike Prokopec and a draft choice. Stojanov collected 55 points in 35 games as the rebuilding Storm moved the then 19-year-old for youth. He played parts of the 1992–93 season in Guelph with 16-year-old rookie,

Jeff O'Neill Jeffrey O'Neill (born February 23, 1976) is a Canadian broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played 12 seasons with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. P ...

and sophomore

Todd Bertuzzi Todd Bertuzzi (born February 2, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as a power forward, he has played in the NHL for the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, ...

. At the conclusion of the season, he turned pro and joined the

Hamilton Canucks The Hamilton Canucks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They played in Hamilton, Ontario, at Copps Coliseum. They were the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The tea ...

, Vancouver's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

affiliate, and impressed by scoring four goals in his first four games. However, a shoulder injury would require major surgical reconstruction and he missed almost the entire 1993–94 campaign as a result, and never again showed the offensive touch he had earlier in his career. In 1994–95, Stojanov recorded 18 goals and 270 penalty minutes for the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

, and earned himself a four-game callup to the NHL. He was also kept on Vancouver's roster for the NHL playoffs, and appeared in the first five playoff games of his career. For the 1995–96 campaign, Stojanov cracked the Canucks' roster full-time as the team's enforcer, appearing in 58 games and recording a single assist. A notable event during this season was a fight with

Kelly Chase Kelly Wayne Chase (born October 25, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 458 games in the National Hockey League, and current radio sportscaster. He formerly served as the color commentator for St. Louis Blues radio ...

of the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

. However, at the trade deadline, Stojanov was dealt to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in exchange for

. He scored his first NHL goal in his Penguin debut, and finished the year with a goal and two points in 68 games between Vancouver and Pittsburgh, along with 130 penalty minutes. In 1996–97, Stojanov spent the entire year in Pittsburgh, but appeared in only 35 games, recording one goal and four assists for five points along with 79 penalty minutes. By the 1997–98 season, he found himself back in the AHL, assigned to the Penguins' farm team in Syracuse, and would never play in the NHL again. Released by Pittsburgh in 1998, Stojanov toiled for two more years in the International Hockey League and then for two years with the

New Mexico Scorpions The New Mexico Scorpions were a Central Hockey League (CHL) team located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The team was established in 1996 as a part of the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL). In 2001, the WPHL merged with the CHL. On July 2, 20 ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

before retiring in 2002. He finished his NHL career with totals of two goals and five assists for seven points in 107 NHL games, along with 222 penalty minutes. While Stojanov was considered a major disappointment for a seventh overall pick during his time in Vancouver, he is now best known as the player dealt for

. Näslund would go on to captain the Canucks, and become the club's all-time leading scorer, remaining with the team more than a decade after the trade.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stojanov, Alek 1973 births Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of Macedonian descent Detroit Vipers players Guelph Storm players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hamilton Canucks players Hamilton Dukes players Ice hockey people from Ontario Living people Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Mexico Scorpions (CHL) players New Mexico Scorpions (WPHL) players Newmarket Royals players Pittsburgh Penguins players Sportspeople from Windsor, Ontario Syracuse Crunch players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players