George Samuel Konik (May 4, 1937 – October 21, 2016) was a Canadian-born American 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 h ...

player. He played 52 games 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 ...

with 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 ...

during the 1967–68 season and 54 games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

with the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

during the 1972–73 season. Internationally he played for the American national team at the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and 1971 World Championships.

Career

Konik was a star on the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

hockey team which won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

hockey championship in 1960 and 1961. He signed a professional contract with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

after that but did not make his NHL debut until 1967–68 after the expansion

traded for his rights. Konik made 52 appearances as a versatile role player for the Penguins that season, but drifted back to the minor professional leagues after that. Konik (who settled in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in 1964) eventually became a naturalized American citizen and joined the United States national team for the 1970 and 1971

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

tournaments; he was named best defenceman in 1970. Konik came out of retirement in 1972/73 to play a final season of major league pro hockey for the WHA

before leaving hockey for good. Konik died in the morning of October 21, 2016; his death was announced later that day by the Penguins' official Twitter account.

Business career

After hockey Konik founded George Konik Associates, a technical staffing firm in 1974 and Maple Leaf Travel in 1982.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

* Central Professional Hockey League First All-Star Team (1967) *

1970 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1970 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 37th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. 21 nations participated in three different divisions or pools: :Pool A in Stockholm, Sweden, 14–30 March 1970 :Pool B in Bucharest, Romania, 24 ...

Pool B (WEC-B) All-Star Team (1970) *Named Best Defenseman at WEC-B (1970) *Named to WCHA Top 50 Players in 50 Years *Inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame (2011) *January 31, 1968 - George Konik scores on the first penalty shot in franchise history at St. Louis beating Glenn Hall in a 9-4 Penguins loss.

References

External links

*
George Konik Associates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konik, George 1937 births 2016 deaths AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey left wingers Baltimore Clippers players Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Flin Flon Bombers players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Los Angeles Blades (WHL) players Minnesota Fighting Saints players Minnesota Rangers players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Pittsburgh Penguins players Seattle Totems (WHL) players Sportspeople from Flin Flon