John Hećimović (born March 31, 1984) 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 ...

-born

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n 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. He most notably played in the

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

with

KHL Medveščak The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey Sports league, league founded in 2008. It comprises ...

and

Dornbirner EC Dornbirn Bulldogs is a professional ice hockey team in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Austria, who formerly played in the Austrian Hockey League (IceHL), the first level of ice hockey in Austria, since 2012. until 2022. The club was founded in 1992 and ...

. Hećimović's ancestors hail from

Perušić Perušić is municipality (''općina'') in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. The municipality has 2,638 inhabitants, while the settlement itself has 852. The municipality is within the mountainous Lika region of central Croatia. The Kosinj valley region s ...

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

Playing career

Hećimović was selected in the 9th round (264th overall) of the

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was ...

by the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. John was drafted from

Major Junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

. In his fifth season with the Sting ( 2004–05) he was traded to the

Mississauga IceDogs The Mississauga IceDogs were a junior ice hockey team in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998 to 2007. A sale relocated the team to St. Catharines, Ontario for the 2007–08 season and they are now cal ...

to finish his junior career. 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 HYS The Hague (Dutch: "Hijs Hockij Den Haag") is the ice hockey club in The Hague, Netherlands. Founded in 1933, the club's top team plays in the Dutch/Belgian BeNe League and competes annually in the Dutch National Championships and the Dutch Cup ...

win the championship. On June 3, 2009, Hećimović signed as a free agent with Croatian team,

, joining the prestigious EBEL league. In the 2009–10 season, his first with the Bears, John scored 20 goals in 49 regular season games. At the Salata 2010 Winter Classic, Hećimović became the first scorer, and top scorer with two goals, within EBEL history to score at Salata Ice Rink in the defeat against Villach 2-3. On April 20, 2010, he was re-signed to a two-year contract as Medveščak finished seventh in the league. Hećimović moved onto a tryout at

HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Hokejsko drsalno društvo Olimpija Ljubljana, commonly referred to as HDD Olimpija or simply Olimpija, was a Slovenian professional ice hockey club from Ljubljana. They played their home games at the Tivoli Hall. Olimpija has won 13 Yugoslav ch ...

. In October 2011 he signed a one-month deal with

Anyang Halla HL Anyang () is a professional ice hockey team based in Anyang in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It is one of the founding and current members of the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH). Formed in 1994, it is the oldest professional ice hockey team in S ...

. On December 8, 2011, Hećimović was signed by the

Nippon Paper Cranes The were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan. History The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sany� ...

of the Asia League for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. After finishing the season with the

, Hećimović returned to the EBEL for one final season with

. In 2013, Hećimović played for the Croatian national team at the

IIHF World Championship Division II The IIHF World Championship Division II are an annual sports event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The division championships are played in two groups, part of the Ice Hockey World Championships From 2001 until 2011, the tw ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* *
John Hecimovic's profile at KHL MedveščakJohn Hecimovic's profile at Croatian hockeyportal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecimovic, John 1984 births Living people HL Anyang players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of Croatian descent Dornbirn Bulldogs players Florida Panthers draft picks KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Nippon Paper Cranes players Mississauga IceDogs players Pensacola Ice Pilots players People from Cambridge, Ontario Sarnia Sting players South Carolina Stingrays players Straubing Tigers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Croatia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany