Mikhail Georgievich Donika (russian: Михаил Георгиевич Доника; born May 15, 1979) is a Russian ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the 9th round, 272nd overall by the Dallas Stars in the

1999 NHL Entry Draft The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in tale ...

, the last selection of that year's draft.

Professional play

Donika played professional hockey in Russia for Torpedo Yaroslavl of the Russian Superleague starting in 1997. He was not drafted by a National Hockey League (NHL) team in his first year of eligibility, but in 1999, he was selected by the Dallas Stars with the last overall pick in the ninth round (272nd overall) of the 1999 NHL Draft. Donika did not play professional hockey in North America at any level, instead playing in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. As well as Torpedo Yaroslavl, Donika played in the RSL for

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

, Amur Khabarovsk, Spartak Moscow, Molot-Prikamye Perm, HC Sibir Novosibirsk, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Lada Togliatti.

International play

Donika represented Russia in international competition at the junior level. He played in three consecutive world junior tournaments, playing in 20 games total, and recording three assists. At the 1997 World Junior Championships, he helped Russia capture the bronze medal. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, Russia lost to Finland in overtime during the gold medal game, settling for silver. The 1999 World Junior Championship was Donika's last year of junior eligibility. At the tournament in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Donika and his Russian teammates captured the gold medal by defeating Canada in overtime. With the victory, Donika and his teammate

Roman Lyashenko Roman Yurievich Lyashenko (russian: Роман Юрьевич Ляшенко; May 1, 1979 – July 5, 2003) was a Russian ice hockey player. He played professionally in North America for the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers of the National Hock ...

became the only two players in the history of the World Junior Championships to capture gold, silver and bronze medals.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donika, Mikhail 1979 births Amur Khabarovsk players Dallas Stars draft picks HC Dynamo Moscow players HC Lada Togliatti players HC Sibir Novosibirsk players HC Spartak Moscow players Living people Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players Russian ice hockey defencemen Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players Ice hockey people from Yaroslavl