Michael Zigomanis (born January 17, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Zigomanis was drafted twice. 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 ...

he was selected 64th overall by the Buffalo Sabres, but was not signed. He re-entered for the

2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are M ...

and was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes 46th overall. Zigomanis was born in

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

, Ontario, but grew up in Markham, Ontario.

Early life

He was born to

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

parents who emigrated to Canada from the Kastoria, Greece. As a youth, he played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from

. Zigomanis attended Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy in Markham, graduating in 2000.

Playing career

Zigomanis was originally drafted in the 2nd round, 64th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the

. Zigomanis agreed to terms with the Sabres just before the 5 pm deadline on June 1, 2001, but there was a typographical error in his contract that was faxed to the league offices. By the time the error was discovered, the deadline had passed, and the NHL ruled that he would have to re-enter the NHL draft, as he had not been signed before the deadline. He re-entered the draft and was selected 46th overall by Carolina Hurricanes in 2001. Zigomanis has played 134 career NHL games, scoring 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points. Zigomanis played four seasons of Junior Hockey with the

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Frontenacs play home games at Leon's Centre, which opened in 2008. Team history predates the OHA, back to 1945, to a te ...

of the Ontario Hockey League. He represented Canada at the 2001 World Junior Hockey Championships. Known for having terrific vision, soft hands and an adept passing touch, combined with great skill on the faceoff, Zigomanis molded his role as a third-line playmaker. The Coyotes signed him to a contract extension through the 2008–09 season on February 16, 2007. On October 9, 2008, he was traded to the Penguins for future considerations. While in Pittsburgh, Zigomanis provided faceoff and penalty killing expertise. He signed a professional tryout with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on October 19, 2009. Zigomanis played only seven games but managed to score 13 points (all assists) before leaving for Europe on November 10, 2009, signing a contract for the rest of the 2009–10 season with

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Name The club is named ...

of the Swedish

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

. On July 15, 2010, Zigomanis signed as a free agent to return to Toronto, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Maple Leafs. On July 12, 2011, Zigomanis signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth $665,000 at the

NHL 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 ...

level and $300,000 at the AHL level. After recording professional career highs of 61 points during the 2011–12 season, Zigomanis opted to remain with the Marlies and was re-signed to a one-year AHL contract as a free agent on July 30, 2012. On July 10, 2013, Zigomanis signed an AHL-only contract with the Rochester Americans, the minor-league affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, the team that drafted him in 1999.

Brand ambassador

After joining the Toronto Maple Leafs Cheetah energy drinks CEO

Frank D'Angelo Frank D'Angelo (born April 23, 1959) is a Canadian entrepreneur in the food and restaurant industry, and in entertainment. D'Angelo has made several feature-length films through his In Your Ear Productions. He is also the founder of D'Angelo Br ...

signing him to a promotional contract. But after Zigomanis was demoted to the club's minor league affiliate, and nude photos of the player which he had sent to an ex-girlfriend surfaced online, D'Angelo, citing breach of contract for allegedly not living up to a

morals clause A morality clause (also known as a morals clause, bad boy clause or bad girl clause) is a provision within instruments of a contract which curtail, or restrain, or proscribe certain behavior of individuals or party(s) to the contract. A moral clau ...

in the contract, released Zigomanis from his contract as a " brand ambassador" for Cheetah. Zigomanis sued for breach of contract and won a settlement.

Current career

He now works for Toronto sports radio station

Sportsnet 590 The Fan CJCL (590 AM, '' Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toro ...

co-hosting the morning show.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

** * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zigomanis, Michael 1981 births Living people Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia Buffalo Sabres draft picks Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian people of Greek descent Canadian people of Macedonian descent Carolina Hurricanes draft picks Carolina Hurricanes players Djurgårdens IF Hockey players Ice hockey people from Ontario Kingston Frontenacs players Lowell Lock Monsters players Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players Rochester Americans players San Antonio Rampage players Stanley Cup champions Sportspeople from Markham, Ontario Sportspeople from North York St. Louis Blues players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden