Nicholas Griffin Petrecki (born July 11, 1989 in

Clifton Park, New York Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2020 population was 38,029. The name is derived from an early land patent.Bits and Pieces of Saratoga County History by ...

) is an American 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 h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played one game with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

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) during the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season.

Playing career

Petrecki played two seasons with the

Omaha Lancers The Omaha Lancers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ralston, Nebraska. Previou ...

of the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

before being selected 28th overall by the

in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Previous to his seasons with the lancers he played with the CD Selects of the EJHL. Petrecki also played youth hockey for Clifton Park Youth Hockey Association (Eagles) and Troy Albany Youth Hockey Association. He played NCAA Hockey with the Boston College Eagles, who won the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship title in his first season with the team (2007–2008). During his time at BC he became well known for his strong defense as well as his heavy hits. He was known as the enforcer for BC's team, leading the Eagles in penalty minutes from 2007–2009. He also notably received a game misconduct for

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

ing a

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

player in a game at

Conte Forum The Silvio O. Conte Forum, commonly known as Conte Forum, Kelley Rink (for ice hockey games), or simply Conte, is an 8,606-seat multi-purpose arena which opened in 1988 on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, near Boston, Massachusett ...

. Additionally, he chipped in on offense, scoring two goals including the overtime game winner in BC's 2008

Beanpot A beanpot is a deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes. Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though some are made of other materials, such as cast iron. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evap ...

Championship Game victory over Harvard, and scoring a goal to help push BC to a comeback victory over the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. On March 30, 2009 Petrecki signed an NHL contract with the

and was assigned to the

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played t ...

(AHL). During the 2013–14 season, his fifth with the Worcester Sharks, Petrecki was reassigned on loan by San Jose to fellow AHL club, the Rochester Americans on March 12, 2014. On August 19, 2014, he opted to continue his career with the Amerks in signing as a free agent to a one-year AHL contract.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrecki, Nick 1989 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Chicago Wolves players Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey players from New York (state) Indy Fuel players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Omaha Lancers players Rochester Americans players Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Worcester Sharks players