Anthony John Hrkac (; born July 7, 1966) 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 ...

former professional ice hockey player of Croatian and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

ancestry who played eighteen seasons of professional hockey.

Playing career

Collegiate

Hrkac was drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...

. Hrkac played collegiately at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

, and was the recipient of the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton University ...

for top men's collegiate hockey player during the 1986–87 season. He led the team (along with future Chicago Blackhawks teammate and

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

inductee

Ed Belfour Edward John Belfour (born April 21, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Belfour was born in Carman, Manitoba and grew up playing hockey. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of ...

) —widely known during this period as the "Hrkac Circus" (the name rhymes) — to a national championship and his 116 points that season still stands as the NCAA single-season scoring mark.

Professional

He made his

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 ...

debut with the Blues during the 1987 NHL playoffs, appearing in three games. After two-plus seasons with the Blues, he was traded (along with

Greg Millen Gregory H. Millen (born June 25, 1957) is a Canadian hockey commentator-analyst and a former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons for six teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently a colour commentator on ''Ho ...

) to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Jeff Brown. In his

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 ...

career, Hrkac would play for the Blues, Nordiques,

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 ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

, Dallas Stars,

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

. Hrkac's rights were also briefly owned by 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 ...

when they acquired him and

Bobby Dollas Robert H. Dollas (born January 31, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Dollas played defence for the Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, Detroit Red Wings, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary ...

from the Edmonton Oilers for forward

Josef Beranek Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...

. On June 26, ten days after initially acquiring Hrkac, the Penguins lost Hrkac to the Nashville Predators in the

1998 NHL Expansion Draft The 1998 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 1998–99 season, the Nashville Predators. The draft took place on June 26, 1998, in Buffalo, N ...

.ProSportsTransactions.com: Tony Hrkac Transaction History
/ref> Less than two weeks later, Hrkac was moved; this time to the Dallas Stars. He was traded on July 9, 1998, for future considerations. In 758 career NHL games, Hrkac scored 132 goals and added 239 assists. He also appeared in 41 playoff games, scoring seven goals and adding seven assists. Four of those seven goals came in one game against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 10, 1988, setting a St. Louis Blues record for most goals scored in a playoff game by one player. Hrkac was a member of the 1998–99 Dallas Stars team which won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

. Hrkac returned to the minor leagues in 2003 after he was unable to sign with an NHL club. He was a key player on the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

champion Milwaukee Admirals in 2003–04. While there were rumors that the St. Louis Blues were seeking to sign him for one last stint with his original team, Hrkac retired after the 2004–05 season. On March 14, 2008, Hrkac's number 26 jersey was retired by the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, through his two tenures with the club between 1994 and 2005. Hrkac came out of retirement for the 2008–09 season, at the age of 42, by signing with the AHL's Houston Aeros on March 11, 2009.

Coaching career

On September 19, 2006, Concordia University Wisconsin officials announced that the university added Division III men's and women's hockey to its sports line-up for the 2007–2008 school year. Hrkac was named the first men's hockey coach in Concordia history serving as coach until February 2012, with a coaching record of 10-109-10 while at Concordia.Hrkac out as Concordia hockey coach
/ref>

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hrkac, Tony 1966 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of Croatian descent Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Chicago Blackhawks players Dallas Stars players Edmonton Oilers players Halifax Citadels players Hobey Baker Award winners Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Thunder Bay Indianapolis Ice players Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Milwaukee Admirals players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players New York Islanders players Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players Quebec Nordiques players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players San Jose Sharks players Stanley Cup champions North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans