Rico Fata
| Rico Fata | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 12, 1980 Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Liiga team Former teams |
HIFK Calgary Flames New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers Washington Capitals Adler Mannheim EHC Biel Genève-Servette HC | ||
| NHL Draft |
6th overall, 1998 Calgary Flames | ||
| Playing career | 1999–2014 | ||
Rico Fata (born February 12, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He has also played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Fata's career started as a 15-year-old, when he played for his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. In the 1996 OHL Entry Draft, Fata was selected first overall by the last place London Knights. In his 3 seasons in London, the team became a top team in the OHL, reaching the Finals in 1999, but losing in 7 games to the Belleville Bulls. Fata's brother Drew currently plays for the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom.
Rico Fata was drafted in the first round, 6th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Despite his high draft position, he was not able to maintain a spot in the Flames lineup. He won the AHL Calder Cup with the Saint John Flames in 2001. He was placed on waivers by the Flames and was claimed by the New York Rangers. He spent one and a half seasons with the Rangers before going to the Pittsburgh Penguins in an 8–player deal. On January 31, 2006, the Atlanta Thrashers claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins. On March 9, 2006, the Washington Capitals claimed him off waivers from the Atlanta Thrashers. He played 10 games at the start of the 2006–07 NHL season with Washington before being waived through the league.
On November 8, 2006 Fata signed a contract with the Mannheim Eagles of the German Elite League. On September 8, 2008 he signed a contract with the EHC Biel.[1] On August 1, 2011 he signed a one-year contract with the Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A, with an option for one more year.[2]
On June 17, 2013, after five seasons in the NLA, Fata left to sign a one-year contract with Finnish club, HIFK of the SM-liiga.[3]
Rico has now retired from the game of hockey, he stays involved in hockey with his FAST BY FATA HOCKEY SCHOOL. Rico currently owns a Tim Hortons restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. He also works for www.sporttesting.com.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 62 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 52 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | London Knights | OHL | 59 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | London Knights | OHL | 64 | 43 | 33 | 76 | 110 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 49 | ||
| 1998–99 | London Knights | OHL | 23 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 41 | 25 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 42 | ||
| 1998–99 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 76 | 29 | 29 | 58 | 65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 70 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 129 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 2000–01 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 61 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | New York Rangers | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 9 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 27 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | HC Asiago | ITL | 35 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 36 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 10 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 25 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 29 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 53 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | EHC Biel | NLA | 45 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | EHC Biel | NLA | 41 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | EHC Biel | NLA | 47 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Genève-Servette HC | NLA | 50 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Lausanne HC | NLA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Genève-Servette HC | NLA | 41 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | HIFK | Liiga | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 230 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 1999 Winnipeg | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Canada | WJC |  |
7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Junior int'l totals | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | |||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| American Hockey League | |
| All-Rookie Team | 2000 |
| Second All-Star Team | 2002 |
References
- ↑ "EHC Biel re-sign Fata for 2010/11" (in German). EHC Biel. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
- ↑ "Rico Fata débarque" (in French). Genève-Servette HC. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ↑ "Rico Fata and Jason DeSantis transfer to HIFK" (in Finnish). HIFK. 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
External links
| Preceded by Daniel Tkaczuk |
Calgary Flames' first round draft pick 1998 |
Succeeded by Oleg Saprykin |