Bates Battaglia

Bates Battaglia
Battaglia with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2013
Born	(1975-12-13) December 13, 1975 (age 49) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Avalanche Washington Capitals Toronto Maple Leafs Jokerit
National team	United States
NHL draft	132nd overall, 1994 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career	1997–2012

Jonathan "Bates" Battaglia (born December 13, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997 to 2008. He finished his professional career in 2012 with Karlskrona HK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.

Playing career

Battaglia was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the sixth round, 132nd overall, of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Growing up, Bates played hockey in Park Ridge, Illinois, under coach Tom Godwin. He played on the three-time NCAA National Championship-winning Lake Superior State University Lakers ice hockey team from 1994 to 1997.

On March 18, 1997, Battaglia was traded by the Mighty Ducks to the Hartford Whalers for Mark Janssens. He made his professional debut in the 1997–98 season with the Beast of New Haven of the American Hockey League (AHL) before making his NHL debut with the Carolina Hurricanes in their inaugural season in Raleigh, having relocated from Hartford, Connecticut. Battaglia established himself as an NHL regular with the Hurricanes, enjoying his most successful period as a third of the "BBC line" (consisting of Rod Brind'Amour, Battaglia and Erik Cole) during their run to the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals. ^[1]

On March 11, 2003, Battaglia was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Radim Vrbata. ^[2] His tenure with Colorado was short, as he was traded at the start of the 2003–04 season (along with Jonas Johansson) to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Steve Konowalchuk. ^[3]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, on February 21, 2005, Battaglia joined his younger brother Anthony on the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL for the 2004–05 season.

Battaglia with the Toronto Marlies in 2005

On October 2, 2005, Battaglia was signed by the AHL's Toronto Marlies to a one-year contract. For the following season, on July 2, 2006, he signed as a free agent with the Marlies' NHL parent club, the Toronto Maple Leafs, to a one-year contract. On July 2, 2007, he re-signed as a free agent with the Maple Leafs to a two-year contract. On December 13, 2007, he was assigned to the Marlies on a conditioning stint, but was left in the minors for the duration of the season. He was again assigned to the Marlies at the start of the 2008–09 season and scored a respectable 51 points in 59 games for the Marlies.

A free agent in the 2009–10 season, on November 11, 2009, Battaglia signed with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. ^[4] After 29 games with the Crunch, he left the club after signing a contract for the rest of the season with Finnish team Jokerit of the SM-liiga as an injury replacement on January 28, 2010. ^[5]

On December 8, 2010, Battaglia signed a 25-game professional try-out contract with the AHL's Rochester Americans. ^[6] After contributing only 3 points in 20 games with the Americans, he was released and signed with Lausitzer Füchse of the German 2nd Bundesliga. Battaglia's brief stay with Füchse was limited to two games due to injury, and on March 16, 2011, he returned to North America and signed to again join his brother Anthony, this time with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. ^[7]

In November 2011, Battaglia signed with Karlskrona HK of the Swedish Division 1. ^[8] In the 2011–12 season, Battaglia scored 23 points in 25 games to help Karlskrona gain promotion to the HockeyAllsvenskan. Battaglia finished third among import players in league scoring behind Andrew Fournier and Bill Keenan.

Personal life

Battaglia is the grandson of former Chicago Outfit mobster Sam Battaglia, although this family connection has been downplayed by Battaglia in interviews. ^{[9] [10]} Bates and his brother Anthony competed in twenty-second season of The Amazing Race and won the season. ^[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Team Illinois AAA	MWEHL		60	42	42	84	68		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Caledon Canadians	MetJHL		44	15	33	48	104		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Lake Superior State University	CCHA		38	6	15	21	32		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Lake Superior State University	CCHA		40	13	22	35	48		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Lake Superior State University	CCHA		38	12	27	39	80		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		33	2	4	6	10		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Beast of New Haven	AHL		48	15	21	36	48		1	0	0	0	0
1998–99	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		60	7	11	18	22		6	0	3	3	8
1999–00	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		77	16	18	34	39		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		80	12	15	27	76		6	0	2	2	2
2001–02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		82	21	25	46	44		23	5	9	14	14
2002–03	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		70	5	14	19	90		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		13	1	5	6	10		7	0	2	2	4
2003–04	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		4	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Washington Capitals	NHL		66	4	6	10	38		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Mississippi Sea Wolves	ECHL		25	6	11	17	24		4	0	0	0	10
2005–06	Toronto Marlies	AHL		79	20	47	67	86		5	1	1	2	6
2006–07	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		82	12	19	31	45		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		13	0	0	0	7		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Toronto Marlies	AHL		56	12	14	26	42		19	6	2	8	28
2008–09	Toronto Marlies	AHL		59	17	34	51	55		6	2	3	5	4
2009–10	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		29	6	16	22	15		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Jokerit	SM-l		17	1	0	1	12		2	1	0	1	0
2010–11	Rochester Americans	AHL		20	1	2	3	12		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Lausitzer Füchse	GER-2		2	1	1	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Tulsa Oilers	CHL		6	1	3	4	4		10	5	2	7	4
2011–12	Karlskrona HK	SWE-3		25	10	13	23	20		10	2	4	6	4
NHL totals				580	80	118	198	385		42	5	16	21	28

International

Medal record
Representing   United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2004 Prague

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995	United States	WJC		7	3	2	5	2
1998	United States	WC		6	1	1	2	6
2004	United States	WC		9	2	2	4	14
Junior totals				7	3	2	5	2
Senior totals				15	3	3	6	20

Awards and honors

Award	Year
College
CCHA All-Tournament Team	1995	[12]

References

1. "Canes' BBC line at eye of the storm". ESPN. May 12, 2002. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
2. "Avs acquire Battaglia; Kings trade Smolinski". ESPN. March 11, 2003. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
3. "Colorado acts fast to replace star forward". ESPN. October 23, 2003. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
4. "Crunch sign left wing Bates Battaglia". oursportscentral.com. November 11, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
5. "Battaglia signs contract" (in Finnish). Jokerit. January 28, 2010. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
6. "Amerks sign veteran forward Bates Battaglia to a P.T.O". Rochester Americans. December 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
7. "Oh brother!". Tulsa Oilers. March 16, 2011. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
8. "Bates Battaglia ready for Karlskrona HK". Karlskrona HK. November 4, 2011. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
9. "Barstool Sports".
10. Weekes, Don (2007). Crease-Crashing Hockey Trivia. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 128. ISBN   9781553653288.
11. "Bates and Anthony". CBS. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
12. "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Wayne Strachan	CCHA Best Defensive Forward 1995-96	Succeeded by John Madden
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge	The Amazing Race (American TV series) Winners of The Amazing Race 22 with Anthony Battaglia	Succeeded by Jason Case and Amy Diaz