Rico Fata

Rico Fata
Born	(1980-02-12) February 12, 1980 (age 44) Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Calgary Flames New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers Washington Capitals Adler Mannheim EHC Biel Genève-Servette HC HIFK
NHL draft	6th overall, 1998 Calgary Flames
Playing career	1999–2014

Rico Fata (born February 12, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

As a youth, Fata played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. ^[1]

Fata's career started as a 15-year-old, when he played for his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In the 1996 OHL Entry Draft, Fata was selected first overall by the last place London Knights. In his three seasons in London, the team became a contender, reaching the OHL Finals in 1999, but losing in seven games to the Belleville Bulls.

Rico Fata was drafted in the first round, sixth 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 and mostly played in the American Hockey League (AHL). He won the Calder Cup with the Saint John Flames in 2001. He was placed on waivers by Calgary 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 eight–player trade. On January 31, 2006, the Atlanta Thrashers claimed him off waivers from the Penguins. On March 9, 2006, the Washington Capitals claimed him off waivers from the Thrashers. He played 10 games at the start of the 2006–07 NHL season with Washington before being waived through the league.^{[ citation needed ]}

On November 8, 2006 Fata signed a contract with the Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). On September 8, 2008 he signed a contract with the EHC Biel. ^[2] 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. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

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	ITA		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	NLB		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		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				241	103	110	213	275		32	4	8	12	30
NLA totals				224	71	88	159	134		1	0	0	0	2

International

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Canada
World Junior Championships
	1999 Winnipeg

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999	Canada	WJC			7	1	3	4	8
Junior totals					7	1	3	4	8

Awards and honours

Award	Year
American Hockey League
All-Rookie Team	2000
Second All-Star Team	2002

Personal life

Fata's brother Drew also played professional hockey and played eight games for the New York Islanders. ^[5]

After retiring as a player, Fata opened the Fast By Fata Hockey School. ^[6] Fata owns 2 Tim Hortons restaurants in Sault Ste. Marie. ^[7]

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
2. "EHC Biel re-sign Fata for 2010/11" (in German). EHC Biel. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
3. "Rico Fata débarque" (in French). Genève-Servette HC. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
4. "Rico Fata and Jason DeSantis transfer to HIFK" (in Finnish). HIFK. 2013-06-17. Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
5. Drew Fata - Elite Prospects
6. Russon, Randy (30 June 2014). "Ex-NHLer joins Batchewana Attack - Welcome to Hockey News North". Welcome to Hockey News North. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
7. Armstrong, Kenneth (3 August 2015). "Former NHLer to open city's newest Tim Hortons". SooToday.com. Retrieved 12 September 2018.

External links

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

Preceded by Daniel Tkaczuk	Calgary Flames' first round draft pick 1998	Succeeded by Oleg Saprykin