Rico Fata

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).

Rico Fata
Born (1980-02-12) February 12, 1980
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

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.

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
Silver medal – second place 1999 Winnipeg
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1999 Canada WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 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.
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