Tom Kostopoulos

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Tom Kostopoulos
225px
Born (1979-01-24) January 24, 1979 (age 46)
Mississauga, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
AHL team
Former teams		 WBS Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
Los Angeles Kings
Montreal Canadiens
Carolina Hurricanes
Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils
NHL Draft 204th overall, 1999
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2001–present

Thomas George Kostopoulos (Greek: Θωμάς Κωστόπουλος; born January 24, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL). Kostopoulos was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round (204th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, and the 2013–14 season was his 15th year as a professional hockey player.

Playing career

In his early years, Tom graduated from Fairwind Senior Public School in 1993. After playing much of his minor hockey in the GTHL with the Toronto Marlboros and Mississauga Reps, Kostopoulos played 1 year with the Brampton Capitals of the OJHL (OHA). He was a 2nd round pick (18th overall) in the 1996 OHL Priority Selection by the London Knights. Kostopoulos's nickname during his tenure for the London Knights was "Tommy Non-stopoulos" due to his extraordinary on-ice work ethic.

Kostopoulos was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Before that he played junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. He made his professional minor-league hockey debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. Kostopoulos made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the 2001–02 season and enjoyed his best season so far with Pittsburgh in 2003–04. During the 2005 off season, he played with the Manchester Monarchs, having signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Kings. On July 3, 2007 he signed a free-agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

Kostopoulos is known as the team joker in the dressing room. He once sewed someone's keys inside their pocket.[1]

On January 22, 2008, he recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in an 8–2 victory against the Boston Bruins. His fight victim was Shane Hnidy.

On November 10, 2008, Kostopoulos was suspended for three games for a hit on Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Van Ryn during the game between the teams on November 8. He was given a boarding major penalty and ejected from the game. Kostopoulos will also forfeit US-$ 33,000 in pay. Kostopoulos responded about the incident by saying," First and foremost, I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn...this is an unfortunate turn of events. I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck. I didn't anticipate him turning and couldn't stop. I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well. I never intend on injuring another player. I feel bad. I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible."[2] NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in announcing the suspension that while Van Ryn was not in a defenceless position, his injuries—including a concussion—were significant enough to warrant suspending Kostopoulos.[3]

Kostopoulos was again suspended for a January 7, 2011 hit which broke Brad Stuart's jaw. Kostopoulos was assessed a minor roughing penalty during the game, but then served a six game suspension for making primary contact with the head.[4]

On January 23, 2013, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL announced Kostopoulos had signed with the team on a Professional Try Out.[5] On March 5, 2013, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Kostopoulos to a one-year two-way contract.[6] but was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils the following day.

On September 3, 2013, Kostopoulos signed a one-year AHL contract to continue to play with and lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[7]

Personal life

Kostopoulos was born in Mississauga, Ontario, on January 24, 1979.[8] He has a brother named Chris, a coach in Texas, as his biggest influence in hockey.[9] He and his wife Lisa have two children: Lily and Luc. His brother, Chris, has three sons, Cameron, Tyler, and Josh Kostopoulos. Chris is married to Wendy Kostopoulos. Tom has one half sister, Laurie Bodley.[10] They spend their offseasons in Oakville, Ontario.[9]

Family

His mother is Cheryl Kostopoulos, who is of English heritage, and his father is George Kostopoulos, who is Greek.

He is of Greek descent, and in 2008 was the grand marshal of the Hellenic Community of Montreal's Greek Independence Day parade.[11] Kostopoulos is involved with the Canadian Cancer Society as well as Garth Brooks' Teammates For Kids Foundation.[9]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1996–97 London Knights OHL 64 13 12 25 67 — — — — —
1997–98 London Knights OHL 66 24 26 50 108 16 6 4 10 26
1998–99 London Knights OHL 66 27 60 87 114 25 19 16 35 32
1999–00 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 76 26 32 58 121 — — — — —
2000–01 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 80 16 36 52 120 21 3 9 12 6
2001–02 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 11 1 2 3 9 — — — — —
2001–02 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 70 27 26 53 112 — — — — —
2002–03 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 71 21 42 63 131 6 1 2 3 7
2002–03 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 8 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 21 7 13 20 43 24 7 16 23 3
2003–04 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 60 9 13 22 67 — — — — —
2004–05 Manchester Monarchs AHL 64 25 46 71 99 6 0 7 7 10
2005–06 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 8 14 22 100 — — — — —
2006–07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 7 15 22 73 — — — — —
2007–08 Montreal Canadiens NHL 67 7 6 13 113 12 3 1 4 6
2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 8 14 22 106 4 0 1 1 4
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 8 13 21 106 — — — — —
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 17 1 3 4 30 — — — — —
2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 59 7 7 14 44 — — — — —
2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 81 4 8 12 57 — — — — —
2012–13 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 17 3 4 7 43 — — — — —
2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 15 1 0 1 18 — — — — —
2013–14 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 71 22 25 47 72 17 4 6 10 20
2014–15 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 72 16 28 44 62 8 3 2 5 12
NHL totals 630 61 96 157 723 16 3 2 5 10

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Captain of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
2002–04
(shared with)
Kris Beech (2003–04)
Patrick Boileau (2003–04)

2013–present		 Succeeded by
Rob Scuderi




Incumbent
  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Tom_Kostopoulos&oldid=3586686"