Mick Vukota
Encyclopedia
Marinko M. "The Quick, Mickster" Vukota (born September 14, 1966) is a former NHL
Right Wing
. Undrafted, he signed with the New York Islanders
, who were looking to add toughness and muscle to their roster, on March 2, 1987. Vukota worked his way up the system and found himself skating on NHL
ice by the end of the 1987–88 season, and he even scored his first goal. But more important, he registered 82 penalty minutes in 17 games on the way to becoming his team's top enforcer. Over the next decade, Vukota forged a reputation as a tough scrapper and punishing forechecker who could occasionally pop in a goal. He was suspended several times by the league for on ice behavior, and this added to his growing tough guy reputation. He went on to become the Islander
career penalty minutes leader (1,879 PIM), but his one dimensional style resulted in a demotion to the Utah Grizzlies of the IHL in 1996–97. He split the 1997–98 season between the Tampa Bay Lightning
and Montreal Canadiens
in what would be his last year in the NHL
, surpassing 2,000 career penalty minutes, and then played 2 more seasons with the Grizzlies in the IHL before retiring.
Despite not being a major goal scorer, with only 17 career goals across 575 NHL matches, he did score a hat trick against the Washington Capitals, in a 5-3 Islanders win at Capital Centre on October 20, 1989.http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/21/sports/vukota-nets-hat-trick-for-islanders.html
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Right Wing
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
. Undrafted, he signed with the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, who were looking to add toughness and muscle to their roster, on March 2, 1987. Vukota worked his way up the system and found himself skating on NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
ice by the end of the 1987–88 season, and he even scored his first goal. But more important, he registered 82 penalty minutes in 17 games on the way to becoming his team's top enforcer. Over the next decade, Vukota forged a reputation as a tough scrapper and punishing forechecker who could occasionally pop in a goal. He was suspended several times by the league for on ice behavior, and this added to his growing tough guy reputation. He went on to become the Islander
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
career penalty minutes leader (1,879 PIM), but his one dimensional style resulted in a demotion to the Utah Grizzlies of the IHL in 1996–97. He split the 1997–98 season between the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
and Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
in what would be his last year in the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, surpassing 2,000 career penalty minutes, and then played 2 more seasons with the Grizzlies in the IHL before retiring.
Despite not being a major goal scorer, with only 17 career goals across 575 NHL matches, he did score a hat trick against the Washington Capitals, in a 5-3 Islanders win at Capital Centre on October 20, 1989.http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/21/sports/vukota-nets-hat-trick-for-islanders.html
NHL Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | ||
| 1988–89 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
48 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 237 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989–90 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
76 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 290 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 1990–91 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
60 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 238 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991–92 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
74 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 293 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992–93 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
74 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 216 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | ||
| 1993–94 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
72 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 237 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 1994–95 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
40 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 109 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 106 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996–97 | New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 71 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997–98 | Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 116 | |||||||
| Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| NHL Totals | 575 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 2071 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | ||||