Joseph Andrew Motzko (born March 14, 1980) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

forward who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Undrafted, Motzko played for St. Cloud State University in the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

. After his senior year with St. Cloud, Motzko was signed by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

on May 15, 2003. He was then sent to join its affiliate, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tam ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

. In the 2003–04 season, his first full professional season, Motzko appeared in his first NHL game with the Blue Jackets on February 2, 2004, against the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mu ...

. In his fourth season with the Blue Jackets, mainly spent with the Syracuse Crunch, Motzko was traded by the Blue Jackets along with Mark Hartigan to the Anaheim Ducks for Curtis Glencross and

Zenon Konopka Zenon Konopka (born January 2, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Also known as "Zenon the Destroyer", Konopka played for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Ottawa ...

on January 26, 2007. Ten days earlier, Motzko scored his first career NHL goal at the United Center in Chicago against

Nikolai Khabibulin Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin (; rus, Николай Александрович Хабибулин, p=xəbʲɪˈbulʲɪn, born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", h ...

and the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-4 Blue Jackets victory. Motzko was then assigned to the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

before he was called up to the Ducks during the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

playoffs. Motzko appeared in 3 post-season games for the Stanley Cup-winning Ducks. On July 9, 2007, Motzko was signed by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

. He appeared in 8 games with the Capitals (in his Capitals debut, he had 3 points scoring 2 goals and one assist) before he was traded to the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

for

Alexandre Giroux Alexandre Giroux (born June 16, 1981) is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently playing for the Thetford Assurancia of the Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. He previously played in the National League (NL) with HC Ambrì-Piot ...

on February 26, 2008. Motzko was assigned to the Thrashers affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

, where he won the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...

Championship. Motzko made his Thrashers debut in the 2008–09 season on January 31, 2009, in a 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. On July 16, 2009, Motzko signed with Russian team HC MVD of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

. However, before ever appearing in a game with MVD, Motzko was released on September 11, and four days later signed with

ERC Ingolstadt ERC Ingolstadt (''Eishockey-und-Rollschuh club'', ) is a German professional ice hockey club that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Commonly known as the Panthers, the team plays its home games at the Saturn Arena in Ingolstadt. History ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

. After four seasons with Ingolstadt, Motzko left as a free agent and joined neighbouring league in Austria on a one-year deal with

EC Red Bull Salzburg EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that currently plays in the ICE Hockey League. The club play their home games at the Eisarena Salzburg. History The history of ice hockey in Salzburg at the h ...

of the

EBEL Ebel is a Swiss luxury watch company that was founded in 1911 at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. History Ebel was established in 1911 by Eugène Blum and his wife, Alice (née Lévy). The brand name originates from th ...

on June 26, 2013.

Career statistics

Awards and achievements

*1997-98 MSHSL Mr. Hockey Semifinalist (

Bemidji High School Bemidji High School is a public high school in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. The school is situated on a campus two miles (3 km) west of downtown Bemidji. The Mississippi River runs behind the high school. Constructed in 2000, Bemidji ...

) *1999-00 WCHA Rookie of the Week ( St. Cloud State) *2000-01 WCHA

Broadmoor Trophy The Broadmoor Trophy is a trophy that has been awarded to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) playoff champion since 1985. The trophy itself dates to 1981, when it was awarded to the WCHA regular season champion for three seasons, f ...

( St. Cloud State) * 2006–07

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Stanley Cup ( Anaheim Ducks) * 2007–08 AHL

(

) *2010

Athletic Hall of Fame

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Motzko, Joe 1980 births Living people People from Bemidji, Minnesota American men's ice hockey right wingers Anaheim Ducks players Atlanta Thrashers players Chicago Wolves players Columbus Blue Jackets players ERC Ingolstadt players Hershey Bears players Portland Pirates players SV Renon players EC Red Bull Salzburg players Stanley Cup champions Syracuse Crunch players Undrafted National Hockey League players Washington Capitals players Ice hockey players from Minnesota