Jonathan Filewich (born October 2, 1984) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

player of Croatian ancestry Filewich was born in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Playing career

Filewich was drafted 70th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. After playing six seasons in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

with the Prince George Cougars and the Lethbridge Hurricanes, he began his professional career with the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...

, Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, in the 2005–06 season. He participated in the 2007 AHL All-Star Game at

Ricoh Coliseum Coca-Cola Coliseum (also or formerly known as CNE Coliseum, Royal Coliseum, Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto Coliseum, or Coliseum) is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. ...

in Toronto, Ontario and assisted on one of Team Canada's goals in a 7-6 defeat to the Planet USA All-Stars. On January 20, 2008, Jonathan was recalled from the AHL to play with the big club, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Wearing the number 34 on his jersey, he amassed a total of five games, with his NHL debut being played against the Washington Capitals on January 21. One highlight of his stint in the NHL was his 10 minutes and 47 seconds of time on ice in a 4–2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Jonathan was sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in early February, just after the all-star break. On December 19, 2008, he was traded from the Penguins to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

for a conditional sixth round draft pick in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Filewich was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

, for the duration of the season and didn't debut with the Blues. On June 30, 2009, he was tendered a contract with St. Louis but failed to agree to terms. On October 2, 2009, he left North America and signed with

EC Red Bull Salzburg EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that plays in the ICE Hockey League. The club plays their home games at the Eisarena Salzburg. History In their first season, 1977–78, HC Salzburg took third ...

of the Austrian Hockey League. In the 2009–10 season, he posted 32 points in 45 games, as Salzburg went on to win the Championship. On June 7, 2010, he signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with fellow EBEL team

KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL Medveščak Admiral (), also known as KHL Medveščak Zagreb, is a Croatian professional ice hockey team based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the Medveščak area in centra ...

. After two seasons in Europe, Filewich retired from professional hockey after the 2010-11 EBEL season. During his final years as a professional hockey player, Filewich often worked on correspondence courses while in the team hotel and while travelling on the bus. Filewich graduated from

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrolment of approximately 3,375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, ...

in spring 2013 with a degree in physical education and has said he would like to become a teacher. After retiring from professional hockey, Filewich played senior hockey for the Souris Elks of the Tiger Hills Hockey League. In 4 seasons, Filewich scored 71 goals, and recorded 80 assists over a 71 game career.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Filewich, Jonathan 1984 births Living people Athabasca University alumni Brandon University alumni Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of Croatian descent EC Red Bull Salzburg players KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Lethbridge Hurricanes players Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Prince George Cougars players Ice hockey people from Kelowna Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen