Marinko "Mick" Vukota (born September 14, 1966) is a Canadian 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 ...
right wing
Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...
. He is perhaps best known for playing 10 seasons with the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
, where he played the role of an
enforcer.
Playing career
Undrafted, Vukota signed with the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
, who were looking to add toughness to their roster, on March 2, 1987. Vukota worked his way up through their system and found himself skating on NHL ice by the end of the
1987–88 season, and scoring his first goal. He also registered 82 penalty minutes in 17 games. Over the next decade, Vukota forged a reputation as a tough scrapper and punishing forechecker who could occasionally score a goal. He was suspended several times by the league for on-ice incidents, and this added to his growing reputation. He went on to become the Islanders' career penalty minutes leader with 1,879, but his one-dimensional style resulted in a demotion to the
Utah Grizzlies
The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
Franchise history
The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars i ...
of the
IHL in
1996–97. He split the
1997–98 season between the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...
and
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
in what was his last year in the NHL, surpassing 2,000 career penalty minutes, and then played two 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
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...
, in a 5–3 Islanders win at the Capital Centre, on October 20, 1989.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
See also
*
List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes
References
External links
*
1966 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey forwards
Canadian people of Serbian descent
Capital District Islanders players
Ice hockey people from Saskatoon
Kelowna Wings players
Montreal Canadiens players
New York Islanders players
Spokane Chiefs players
Springfield Indians players
Tampa Bay Lightning players
Undrafted National Hockey League players
Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players
Winnipeg Warriors (1980–1984) players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
20th-century Canadian sportsmen
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