Sasha Gordon Lakovic (September 7, 1971 – April 25, 2017) was a Canadian 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 who played for 17 different professional teams during his career. Lakovic also played for four

roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...

teams in the mid-1990s. Lakovic also had a stint in acting, landing a small role as Russian ice hockey player Boris Mikhailov in the 2004

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

biopic ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

''. His nicknames were Hitman, Pitbull and Sasha the Basha.

Playing career

Lakovic turned pro in 1992–93, playing for three separate Colonial Hockey League teams, as well as the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

Binghamton Rangers The Binghamton Rangers were a former United States, American professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The market was previously serv ...

. Lakovic bounced around the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

, International Hockey League and AHL for a few more seasons, including an incident where he got on all fours and barked to the crowd after defeating Barry Potomski in a fight while with the IHL's

Las Vegas Thunder The Las Vegas Thunder were a professional ice hockey team competing in the International Hockey League. The team's home rink was at the Thomas & Mack Center. They began play in the 1993–1994 season, folding on April 18, 1999. The demise of the ...

. Lakovic moved on to 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 ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in 1996–97. and was dealt to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

a year later. Lakovic would play only 37 NHL games before finishing his career with stops in the West Coast Hockey League, and finally the

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH, ''"North American Hockey League"'') is a semi-Professional sports league organization, professional ice hockey league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Vertdu ...

before retiring following the 2004–05 season. Lakovic became known as an enforcer, registering 397 penalty minutes in his first pro season. He peaked at 416 penalty minutes in just 49 games in 1996–97 as a member of the Las Vegas Thunder. During the hockey off-season, Lakovic played roller hockey for three

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in ...

teams from 1993 to 1997, and in the Major League Roller Hockey in 1998.

Battle of Alberta

Lakovic gained widespread attention on November 23, 1996, when playing in his first, and only,

Battle of Alberta The Battle of Alberta is a term applied to the intense rivalry between the Canada, Canadian cities of Calgary, the province's most populous city (since 1976), and Edmonton, the capital of the province of Alberta (since 1905). Most often it is us ...

game between the Flames and the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. Late in the game, played at

Northlands Coliseum Northlands Coliseum is a defunct indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL), and the Edmonton Oil Kin ...

in Edmonton, a drunken fan reached over the glass, dumping his drink on the head of Flames assistant coach Guy Lapointe. Lakovic immediately jumped over the glass attempting to get at the fan. Held back from climbing over by his teammates, Lakovic was suspended two games for the incident.

Post-NHL

Lakovic later played in the

, West Coast Hockey League, Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League (now as

) and left hockey after 2005. He lived his later years in West Kelowna, British Columbia.

Acting

He portrayed Boris Mikhailov, captain of the Soviet hockey team at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

, in the movie ''

'' based on the

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey t ...

Death

On October 12, 2016, Lakovic publicly announced that he was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and was given only three months to live. Lakovic died on April 25, 2017, at the age of 45.

Personal life

Lakovic was born into a Montenegrin Serb family to parents Spasoje and Marsha, who emigrated from

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

. He had four children and three brothers named Veso, Zoran, and Milosh.Springfield Funeral Home obituary
/ref>

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakovic, Sasha 1971 births 2017 deaths Albany River Rats players Anchorage Aces players Bakersfield Condors (1998–2015) players Bellingham Ice Hawks players Binghamton Rangers players Brantford Smoke players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian people of Montenegrin descent Chatham Wheels players Columbus Chill players Kelowna Spartans players Las Vegas Thunder players Long Beach Ice Dogs (WCHL) players New Jersey Devils players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Oakland Skates players Rochester Americans players Saint John Flames players San Jose Rhinos players Ice hockey people from Vancouver Toledo Storm players Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver VooDoo players Canadian inline hockey players