Ed Jovanovski
1,128 NHL Games
137 G, 363 A, 500, PTS
Voted to 1996 All-Rookie Team
5x NHL All-Star (2001, ’02, ’03, ’07, ’08)
3x Babe Pratt Trophy winner (2001, ’02, ’03)
Olympic gold medalist (Salt Lake City 2002)
The year was 2002, the host was Brett Lindros, and the player was Ed Jovanovski.
Originally aired February 13, 2002, Ed and Brett hit the Pacific in kayaks after talking with the defenceman about his Macedonian descent, his Olympic gold experience and being drafted first overall by the Florida Panthers at the 1994 NHL Draft.
A member of the Vancouver Canucks at the time, Jovanovski was building towards a career-high season in goals with 17, and one of his strongest seasons in the NHL by finishing with 48 points over a healthy 82-game season. "JovoCop" would go on to establish a career-high 51 points with what were then known as the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007-08.
A five-time NHL All-Star, Jovanovski would return to Florida in 2011-12 to help the club make the playoffs. With his strong leadership and veteran locker room presence, Jovanovski served as the club's captain for both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons before eventually announcing his retirement from professional hockey in 2015.
Then and now
Jovanovski was recently celebrated for his seven seasons with the Panthers, most notably helping the club to a Stanley Cup Final, as part of the team's Legacy Saturday game celebrating their 25th anniversary.
Away from the rink, Jovanovski remains active in the community of his hometown Windsor, Ontario with the Ed Jovanovski Charity Golf Classic. The tournament, held at Pointe West Golf Club, raised and donated $50,000 to Breast Cancer Research. The cause is dear to the former defenceman's heart with his mother, a breast cancer survivor, inspiring help him to help others.
