Mark Dekanich
Ntl teamCroatia
Played forNashville Predators
KHL Medveščak Zagreb
PositionGoaltender
CatchesLeft
Height6 ft
Height in2
Weight lb192
Birth dateMay 10, 1986 (age 40)
Birth placeNorth Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Draft (2006)146th overall
Draft teamNashville Predators
Career start2008
Career end2018

Mark Adam Dekanich (born May 10, 1986) is a Croatian former professional ice hockey goaltender.[1] He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fifth round (146th overall) of the 2006 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

As a youth, Dekanich played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Burnaby.[2] He later played four years of collegiate hockey at Colgate University.

During his sophomore season at Colgate, Dekanich started 36 of Colgate’s 39 games where he set a then-school-record of 988 saves. He ranked first in the ECACHL conference for the 2005–06 season with a .924 save percentage and was subsequently named to the all-ECAC first team and won the Ken Dryden Award as the ECAC Goaltender of the Year.[3]

In his junior season, Dekanich started 36 of Colgate’s 40 games where he broke his single-season saves record with .993. Although his postseason ended early due to injury, he was selected to the all-ECAC second team and ECAC all-academic team.[3]

As a senior during the 2007–08 season, he was named to the Lowe's Senior CLASS All-Senior All-America first team and Selected to the all-ECAC Hockey third team.[3] At the conclusion of the season he signed an entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators.[4]

On December 3, 2010, the Nashville Predators called Dekanich up from the Milwaukee Admirals,[5] however he did not make his NHL debut until December 18, 2010 when he played 50 minutes against the Los Angeles Kings in relief of the Predators' starter Anders Lindbäck.[6]

On July 3, 2011, Dekanich was signed as a free agent by the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, he missed the majority of the 2011–12 season recovering from reconstructive ankle surgery. On July 6, 2012, Dekanich left the Blue Jackets organization and signed as a free agent to a one-year, contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[7]

On May 20, 2013, Dekanich signed his first European contract with Croatian team KHL Medveščak, which competed in the KHL for the 2013–14 season.[8]

After two seasons in Zagreb, Dekanich returned to North America, signing a one-year ECHL contract with the South Carolina Stingrays on September 10, 2015.[9] He was invited to AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, training camp prior to the 2015–16 season, and was signed to an AHL contract with the club before he was returned to the Stingrays on October 15, 2015.[10]

On August 18, 2016, Dekanich signed an AHL contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.[11] He most recently played for the Reading Royals of the ECHL.[citation needed] In November 2018, Dekanich announced his retirement on Twitter.[12]

He currently runs his own strength and conditioning business by the name of Dexshow High Performance.[13]

Records

Dekanich currently holds the Milwaukee Admirals single season records in both save percentage (0.931) and goals against average (2.02).[citation needed]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLT/OTMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2002–03Coquitlam ExpressBCHL20311010598304.70.874————————
2003–04Coquitlam ExpressBCHL301315116478923.24.909————————
2004–05Colgate UniversityECAC5110161501.85.904————————
2005–06Colgate UniversityECAC361811621268142.29.924————————
2006–07Colgate UniversityECAC361517421368312.33.923————————
2007–08Colgate UniversityECAC411816623898662.16.924————————
2008–09Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL301510216635812.09.923————————
2009–10Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL4927160280410942.33.9147344081912.79.909
2009–10Cincinnati CyclonesECHL2200125110.48.981————————
2010–11Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL432313525008442.02.931————————
2010–11Nashville PredatorsNHL100050303.60.880————————
2011–12Springfield FalconsAHL51212401604.00.867————————
2012–13St. John's IceCapsAHL351614119149522.98.895————————
2013–14KHL Medveščak ZagrebKHL27119616305832.13.936202118703.57.890
2014–15KHL Medveščak ZagrebKHL1201005914704.76.838————————
2015–16South Carolina StingraysECHL35209420047222.16.92510546031721.69.922
2015–16Hershey BearsAHL101059404.09.818————————
2016–17Reading RoyalsECHL3921121218911113.04.9106224061101.62.954
2016–17Lehigh Valley PhantomsAHL100033509.10.839————————
2017–18Reading RoyalsECHL3413150197510133.07.906————————
NHL totals100050303.60.880————————

Awards and honours

AwardYear
College
All-ECAC Hockey First Team2006
Ken Dryden Award2006
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team2007
All-ECAC Hockey Third Team2008

References

  1. ^ Medveščak već počeo tražiti potencijalna pojačanja za KHL, Večernji list; accessed December 10, 2016.
  2. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA". Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  3. ^ "MARK DEKANICH". gocolgateraiders.com. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "DEKANICH SIGNS ENTRY-LEVEL CONTRACT WITH NHL'S NASHVILLE PREDATORS". gocolgateraiders.com. April 14, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Hoag, Dirk. (2010-12-03) Pekka Rinne out 2–4 weeks, Nashville Predators recall Mark Dekanich, ontheforecheck.com; retrieved on July 14, 2011.
  6. ^ Dekanich makes bitter-sweet NHL debut. Nsnews.com (2010-12-22); retrieved July 14, 2011.
  7. ^ "Jets agree to terms with Ben Maxwell & Mark Dekanich". Winnipeg Jets. 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  8. ^ "Medvescak signs Mark Dekanich as a goalie for KHL" (in Croatian). Hrsport.net. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  9. ^ "Stingrays sign Dekanich and DeBlois". South Carolina Stingrays. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  10. ^ "Bears announce roster moves". HersheyBears.com. October 15, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  11. ^ "Goaltender Mark Dekanich Signed to AHL Contract". Lehigh Valley Phantoms. August 18, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  12. ^ "Mark Dekanich on Twitter". Twitter. November 13, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  13. ^ Gallo, Tyler (2020-01-28). "The Dex Show: Mark Dekanich gives a look inside the mind of a goalie and his hockey career". Stranded Sports. Retrieved 2021-01-29.