Croatian NHLers [Archive]

boris4c

12-13-2009, 10:55 PM

It is possible that his cousins are Serbian and he is not. I am Croatian, but have Serbian cousins (my first cousins are even half-Serbian).

Again, I always thought he was Macedonian or even Serbian, but a family friend of mine who used to babysit his kids said that Ed himself considered himself at least part Croatian (I think she said on his mother's side, but not sure). He could be a mix of Macedonian, Croatian, and Serbian for all I know. I'm just passing on what I heard; never met him personally.

As for Dragan Kesa, wikipedia says he's actually Lucic's uncle.
Vlasic is definitely of Croatian descent.

However, Ed Jovanovski has nothing to with Croatia. Milan Lucic is Serbian, something I can tell you as a fact even from personal knowledge. What are some other Serbian NHLers? I guess there is Milan Lucic, Sasha Lakovic, Stan Smrke, Ivan Boldirev, Branko Radivojevic, Mike Glumac, Dan Kesa, Mark Popovic, Peter Zezel. There is probably more but I cannot think of them at the moment.

I was also wondering if there are any other players from the former Yugoslavia. I am pretty sure Matt Stajan is Slovenian.

wings5

12-20-2009, 02:13 PM

How about Mark Fistric, Mark Popovic, Alex Petrovic (2010 eligible), and Luke Gazdic. To be honest I don't know the difference between Serbian and Croatian.

boris4c

12-20-2009, 04:21 PM

How about Mark Fistric, Mark Popovic, Alex Petrovic (2010 eligible), and Luke Gazdic. To be honest I don't know the difference between Serbian and Croatian.
Mark Popovic - Serbian (mentionned him in the previous post)
Alex Petrovic - Serbian
Luke Gazdic - Croatian
Mark Fistric - Croatian

To this list we can add Phil Oreskovic who is also Serbian.

There is a distinct different between Serbian and Croatian surnames, but sometimes it is very hard to differentiate as a few Croats lived or still live on the territory of Serbia while several hundreds of thousands of Serbs lived on the territory of Croatia, and some still do. Therefore, there has been a lot of ethnic mixing between the two peoples and we have had examples of a proud Croatian such as Drazen Petrovic (former NBA Legend) wearing a typically Serbian surname (Petrovic) yet being or considering himself of Croatian ethniciy. Similarly, there is a football/soccer player called Antonio Rukavina on the Serbian national team, while this is a typically Croatian surname (and given name as well). There is a player called Ante Rukavina on the Croatian national team. So, as you can see, the differences are distinct but because of the mixing, it is often very hard to say. The vast majority of surnames will either be Croatian or Serbian, but some of them can be used for both.

RTN

12-22-2009, 05:40 PM

Vlasic is definitely of Croatian descent.

However, Ed Jovanovski has nothing to with Croatia. Milan Lucic is Serbian, something I can tell you as a fact even from personal knowledge. What are some other Serbian NHLers? I guess there is Milan Lucic, Sasha Lakovic, Stan Smrke, Ivan Boldirev, Branko Radivojevic, Mike Glumac, Dan Kesa, Mark Popovic, Peter Zezel. There is probably more but I cannot think of them at the moment.

I was also wondering if there are any other players from the former Yugoslavia. I am pretty sure Matt Stajan is Slovenian.

Wikipedia and other sources say Stajan is Slovenian, though I remember an interview a fews years ago where Stajan's mother said he was Croatian. I'll try and find out if his mother is Slovenian or just the father.

Other Slovenians include Anze Kopitar, Wade Belak, Bill Hajt, Chris Hajt, John Jakopin, Ed Kastelic, Greg Kuznik, Dean Malkoc, Stan Smrke, and Randy Velischek.

I think Stamkos is Macedonian.

Also, he has yet to play in the NHL, but St. Louis prospect Nicholas Drazenovic is Croatian.

Mark Popovic - Serbian (mentionned him in the previous post)
Alex Petrovic - Serbian
Luke Gazdic - Croatian
Mark Fistric - Croatian

To this list we can add Phil Oreskovic who is also Serbian.

There is a distinct different between Serbian and Croatian surnames, but sometimes it is very hard to differentiate as a few Croats lived or still live on the territory of Serbia while several hundreds of thousands of Serbs lived on the territory of Croatia, and some still do. Therefore, there has been a lot of ethnic mixing between the two peoples and we have had examples of a proud Croatian such as Drazen Petrovic (former NBA Legend) wearing a typically Serbian surname (Petrovic) yet being or considering himself of Croatian ethniciy. Similarly, there is a football/soccer player called Antonio Rukavina on the Serbian national team, while this is a typically Croatian surname (and given name as well). There is a player called Ante Rukavina on the Croatian national team. So, as you can see, the differences are distinct but because of the mixing, it is often very hard to say. The vast majority of surnames will either be Croatian or Serbian, but some of them can be used for both.

I had heard Fistric was Serbian, but you may very well be right.

Yes, the line between Croatian and Serbian is often more blurred than many would like to admit. Many people have both Croatian and Serbian relatives or where born in the other country. For example, Dado Prso (Croatian national soccer player) and Nikola Tesla are/were both ethnically Serbian, but were both born in Croatia, so they identify with both groups. Also, by tradition (in many places) a slavic child usually takes the ethnicity of the father, even if the mother is something different.

Corto

12-25-2009, 11:05 AM

There is a distinct different between Serbian and Croatian surnames

Hm... It's not that simple anymore.

Maybe between people living abroad for dozens of years, but here, it's gotten so mixed up you can't really tell people by their last names anymore.

Yes, some surnames are Serbian and some are Croatian.
But it's not a guarantee it's not a Serbian with a Croatian name or vice-versa after all the mixing.

The other thing is the apparent hate for each other both Serbs and Croatians living abroad have for each other, when here, smack dead middle of where the was actually was, normal people (read: non-right wing, militant idiots with an intelligence of a squished mellon) hang out with each other and generally don't give a crap who's Serbian and who's Croatian.

Anyway...
The best thing to happen to Croatian hockey is the EBEL League, the building is packed every game, it's a genuine pleasure to go to the games, there's a lot of Canadians of Croatian descent playing (and some former NHLers, like Joel Prpic.... Jeff Hereema is also here), and I had the pleasure of being there when Aaron Fox scored this goal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HoOyDge8k4

CuteHockeyBunny

12-26-2009, 10:03 AM

To be honest I don't know the difference between Serbian and Croatian.

There isn't any, genetically speaking. They're mostly (99%) segregated by religion and 1% by name.

RTN

12-28-2009, 06:48 PM

Hm... It's not that simple anymore.

Maybe between people living abroad for dozens of years, but here, it's gotten so mixed up you can't really tell people by their last names anymore.

Yes, some surnames are Serbian and some are Croatian.
But it's not a guarantee it's not a Serbian with a Croatian name or vice-versa after all the mixing.

The other thing is the apparent hate for each other both Serbs and Croatians living abroad have for each other, when here, smack dead middle of where the was actually was, normal people (read: non-right wing, militant idiots with an intelligence of a squished mellon) hang out with each other and generally don't give a crap who's Serbian and who's Croatian.

Anyway...
The best thing to happen to Croatian hockey is the EBEL League, the building is packed every game, it's a genuine pleasure to go to the games, there's a lot of Canadians of Croatian descent playing (and some former NHLers, like Joel Prpic.... Jeff Hereema is also here), and I had the pleasure of being there when Aaron Fox scored this goal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HoOyDge8k4

I heard Medveščak get 5 to 6 thousand a night, which is really amazing since I think there are only 3 senior teams left in the entire country. News stations are also showing small clips on tv.

There isn't any, genetically speaking. They're mostly (99%) segregated by religion and 1% by name.

That's not completely true. For example, in Dalmacija there are a lot of people with Italian/Venetian/Illyrian blood, where as I don't think too many Venetians made the trek to Serbia two hundred years ago. It really depends on the region. Nationalism as we know it today is still a fairly new concept.

wings5

12-28-2009, 07:42 PM

How about Travis Hamonic?

hadzija

01-12-2010, 06:47 AM

According to wikipedia there was a Croat who played in the league in season 03-04. Does anybody know who played and were?

It is stupid to discuss about the difference between Croats and Serbs. It is the same with Americans, Canadians, Australians etc. Which nationality is Ryan Getzlaf or Sean Crosby?
For a French guy who doesn’t know who they are they could easily be any national in English spoken countries.

TheOriginalTiger

01-15-2010, 01:44 PM

For those who doubt Ed Jovo as a Macedonian(BTW both parents are MKD)

http://www.omnitv.ca/ontario/tv/docs/episodes/latebloomer/

http://www.omni1.ca/ontario/tv/docs/episodes/latebloomer/gallery/photo-4.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/grkomanklr#p/a/u/2/udZ6iBhmtMk

landskronala

01-16-2010, 10:10 AM

Stamkos - Sakic - Lucic

Radivojevic - Kopitar - Stajan

Belak - Mursak - Urbas

Razingar - Rodman - Rodman

Jovanovski - Sarich

Mitchell - Vlasic

Bezina - Oreskovic

Popovic - Fistric

Hamonic - Gregorc

Team Yugoslavia.

wings5

01-16-2010, 10:20 AM

TheOriginalTiger

01-16-2010, 11:15 AM

Stamkos is greek

Wrong, I have met the family at many Macedonian functions, far from being Greek, yes his grandparents are from Greece but ethnic Macedonians, lets see what family friend and hockey expert Bob Mackenzie has to say......

http://www.youtube.com/user/grkomank.../2/udZ6iBhmtMk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOGDTj1KfIM check @1:22

HajdukSplit

01-16-2010, 10:49 PM

According to wikipedia there was a Croat who played in the league in season 03-04. Does anybody know who played and were?

I assume it is Goran Bezina, he was born in Split, Croatia but represents Switzerland in international hockey, in fact played in the 2006 Olympics and is in the squad for this years as well. He only played 2-3 games for the Coyotes, spent most of his time in the AHL before returning to the Swiss league

About Vlasic, thats the one I want to know as well, I know Vlasic is Croatian surname, but his first name makes it seem he isn't 100% (French mother, or not first generation)

Booba

01-16-2010, 11:21 PM

I assume it is Goran Bezina, he was born in Split, Croatia but represents Switzerland in international hockey, in fact played in the 2006 Olympics and is in the squad for this years as well. He only played 2-3 games for the Coyotes, spent most of his time in the AHL before returning to the Swiss league

About Vlasic, thats the one I want to know as well, I know Vlasic is Croatian surname, but his first name makes it seem he isn't 100% (French mother, or not first generation)

I know that he speaks french and english very well (but he seems a little bit more fluent in English)

I wouldn't be surprised if he had french, english and croatian heritage.

crobro

01-17-2010, 02:20 AM

HajdukSplit

01-17-2010, 01:29 PM

thats what I'm hoping for, guys like Prpich and Hecimovic stay for two seasons and decide to play for Croatia. Not that we would be anything special, but we would at least have a shot to make the World Group where we would be crushed by everybody :yo::D

slovakiasnextone

01-17-2010, 01:59 PM

brad lukowich

milan hejduk(ethnic croat from slovakia)

dave babych

ron stern (croatian jew)

just a few more for the list.

on a side note with all the players medvescak signed last year they will be eligable to play for the croatian national team,i believe you have to play 2 years in the croatian league to be able to represent croatia.if medvescak alone was the croatian team alone they coukld break out of their group eassy.

Where the hell did you find that piece of info? First of all, Hejduk is from the Czech republic and never heard of him having anything to do with Croatia, IMO he´s probably as Czech as you can get.

The only "famous" hockey player from Slovakia that has anything to do with former Yugoslavia is Branko Radivojevič, who´s dad is Serbian.

crobro

01-29-2010, 05:43 PM

will any north american born skaters playing for medvescak be eligable to play for croatia in the world championships this season?

misfit

01-30-2010, 07:30 PM

Nicholas Drazenovic in the Blues system is Croatian (his dad's side), though he's not yet an NHL player (He's having a decent season in the AHL). I haven't given up hope yet ;)

RTN

02-03-2010, 06:35 AM

Where the hell did you find that piece of info? First of all, Hejduk is from the Czech republic and never heard of him having anything to do with Croatia, IMO he´s probably as Czech as you can get.

The only "famous" hockey player from Slovakia that has anything to do with former Yugoslavia is Branko Radivojevič, who´s dad is Serbian.

I must agree. I have never seen anything concrete that says Hejduk is anything but Czech, though I do know many people who assume he's Croatian or Polish because of his last name (similar to Hajduk). Though I guess he could be a White Croat, since a few hundred thousand lived in south Poland/Czechoslovakia in the early 20th century, though most have assimilated by now.

If the poster has a source though, I'd be interested in seeing it.

crobro

02-06-2010, 09:20 PM

RTN

02-10-2010, 02:15 PM

Skating Tripods

02-13-2010, 12:52 PM

Tom Zanoski of the Lake Erie Monsters is Croatian. His parents moved here when he was 10 or so. His birthplace isn't listed as Croatia, though.

slovakiasnextone

02-13-2010, 01:45 PM

frankie hejduk

Frankie's Croatian surname, "Hejduk", is a derived name of Hajduk. He has been married to Elissa Zurcher since 2005 and has two sons, Frankie Nesta (born 2/25/98) and Coasten Daniel (born 1/2/2008). His favorite soccer team is Boca Juniors and his favorite player was Claudio Caniggia. He is also a fan of the San Diego Chargers. Hejduk is a huge fan of Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley and celebrates his goals by replicating the hypnotic dances Marley did during his performances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Hejduk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Ga%C5%A1parovi%C4%8D

the president of slovakia is croat by the way.

While Milan Hejduk may be of Croatian decent (to me, Hejduk even looks Croatian), he is not Croatian just because Frank Hejduk is Croatian. The word "hajduk" and similar words are found across Eastern Europe.

It is like the Croatian last name "Kovač." Kovač is also found in Slovenia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

I agree with Skanker.

If we´d consider everyone in Central and Eastern Europe to be a part of the nation that their name indicates, at leats half of this region would belong to a completely different country/nation they identify themselves with. Bloodlines over here are completely mixed. For example over the hundreds fo years we´ve had Slovaks, Magyars, Romanians, Rusyns, Germans, Czechs,Jews, Southern Slavs (mainly Croats, Poles etc. come and live at leats some areas of what today is Slovakia or come into contact with the Slovak ethnicum, so it´s very likely that the majority of the population has at least some of this nations in them and that names of Slovak people can orriginate from languages of this nations.
My name´s most probably of German origin, although I know of French variations too, but it doesn´t change anything on the fact that I´m 100% Slovak. As long as I know Hejduk doesn´t claim to be of Croat origin. AS for our "dear" Mr. president, not that I object to you guys having him, but it´s very discutable to claim that he is Croat, as long as I know only one of his parents actually is a Croat, so it would maybe be better to say that he has Croat herritage, especially as he himself is a Slovak nationalist.

I also don´t like how many people from the Southern Slavic nations jump to the conclusion that anyone whose names ends in ič automatically has Southern Slavic herritage or is Croat, Serb or something. Although not as common as in for example Croatia, names ending in ič are pretty common even in Slovakia for example Mlynarovič, Lalkovič, Vojsovič or Jančovič and I seriously doubt that anyone who doesn´t have some serious education in ethymology of names can tell you just from looking at the name to which nation it belongs and especially to which Slavic. I often have trouble distinguishing to which nation a Slavic name belongs. Sorry for that rant, but just recently I saw some Serbs at a soccer forum claim that Milan Lalkovič from Chelsea youth is Serbian their only proof being the ič in his surname.

As for the Kováč surname, well it´s no surprise, my friend sinc eit means Smith, so it´s as common in Slavic world (yes, I´m including Hungary in that, as Smith in the English speaking world. Interesting thing is that Kováč is only the 2nd most common surname in Slovakia. According to data from 2003 the most common surname in Slovakia is Horváth, which is the Hungarian form meant Hrvat- Croat. I also believe that on the other hand the most common surname in Hungary is Tóth, which was used as a name for Slovaks by Hungarians at one point of time. :laugh:

Anyway, this whole was absolutely off topic, but Milan Hejduk wil be 100% Czech to me as long as he doesn´t claim otherwise or as long as crobro doesn´t show me some serious proof that he is of Croatian descent. By your logic crobro, I could very easily claim Travis Zajac to be Slovak, because of Rudolf Zajac (http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Zajac), former Slovak minister of health and some other people from Slovakia with that surname. And I´m pretty sure there are a bunch of other players that someone from a nation could claim to belong to it based on the name solely.

croAVSfan*

02-26-2010, 01:15 PM

http://mapleleafshotstove.com/index.php/2009/01/31/gtky-phil-oreskovic/

Oreskovic is croat, not serb. Oreskovic is pure croatian surname, as Sertich

MrSports*

03-08-2010, 08:15 AM

Joe Sakic

Frank Mahovlic

Peter Mahovlic

John Kordic

Willie Mitchell

Cory Sarich

Any More?

they are a good players indeed! :)

Boris RS

04-11-2010, 12:01 PM

Not so about topic, but still...

Because of strict IIHF rules about who can play for national team for our team Serbia last year (in Division II championship) played three Canadians :laugh: (because of stupid our bureaucracy they got citizenship just before championship :rant:).

This year we have additional Canadian, one Serb from Canada, and one Russian :laugh:.

So, because of IIHF rules our guys from Canada can't play for us :cry:. I can bet we would easily cruse into Elite division.

Sundinisagod

04-13-2010, 10:38 AM

Mark Popovic - Serbian (mentionned him in the previous post)
Alex Petrovic - Serbian
Luke Gazdic - Croatian
Mark Fistric - Croatian

To this list we can add Phil Oreskovic who is also Serbian.

From what I hear Popovic and Oreskovic are Croation. There was a Popovic in Montreal (I think somewhere in the 90's) who I think was of Serbian descent.

Sundinisagod

04-13-2010, 10:42 AM

Joe Sakic

Frank Mahovlic

Peter Mahovlic

John Kordic

Willie Mitchell

Cory Sarich

Any More?

Willie Mitchell??? Had no clue there.

garbageteam

04-17-2010, 01:28 PM

Willie Mitchell??? Had no clue there.

How about discussing players that actually WILL play for the nat'l team? Considering Croatia has a shot at moving to the WC level (though not on a good start being beaten 4-1 to GBR)

slovakiasnextone

04-17-2010, 04:47 PM

How about discussing players that actually WILL play for the nat'l team? Considering Croatia has a shot at moving to the WC level (though not on a good start being beaten 4-1 to GBR)

Er, what are you talking about? Croatia will have a lot of trouble even to avoid relegation with probably the decisive game being against South Korea.

jkrx

04-22-2010, 06:21 AM

For those of you who gets confused by nationalities its no wonder. Most former yugoslavians have roots from different part of balkan after the split. I dont know a single person from that area who are "pure breed"-crotian for example. Its always "my grandma is serb/bosnian/macedon/albanian/montenegro and my dad is serb/bosnian/macedon/albanian/montenegro and my uncle is serb/bosnian/macedon/albanian/montenegro" etc.

mattihp

05-03-2010, 07:06 PM

From what I hear Popovic and Oreskovic are Croation. There was a Popovic in Montreal (I think somewhere in the 90's) who I think was of Serbian descent.

The Swede, Peter Popovic could very well be of croatian descent.

But as he speaks both Serbian, Croatian as well as bosnian, I'd bet that there's a shot that he considers himself Bosnian. Could be either I guess.

Torch

07-13-2010, 07:01 PM

I didn't see it mentioned, but Nick Drazenovic is a Cro as well. I know his dad (sold me a car).

I believe Stan Smrke was Šokci from Serbia, although all Šokci I know consider themselves Croats.

croAVSfan*

07-14-2010, 03:15 AM

I didn't see it mentioned, but Nick Drazenovic is a Cro as well. I know his dad (sold me a car).

I believe Stan Smrke was Šokci from Serbia, although all Šokci I know consider themselves Croats.

Drazenovic is from Brinje in Lika ;)

Smrke sounds more slovenian than serbian/croatian

bos66

10-01-2010, 08:56 AM

From what I hear Popovic and Oreskovic are Croation. There was a Popovic in Montreal (I think somewhere in the 90's) who I think was of Serbian descent.

Phil Oreskovic is definately a Croatian Canadian as stated previously. My dad and Phil's grandma on his father's side were first cousins.

Brandinho

10-01-2010, 04:49 PM

Wrong, I have met the family at many Macedonian functions, far from being Greek, yes his grandparents are from Greece but ethnic Macedonians, lets see what family friend and hockey expert Bob Mackenzie has to say......

Ethnic Macedonian? LOL.

Macedonian isn't an ethnicity - there are Greek Macedonians and Slavic Macedonians. Stamkos is clearly not Slavic.

zamo86

01-02-2011, 12:34 AM

But as he speaks both Serbian, Croatian as well as bosnian,

For me those are just different dialects of the same language. The difference between Serbian and Croatian is something like between English (USA) and English (ENG) or Spanish (ESP) and Spanish (ARG). But OK, since there is an expression that you are worth as much as how many languages you know then I am proud to know Slovene, English, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin and understand German and people from FYRM:D.

BTW: To bad about the IIHF rules. Stajan holds dual citizenship of CAN and SLO, speaks Slovene and is an active member of the Slovene expatriate in Canada. He expressed his desire to play for SLO NT a while back but he would have to play for 2 or 3 years in Slovenia before he would be granted the right, by the IIHF, to play for the national team.

Fugu

01-02-2011, 01:32 PM

Ethnic Macedonian? LOL.

Macedonian isn't an ethnicity - there are Greek Macedonians and Slavic Macedonians. Stamkos is clearly not Slavic.

Considering that modern Greeks are Slavs too, yes that makes sense. :)

Anyway, let's get back to the thread topic before I start another round of Greek-Macedonian cross-border sniping.

jekoh

01-04-2011, 06:52 AM

BTW: To bad about the IIHF rules. Stajan holds dual citizenship of CAN and SLO, speaks Slovene and is an active member of the Slovene expatriate in Canada. He expressed his desire to play for SLO NT a while back but he would have to play for 2 or 3 years in Slovenia before he would be granted the right, by the IIHF, to play for the national team.
Stajan is from Canada, he has no business being on any other national team.

zamo86

01-05-2011, 09:30 PM

jekoh

01-06-2011, 06:59 AM

Yes he is, a Canadian citizen (Slovenian as well for that matter) of Slovene ancestry, and no one is forcing him to choose who he wants to play for. Besides, I doubt anyone from Slovenia even contacted him and personally I doubt he will ever play with the same NT as Kopitar, Muršak etc.
Both his ancestry and who he wants to play for are completely irrelevant, as they should be.

National teams are not meant for players who learnt their hockey abroad and never even played in the country. The IIHF rule is fine, in that it opens the door for players who want it bad enough to actually play in the country for a few season, while blocking players who merely happen to have a citizenship by accident.

zamo86

01-06-2011, 11:33 AM

Actually he and members of his family hold Slovene citizenship for quite some time now. People of Slovene expatriate abroad can get it at any time if they want it, so its not like he was given the passport 'by accident' in hopes that he will switch national team allegiance in the future. Like I said, I doubt anyone from the Slovene hockey federation even contacted him about the matter nor is it discussed in the media here.

mattihp

01-06-2011, 12:56 PM

Both his ancestry and who he wants to play for are completely irrelevant, as they should be.

National teams are not meant for players who learnt their hockey abroad and never even played in the country. The IIHF rule is fine, in that it opens the door for players who want it bad enough to actually play in the country for a few season, while blocking players who merely happen to have a citizenship by accident.

I wonder if it only applies to dual citizens... I have lived in Sweden all my life but I have never held swedish citizenship. If by some freak accident (like a radio active Ovechkin biting me) I turn into an awesome hockey player... Do I have to play in the SM-liiga for two years to be eligable for the finnish national team even if I've never held any other citizenship than my finnish one?

jekoh

01-06-2011, 03:00 PM

I wonder if it only applies to dual citizens... I have lived in Sweden all my life but I have never held swedish citizenship. If by some freak accident (like a radio active Ovechkin biting me) I turn into an awesome hockey player... Do I have to play in the SM-liiga for two years to be eligable for the finnish national team even if I've never held any other citizenship than my finnish one?
No, Mestis will do ;)

Yes it only applies to dual citizens. See Kölzig, who was allowed to play for Germany for the sole reason that he never had any other citizenship. Surely it's fair that he is at least allowed somewhere. Had he taken Can or US citizenship, he would have been ineligible for Germany.

Interestingly, had he received South African citizenship at birth, along with his German citizenship, he would not technically have been eligible for any country (though probably he would have been allowed a dispensation).

jekoh

01-06-2011, 03:08 PM

Actually he and members of his family hold Slovene citizenship for quite some time now. People of Slovene expatriate abroad can get it at any time if they want it, so its not like he was given the passport 'by accident' in hopes that he will switch national team allegiance in the future.
That does not really change anything, now does it? His citizenship status is accidental in that it is completely unrelated to the context of ice hockey national teams and national programs, which international competitions are all about.

Milliardo

01-07-2011, 07:42 AM

Stajan is from Canada, he has no business being on any other national team.

I think it's an american / canadian phenom (well, I'm sure there are other countries) that you automatically are the nationality from the country you're born in.

For example. Mark Hardy is mentioned in the record books as the beste Swiss NHL Player ever (statistically) because he was born in Switzerland. Yet nobody in Switzerland knows that guy and he doens't even have Swiss citizenship, they just go by birthplace in the record books.

jekoh

01-08-2011, 04:59 AM

I think it's an american / canadian phenom (well, I'm sure there are other countries) that you automatically are the nationality from the country you're born in.
While this is true, it is not very relevant here. Stajan could have been born in Jesenice and he would still be ineligible for Slovenia all the same (and I would still describe him as being "from Canada").

Heatley or Nolan are also Canadian despite the fact that they were born abroad. Similarily Goran Bezina is Swiss despite being born in Split, and the same goes for Sbisa and many others, so being of the nationality of the country you grew up in is obviously very common outside NA, even in Switzerland of all places. ;)

SerbianNightmare

01-08-2011, 01:58 PM

IIHF rules suck they should apply the same rules FIFA uses, it would go a long way in helping hockey grow in places like Serbia, Croatia etc...

birden

01-08-2011, 02:42 PM

slovakiasnextone

01-08-2011, 03:09 PM

Sorry if i am dumb now but how come that a player like Kalle Torniainen that plays and have lived all his life in Sweden can play for the finnish national team. Does this rule that you have to play atleast 3 years in an country to play for there national team only apply for seniors?. So Kalle in the future can't play for Finland if he doesn't move to and plays for an finnish team?

The rule only applies to double citizens playing in official IIHF sanctioned events- which pretty much means only Olympics and all levels of IHWC, WJC and U18 IHWC.

It doesn´t matter in the "friendly" tournaments that the various junior teams play during the season.

If Kalle has both Finnish and Swedish citizenship then he can´t play for Finland in U18 WHC/WJC/IHWC/Olympics unless he plays those 3 years in Finland.

However I´m not sure whether he has double citizenship and if he only has the Finnish one then the rule doens´t apply to him and he can play for Finland even though he hasn´t played a single season in a Finnish league.

jekoh

01-08-2011, 03:32 PM

IIHF rules suck they should apply the same rules FIFA uses, it would go a long way in helping hockey grow in places like Serbia, Croatia etc...
That's pretty naive. Bringing in foreigners from Canada to the national team has never helped hockey grow. Britain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, they've all tried it and it certainly never helped them in he long run, rather to the contrary.

SerbianNightmare

01-09-2011, 06:08 PM

I'm not a rocket scientist or anything but I'm pretty sure that having an NHL star like Milan Lucic playing for Serbia would get the sport more exposure and help it grow in the country.

mattihp

01-09-2011, 11:58 PM

I'm not a rocket scientist or anything but I'm pretty sure that having an NHL star like Milan Lucic playing for Serbia would get the sport more exposure and help it grow in the country.

Is he really willing to go and play in Serbia first though?

zamo86

01-11-2011, 09:38 AM

Is he really willing to go and play in Serbia first though?

Even if he is, I doubt he would have been able to since Serbia plays their competitive games in Division I, II or III usually during the NHL regular season or in the first round of playoffs.

crobro

01-11-2011, 06:50 PM

the 2nd slovenian born and raised player scored for his nhl team last nite

jan mursak

jekoh

01-12-2011, 03:01 AM

I'm not a rocket scientist or anything but I'm pretty sure that having an NHL star like Milan Lucic playing for Serbia would get the sport more exposure and help it grow in the country.
It is very doubtful it would get hockey more exposure, Lukic is certainly not a "star" in Serbia.

ozo

01-12-2011, 06:28 AM

It is very doubtful it would get hockey more exposure, Lukic is certainly not a "star" in Serbia.

Is NHL and particulary Milan Lucic gets any attention from Serbian media?

mattihp

01-13-2011, 12:45 AM

Even if he is, I doubt he would have been able to since Serbia plays their competitive games in Division I, II or III usually during the NHL regular season or in the first round of playoffs.

He has to get out of the NHL to play in a league based in Serbia first, which is what I meant.

HajdukSplit

01-27-2011, 10:46 AM

not necessarily pertaining to players but I notice sites like sportnet.hr cover American sports very well and there are many discussions about the NFL and NHL on their forums, pretty interesting.

They do a decent job covering both the NFL and NHL right now, not as extensive as here of course but they give the scores and short game details

I watched the Medvescak game against KAC, pretty good game, it was obvious KAC had the better induvidual players but the game was very exciting with Medvescak killing a two minute 5-on-3 at the end of the 3rd period

crobro

01-28-2011, 12:33 AM

Ivan13

06-15-2011, 09:12 AM

100% sure they are croatian:
J. Sakic
F. Mahovlich
P. Mahovlich
J. Kordic
D. Kordic
J. Cattarinich (in HOF as a builder, and first Habs goalie in history)
M-E Vlasic
C. Sarich
W. Mitchell
Marty Pavelich
A. Sertich
M. Sertich
P. Oreskovic
V. Oreskovich
N. Drazenovic
T. Zanonski
G. Bezina
J. Filewich
J. Prpich
Mark Pavelich
Mark Fistric

100% sure they are serbian:

M. Lucic
B. Radivojević

mattihp

06-15-2011, 09:38 AM

100% sure they are serbian:

M. Lucic
B. Radivojević
Lucic is canadian and Radivojević is slovakian, so no dice ;)

They are most certainly of Serbian descent though.

slovakiasnextone

06-15-2011, 09:54 AM

Lucic is canadian and Radivojević is slovakian, so no dice ;)

They are most certainly of Serbian descent though.

Radivojevič is Serbian on his dad´s side, but his mom is Slovak.

Ivan13

06-15-2011, 12:44 PM

Lucic is canadian and Radivojević is slovakian, so no dice ;)

They are most certainly of Serbian descent though.

I was thinking about their descent, not nationality.

RTN

06-21-2011, 10:35 PM

Lucic is canadian and Radivojević is slovakian, so no dice ;)

They are most certainly of Serbian descent though.

But if you ask Lucic if he is Serbian, he would say yes.

smitty10

06-22-2011, 12:38 PM

But if you ask Lucic if he is Serbian, he would say yes.

I doubt that. He's born and raised in Canada.

RTN

06-25-2011, 01:50 AM

I doubt that. He's born and raised in Canada.

Well, I played against him a few times and he's a Serb. He considers himself Canadian too, but he's without a doubt Serbian.

SerbianNightmare

08-23-2011, 05:01 PM

jJd7-6df_5o&feature=player_embedded

Legend:yo:.

crobro

09-27-2011, 12:38 AM

victor oreskovich is pretty much an nhler now.

jnorthall

09-30-2011, 01:31 PM

We need far more Croatians on our page: http://goo.gl/LCvCa

colman

10-01-2011, 06:11 PM

victor oreskovich is pretty much an nhler now.

I pretty sure James Marcou of San Jose Sharks is croation .He currently plays for the Sharks AHL Wor Sharks .Hopefully he makes it to the NHL also

mattihp

10-02-2011, 05:31 AM

I pretty sure James Marcou of San Jose Sharks is croation .He currently plays for the Sharks AHL Wor Sharks .Hopefully he makes it to the NHL also

Is Croation another word for someone with french heritage? Or is it on his mother's side? Marcou is a very french name.

Ivan13

10-10-2011, 04:39 AM

Is Croation another word for someone with french heritage? Or is it on his mother's side? Marcou is a very french name.

Does Willie Mitchell sound Croatian?

mattihp

10-10-2011, 07:15 AM

Does Willie Mitchell sound Croatian?

Thus "or is it on his mother's side".

crobro

10-10-2011, 03:34 PM

kevin mchale,fred couples ,martin sheen all croatian on the mothers side.

Sundinisagod

10-11-2011, 05:11 PM

crobro I don't think that is true for Martin Sheen...wikip says Irish mother.

RTN

10-11-2011, 10:47 PM

Denise Richards is Croatian on her mother's side!

Ivan13

10-12-2011, 01:07 PM

Roger Maris was Croatian.

crobro

10-14-2011, 02:53 AM

crobro I don't think that is true for Martin Sheen...wikip says Irish mother.

if you navigate a bit on you tube you will find the public service announcements on tv during the croatian -serbian war with martin sheen talking about his grandmother singing songs in croatian to him as a lad.he was raising money for the croatian relief fund .

the mans croaatian.

mattihp

10-14-2011, 04:17 AM

martin sheen talking about his grandmother singing songs in croatian to him as a lad.he was raising money for the croatian relief fund .

the mans croaatian.

Are you calling his grandmother a man

:confused:

Ivan13

10-14-2011, 04:51 AM

Are you calling his grandmother a man

:confused:

:shakehead

nutbar

10-14-2011, 07:30 PM

John Malkovich is Croat

Crottenham

10-25-2011, 03:28 PM

http://www.croatians.com/biographies.htm

Sundinisagod

10-31-2011, 11:01 AM

if you navigate a bit on you tube you will find the public service announcements on tv during the croatian -serbian war with martin sheen talking about his grandmother singing songs in croatian to him as a lad.he was raising money for the croatian relief fund .

the mans croaatian.

So his grandmother is Croatian but his mother Irish? Usually wikipedia is fairly accurate I thought?

crobro

12-30-2011, 01:02 AM

kinda unrelated but rumour has it that michael nylander has signed with medvescak

Ivan13

12-30-2011, 04:00 AM

kinda unrelated but rumour has it that michael nylander has signed with medvescak

Not true, Nylander is playing for Swiss team called ZSC.

jonas2244

12-30-2011, 04:20 PM

Not anymore, he had a contract until christmas, now played the Spengler Cup with Kloten but is without a contract now so this could be true.

Ivan13

12-31-2011, 03:34 AM

Not anymore, he had a contract until christmas, now played the Spengler Cup with Kloten but is without a contract now so this could be true.

Every EBEL team can make three changes to their roster during the course of the season, Medvescak just did their third one, so Nylander isn't going to sign in Zagreb.

Gomez91

06-26-2012, 09:54 PM

Travis Zajac is Croatian.

croAVSfan*

06-27-2012, 01:50 AM

Travis Zajac is Croatian.

Any reliable source to confirm it ?

Ivan13

06-29-2012, 01:25 PM

Travis Zajac is Croatian.

He isn't.

croAVSfan*

06-29-2012, 01:55 PM

He isn't.

He is Polish, 100% !

Alpine

06-30-2012, 08:43 PM

He is Polish, 100% !
Except that he's from Winnipeg Manitoba

IslesNorway

07-01-2012, 06:37 AM

What about Travis Hamonic? Surname at least sounds like something out ex-Yugoslavia

croAVSfan*

07-01-2012, 07:46 AM

What about Travis Hamonic? Surname at least sounds like something out ex-Yugoslavia

Hmm...despite surname finishes on -ic, I think that surname is not from ex-Yugoslav(in particulary Croatia) territory.

Ryan Kinasewich, Medvescak player (now signed for Red Bull Slazburg) also has surname on -ich, but he is of ukrainian/polish descent.

If you look at some Belarus surnames you will also notices some "-ich" surnames.

:)

smitty10

07-01-2012, 12:48 PM

ozo

07-01-2012, 01:29 PM

If you look at some Belarus surnames you will also notices some "-ich" surnames.

:)

Actually "-ich" is good indicator of Lithuanian heritage, not Belarussian. But totally understandable that "-ich" surnames are pretty common in Poland and Belarus if you know a lick of history.

slovakiasnextone

07-01-2012, 01:49 PM

Actually "-ich" is good indicator of Lithuanian heritage, not Belarussian. But totally understandable that "-ich" surnames are pretty common in Poland and Belarus if you know a lick of history.

Actually while the "ich" surnames are predominately to be found in ex-Yugoslav countries they are not too uncommon in other Slavic countries as well. Might not have anything to do with Lithuan herritage if there´s a Belarussian/Polish person with such a surname.

croAVSfan*

07-01-2012, 02:24 PM

ozo

07-01-2012, 07:02 PM

Actually while the "ich" surnames are predominately to be found in ex-Yugoslav countries they are not too uncommon in other Slavic countries as well. Might not have anything to do with Lithuan herritage if there´s a Belarussian/Polish person with such a surname.

You're right, but I was primarily tried to rebuff idea that "-ich" is a common Belarussian thingy as well, when in fact it isn't.

Alpine

07-01-2012, 07:45 PM

smitty10

07-01-2012, 09:45 PM

France could claim a fair number as well

Yeah many countries could. Sorry, I just don't understand this thread at all.

Alpine

07-02-2012, 06:16 AM

Yeah many countries could. Sorry, I just don't understand this thread at all.

You don't understand because Canada and USA are immigrant nations.
We may value and celebrate our individual heritage but we are citizens of our nations.
About 99% of us can say our families came from somewhere else.
There's only so many Jonathan Tootoo's
We accept that those born here are North Americans but from afar it can be said that the lineage started here.
Confusing yes but yet..........

IslesNorway

07-02-2012, 01:25 PM

Yeah many countries could. Sorry, I just don't understand this thread at all.

As far as I know most North Americans are to some extent interested in their ethnicity hence this thread.

Ivan13

07-03-2012, 03:35 AM

What about Travis Hamonic? Surname at least sounds like something out ex-Yugoslavia

I've seen somewhere that he has Croatian heritage, but it wasn't exactly a reliable source.

Ivan13

07-03-2012, 06:10 AM

Alpine

07-03-2012, 07:55 AM

A lot of them call themselves Croats, I know Cory Sarich considers himselfs both Canadian and Croatian, Frank Mahovlich always says he's a Croat, Sakic (he spoke only Croatian until kindergarten) is the same as Sarich, David Diehl (NFL offensive lineman) is a proud Croat, Milan Lucic calls himself both Canadian and Serbian etc.

Croats accros NA always gather in Croatian culture centers and vast majority of them is brought up in Croatian spirit. They all consider themselves Canadian or American, but they're also proud of their heritage and they cherish it.

Nationality isn't the same as ethnicity.
More descent than ethnicity as mostly what we are talking about here are white euro immigrants.
Now that we have the Caribbean (Subban) the Mid East Kahdri. Hockey is becoming a multi-ethnic sport in Canada.
One of the most annoying sports events I've watched was the the last Women's World Cup of Soccer. In Canadian broadcasters cheapness they just took the BBC feed. The commentators had to comment on the descent of every Canadian player.
Imagine Irish, Scottish. French. Carribbean, African,Asian descent on a Canadian team.
I found myself screaming at the TV..........Get with the 21st century...Canada is a multi-cultural society.

Ivan13

07-03-2012, 08:25 AM

More descent than ethnicity as mostly what we are talking about here are white euro immigrants.
Now that we have the Caribbean (Subban) the Mid East Kahdri. Hockey is becoming a multi-ethnic sport in Canada.
One of the most annoying sports events I've watched was the the last Women's World Cup of Soccer. In Canadian broadcasters cheapness they just took the BBC feed. The commentators had to comment on the descent of every Canadian player.
Imagine Irish, Scottish. French. Carribbean, African,Asian descent on a Canadian team.
I found myself screaming at the TV..........Get with the 21st century...Canada is a multi-cultural society.

Yes Canada is very much a multi-cultural open minded society. That's why I love it. All of those players are obviously Canadian and their hockey development has little to do with Croatia (in this case), but people like to talk about someones heritage.

And we Croats as a small nation (almost as many Croats live outside of Croatia as there's Croats in Croatia right now) like to follow people of Croatian descent in NA sports (in this case).

RTN

08-22-2012, 07:35 AM

I don't really understand why this thread exists. There are plenty of players of Croatian descent, but they're almost entirely North American born and who have developed entirely in North America. Imagine their was a thread for "British NHLers"? They could claim half (or more) of the league yet very few of them even identify as British and likely none of them have ever played there, much like Croatia.

Just to add some points to what others have said ...

The majority of Croatian immigration to NA occured in the 20th century (though there were Croatian sailors with Columbus!). So many people of Croatian decent are only first or second generation Canadian/American. It's silly to compare this to the Irish, Scottish, English, and French who largely immigrated centuries earlier. These people have very little personal connection to Europe. These people often consider themselves to be mixed (e.g. "I'm part English, part German, part Scottish, etc.). You'll find people of British decent, whose parents were born there, often have a stronger connection to Britain. Owen Hargreaves, for example, was the only member of his family to be born in Canada.

Another thing to consider is that it has always been common for Croatians to work abroad, especially during the communist period. You'll find large Croatian communities not only in Canada, US, SA, Australia, and New Zealand, but also in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and you could include Bosnia-Hercegovina, though part of it has always been considered Croatian. A number of these communities even have Croatian as an official/minority language (Burgenland, Molise, etc.). About half of all Croatians live outside of Croatia-proper. In some ways, Croatians are like Newfoundlanders. :laugh:

It's not uncommon for these foreign-born Croatians to represent Croatia in athletic competition. If you look at the national soccer team roster over the years, you will see many players born in Germany, Switzerland, and Australia. I think if Croatia had a stronger hockey team (and it is improving), you would see many more Croatian-Canadians play for Croatia. For example, I would play for Croatia before Canada, but that might also be because I had bad personal experiences with Hockey Canada.

Actually, I would be surprised if half the NHL was of British decent. There's seems to be a lot of Irish, French, German, Croatian, Russan, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, etc.

RTN

08-22-2012, 08:44 AM

^Actually, if you look at the names of players, while the British are well represented, they don't dominate as much as you may think. Let's look at The Hockey News' top 10 hockey players of all time (looking at just the paternal line, since it's easier to look at last names):

1. Gretzky = Ukranian/Polish
2. Orr = Irish
3. Howe = Norse
4. Lemieux = French
5. Richard = French
6. Harvey = English
7. Béliveau = French
8. Hull = English
9. Sawchuk = Ukranian
10. Shore = British

3/10 are British. But that's a very small sample size and before the large influx of Europeans. If you look at more recent names on that list (players who were active at that time), you have Roy (French), Coffey (Irish), Jagr (Czech), Chelios (Greek), Lindros (Swedish), Hull (English), Fuhr (German?), Leetch (English), Yzerman (unknown, possibly Dutch or Jewish?), Sakic (Croatian), Hasek (Czech). It's possible that everyone has an English mother, though :D

I would guess that 10-20% of NHLers are of significant British decent. The tough part is figuring out how to deal with heavily mixed people and separating the British from the Irish. For example, James Neal is probably of English decent, but Neal might actually be from Neil or O'Neill, which is Irish. Is Erik Johnson British, or is he Irish or Nordic?

mattihp

08-22-2012, 09:09 AM

Yzerman (unknown, possibly Dutch or Jewish?) I doubt that there is specific jewish germanic names (there might be a few in yiddish?) but the Yzerman name is dutch :)

American friends of mine were stunned while watching a documentary on nazis.. A high ranking officer had the name Rosenberg and they were all like

:OOOOO

ISN'T ROSENBERG A JEWISH NAME? :D

jekoh

08-30-2012, 04:31 AM

It's not uncommon for these foreign-born Croatians to represent Croatia in athletic competition. If you look at the national soccer team roster over the years, you will see many players born in Germany, Switzerland, and Australia. I think if Croatia had a stronger hockey team (and it is improving), you would see many more Croatian-Canadians play for Croatia.
You wouldn't, because most of these foreign-born Croatians would be ineligible for Croatia's national hockey team.

The tough part is figuring out how to deal with heavily mixed people and separating the British from the Irish. For example, James Neal is probably of English decent, but Neal might actually be from Neil or O'Neill, which is Irish. Is Erik Johnson British, or is he Irish or Nordic?
Is Jagr Czech or German? :help:

Alpine

08-30-2012, 03:49 PM

Well Milan Lucic took the Stanley Cup to a Serbian social club in Vancouver that his family belongs to. So descent is important to some.

Ivan13

09-16-2012, 10:01 AM

You wouldn't, because most of these foreign-born Croatians would be ineligible for Croatia's national hockey team.

KHL Medveščak will most likely enter the KHL next season and its front office is bringing in a lot of players of Croatia descent from all around the world ever since they've entered the Austrian EBEL, some of them already have Croatian passports and they are eligable to play for Croatia. When Medveščak enters the KHL the influx of forgein born Croats could be even greater than it is today.

Is Jagr Czech or German? :help:

Jäger would be German.

ozo

09-16-2012, 01:42 PM

Jäger would be German.

No, Jäger would be delicious. ;)

Ivan13

09-16-2012, 02:13 PM

No, Jäger would be delicious. ;)

:laugh:

jekoh

09-18-2012, 03:12 PM

KHL Medveščak will most likely enter the KHL next season and its front office is bringing in a lot of players of Croatia descent from all around the world ever since they've entered the Austrian EBEL, some of them already have Croatian passports and they are eligable to play for Croatia. When Medveščak enters the KHL the influx of forgein born Croats could be even greater than it is today.
There are only 2 Medveščak players that have gained eligibility, the new players are not eligible to play for Croatia and will not be until they have played two full seasons in the country.

The better Croatia will become, the less they will need to rely on foreigners. That's typically something that smaller teams do, and if anything it hinders their progression.

Jäger would be German.
If Neal is counts as Irish because the name might actually be from Neil or O'Neill, then Jagr should count as German.