Casey Cizikas

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Casey Cizikas

Cizikas in October 2013
Born (1991-02-27) February 27, 1991
Toronto, ON, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team New York Islanders
NHL Draft 92nd overall, 2009
New York Islanders
Playing career 2011–present
Medal record
Competitor for Canada Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver 2011 USA
World U17 Hockey Challenge
Gold 2008 Canada

Casey Cizikas (born February 27, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently playing with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Islanders in the 4th round, 92nd overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

The Mississauga St. Michaels Majors selected Cizikas with their first selection, third overall, in the 2007 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection draft.[1] He made his OHL debut in 2007–08, finishing 10th in rookie scoring with 41 points in 62 games.[2] He made two appearances with the Canadian national junior team program during the season. Cizikas was first a member of the Team Ontario squad that won the gold medal in the 2008 World U17 Hockey Challenge during the season,[3][4] then won gold with the U18 national team at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament following his OHL season.[5]

Cizikas recorded 36 points in 55 games in the 2008–09 OHL season.[6] At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected by the New York Islanders with their fourth round pick, 92nd overall.[2] He returned to Mississauga for the 2009–10 season where he tied for the team lead in scoring with 62 points and led with a plus-minus rating of +32. Cizikas served as captain of the Majors in 2010–11 where he recorded 64 points. He added 19 more in the 2011 OHL playoffs, leading the Majors to the championship series, which they ultimately lost to the Owen Sound Attack in seven games.[2] During that season, Cizikas was a surprise pick for the national junior team at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[7] He recorded two goals and one assist to help Canada win a silver medal.[2]

Professional

Cizikas turned professional and spent the majority of the 2011–12 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He was second in team scoring with 45 points, and scored his first two professional goals on October 18, 2011, against the Providence Bruins.[2] He was recalled by the Islanders during the season, and made his NHL debut on February 24, 2012, against the New York Rangers.[8] Cizikas appeared in 15 games with New York and recorded four assists. His first two NHL points came on March 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers.[2]

As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Cizikas began the season with Bridgeport. He had 21 points in 31 games with the Sound Tigers before the labour dispute was settled and he was recalled to the Islanders. Cizikas scored his first NHL goal on January 29, 2013, against goaltender Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins.[9] He finished the season with 6 goals and 15 points in 45 regular season games, then added 4 points in 6 playoff games.[6]

Personal life

In 2009 Cizikas was found guilty of manslaughter for a rugby game incident that led to the accidental death of Manny Castillo. In a rugby game in Mississauga in 2007, Cizikas tackled Castillo in what was described by Cizikas as a headlock. Castillo died of a head injury two days later. It was noted by physicians that two weeks prior to the battle with Cizikas, Castillo suffered a major concussion. One doctor testified that Castillo’s concussion was so severe, he should have been held out of competition with physical contact for a full year. The Castillo family supported Cizikas throughout his ordeal and believed Manny’s death was an accident. The family asked that Cizikas be spared punishment. However, because the tackle led to a death, their request could not be met due to Peel Regional Police and their support of conviction. Cizikas was found by Judge Bruce Duncan to have used “unnecessary force” and convicted him of manslaughter. He was given a sentence of one year probation and 100 hours of community service. Manuel Castillo - Manny’s father - gave an emotional impact statement that called for fighting in youth hockey to be abolished, but again did not blame Cizikas for his son’s death.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsOHL621823414141236
2008–09Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsOHL55162036391154911
2009–10Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsOHL682537627716771416
2010–11Mississauga St. Michael's MajorsOHL5229346440165141914
2011–12 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 52 15 30 45 30 3 0 0 0 20
2011–12 New York Islanders NHL 15 0 4 4 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 31 10 11 21 35 — — — — —
2012–13 New York Islanders NHL 45 6 9 15 14 6 2 2 4 12
NHL totals 60 6 13 19 20 6 2 2 4 12

References

  1. ↑ "2007 OHL Priority Selection Concluded". SooToday. 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Auerbach; Eisenberg, Jesse, eds. (2012). 2012–13 New York Islanders Media Guide. New York Islanders Hockey Club. p. 21. 
  3. ↑ "Team Ontario To Meet Team USA In Gold-Medal Game Of 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge; Team West And Team Pacific To Play For Bronze". SooToday. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2012-06-12. 
  4. ↑ "Team Ontario wins gold medal at 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge Team West takes bronze". Hockey Canada. 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  5. ↑ "Cizikas, Mens Summer Under-18 Team Bring Home the Gold" (Press release). Our Sports Central. 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Casey Cizikas player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  7. ↑ Morreale, Mike G. (2011-01-02). "No more questioning Cizikas' spot on Canada's roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  8. ↑ Staple, Arthur (2012-02-24). "Isles' Cizikas makes NHL debut". New York Newsday. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  9. ↑ "Islanders send Penguins to third loss in four games". ESPN. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  10. ↑ "Cizikas: 1 year probation for manslaughter 2009". Islanderspointbreak.com. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-01. 

External links

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