Mark Giordano

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Mark Giordano
Born (1983-10-03) October 3, 1983
Toronto, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams 		Calgary Flames
Dynamo Moscow
National team  Canada
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2004–present

Mark Giordano (born October 3, 1983) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently serves as captain of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a leading scorer amongst defencemen in two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) but went unselected in the NHL Entry Draft. The Flames signed him a contract in 2004, and after playing two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL), he made his NHL debut in 2006. He spent the 2007–08 season with Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Super League before returning to the Flames the following season. Internationally, Giordano played with Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Championship.

Early life

Giordano was born in Toronto, Ontario on October 3, 1983. He attended Chaminade College School. His father, Paul, is a real estate agent and his mother, Anna, a hairdresser.[1] He has an older sister, Michelle, and had another older sister, Mia, who was killed in a car accident when he was 14.[2] He taps his helmet twice with his stick at the end of the national anthems before each game as a quiet tribute to his sister, whose death had a lasting impact on Giordano and his family, bringing them closer together.[1]

Giordano then played a season of Junior A hockey with the Brampton Capitals of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2001–02, scoring 24 goals in the playoffs to help lead the Capitals to the Ontario provincial championship.[3] He then moved up to major junior, playing two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He was the top scoring defenceman on the team years, scoring 48 and 49 points in 2002–03 and 2003–04 respectively.[4]

Playing career

In spite of his offensive success in junior, Giordano went unselected at the NHL Entry Draft. He had enrolled in York University's school of business in 2004 when he received a late invitation from the Calgary Flames to attend their summer camp.[1] The Flames signed him to a contract following the camp,[5] and assigned him to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters, for the 2004–05 season, appearing in 66 games.[6]

He remained in the AHL for much of the 2005–06 season, transferring to Calgary's new affiliate, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Giordano led the Knights in scoring, recording 16 goals and 58 points in 73 games. Additionally, he was second amongst defencemen in the AHL in goal scoring and fourth in points.[4] He appeared in seven games with the Flames, and made his NHL debut on January 30, 2006, against the St. Louis Blues.[4] He split the 2006–07 season between Omaha and Calgary, scoring 15 points in 48 games in a Flames uniform that year.[5] Giordano scored his first two NHL goals on October 14, 2006, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[4]

Unable to come to terms on a new contract with the Flames, Giordano left the NHL to sign with HC Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Super League.[7] He appeared in 50 games with Moscow,[4] and played with the winning Canadian team at the 2007 Spengler Cup.[8] He was named an alternate for the Canadian roster at the 2008 IIHF World Championship,[9] though he never appeared in a game. Though he feared his decision to leave for Russia would damage his relationship with the Flames, who retained his NHL rights, he was able to come to terms on a three-year contract that brought him back to Calgary for the 2008–09 NHL season.[10]

Giordano in 2008.

Giordano appeared in 58 games for the Flames, scoring 19 points before a shoulder injury ended his season.[4] He required surgery to repair the damage suffered in a game against the Minnesota Wild.[11] He recovered in time to begin the 2009–10 season, but several new additions to Calgary's blue line left him concerned about his position with the team.[12] Instead, he solidified his place on the roster with a career year; he set personal highs in goals (11), points (30) and was +17 for the Flames.[6] The Hockey News named him one of the most underrated players in the league,[13] and was invited to join Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Championship.[14] He appeared in seven games in the tournament, scoring three goals and an assist.[6]

Though he had the option to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2010–11 season, Giordano opted to remain in Calgary and signed a five-year, $20 million contract extension with the Flames on October 29, 2010.[15] He led all Flames defencemen in scoring and set a career high with 43 points in 82 games.[16] Giordano missed several weeks of the 2011–12 season after suffering a torn hamstring.[17] The injury caused Giordano, who was named an alternate captain prior to the season's start, to miss 21 games.[16]

Giordano was named the 19th captain in Flames history on September 20, 2013, succeeding Jarome Iginla, who was traded late in the 2012–13 season.[18] He was praised by both his teammates and the coaching staff for both his long tenure with the franchise and for his playing style: Giordano played in all situations for the Flames, was one of the hardest workers on the team and was willing to sacrifice himself to block a shot and defend his teammates.[19] A blocked shot felled Giordano early in the 2013–14 as he suffered a broken ankle in late October.[20] He missed 18 games due to the injury, during which the Flames gained only five wins.[21]

Off the ice

Giordano and his wife Lauren are spokespeople for Habitat for Humanity. They launched a program called "5-for-5" in January 2011 that aims to build five homes for the organization, one in the Calgary area and four in Africa and Asia. Giordano donated $25,000 of the $130,000 cost himself, and his contribution was matched by the Flames charitable foundation.[22] The team honoured him for his work with Habitat for Humanity and the Flames Foundation for Life by naming him the recipient of the J. R. "Bud" McCaig Award in 2012.[23]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Brampton Capitals OPJHL 48 11 26 37 59 — — — — —
2002–03 Owen Sound Attack OHL 68 18 30 48 109 4 1 3 4 2
2003–04 Owen Sound Attack OHL 65 14 35 49 72 7 1 3 4 5
2004–05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 66 6 10 16 85 11 0 1 1 41
2005–06 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights AHL 73 16 42 58 141 — — — — —
2005–06 Calgary Flames NHL 7 0 1 1 8 — — — — —
2006–07 Calgary Flames NHL 48 7 8 15 36 4 1 0 1 0
2006–07 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights AHL 5 0 2 2 8 3 0 1 1 2
2007–08 Dynamo Moscow RSL 50 4 9 13 89 — — — — —
2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 58 2 17 19 59 — — — — —
2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 81 11 19 30 81 — — — — —
2010–11 Calgary Flames NHL 82 8 35 43 67 — — — — —
2011–12 Calgary Flames NHL 61 9 18 27 75 — — — — —
2012–13 Calgary Flames NHL 47 4 11 15 40 — — — — —
NHL totals 385 41 109 150 366 4 1 0 1 0

International

Year Team Comp   GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Canada WC 7 3 1 4 10
International totals 7 3 1 4 10

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hall, Vicki (2011-01-17). "Sister's tragic death helps Flames defenceman Mark Giordano keep hockey in perspective". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2011-01-17. 
  2. ↑ Macfarlane, Steve (2011-01-17). "Tragedy helped mold Flames' Giordano". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2011-01-17. 
  3. ↑ Robson, Dan (2011-01-15). "Dan Robson recalls playing with Mark Giordano". Brampton Guardian. Retrieved 2011-01-17. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Hanlon, Peter; Kelso, Sean (2009). 2009–10 Calgary Flames Media Guide. Calgary Flames Hockey Club. p. 49. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kimberley, Todd (2010-01-01). "Giordano a gem on the blueline". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Mark Giordano profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  7. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2008-04-30). "Gordano Russian to rekindle career". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  8. ↑ "Canada wins Spengler Cup by defeating Russian team Ufa 2-1 in final". National Hockey League. 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  9. ↑ "World's mark young D-man's return home". Calgary Herald. 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  10. ↑ "Giordano's return official". Calgary Herald. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  11. ↑ "Injured Flames return home". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  12. ↑ MacFarlane, Steve (2009-09-15). "Defender a Marked man with additions to blue-line". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  13. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2010-01-28). "Gio's game scores extra ink". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  14. ↑ MacFarlane, Steve (2010-04-14). "Giordano off to Worlds". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  15. ↑ "Flames sign Giordano to five-year contract extension". The Sports Network. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2011-01-17. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Hanlon, Peter; Kelso, Sean; Ahrens, Janette; Buer, Greg, eds. (2013). 2013–14 Calgary Flames Media Guide. Calgary Flames Hockey Club. p. 62. 
  17. ↑ Down, John (2012-01-09). "Giordano feels 'almost, if not normal'". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2013-12-05. 
  18. ↑ Cruichshank, Scott (2013-09-20). "Giordano new captain of Flames". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2013-09-21. 
  19. ↑ Johnson, George (2013-09-12). "Why Mark Giordano should be the next Flames captain". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2013-12-05. 
  20. ↑ "Flames D Giordano out 6–8 weeks with broken ankle". The Sports Network. 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-12-05. 
  21. ↑ Odland, Kristen (2013-12-05). "Captain Giordano's return lifts Flames over Coyotes". Calgary Herald. p. B12. 
  22. ↑ Storry, Lea (2011-01-26). "Flames defenceman teams up with Habitat for Humanity". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  23. ↑ "Giordano named J.R. McCaig Award winner". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2012-03-31. 

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jarome Iginla		 Calgary Flames captain
2013–present 		Incumbent
Pacific
Central
Atlantic
Metropolitan
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