Bates Battaglia

Jonathan " Bates " Battaglia ( born December 13, 1975 in Chicago, Illinois ) is a retired American professional ice hockey player of Italian descent, who in the course of his playing career, including for the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League has played.

Career

Bates Battaglia began his career as a hockey player in the team of Lake Superior State University, where he was active from 1994 to 1997. Previously, he was selected as the junior player in the NHL Entry Draft in 1994 in the sixth round as a total of 132 players from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, for which he, however, never played. After his time at university, the attacker received a contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, for in the National Hockey League he stood until 2003 on the ice. With Carolina, he reached the finals for the Stanley Cup, in which he lost his team the Detroit Red Wings in the 2001/ 02 season. On 11 March 2003, the Links shooter was transferred in exchange for Radim Vrbata to the Colorado Avalanche, who submitted him to only 24 games at the start of the following season to the Washington Capitals.

For the Capitals Battaglia scored in the 2003/04 season in 66 games overall ten scorer points, including four goals. The lockout during the 2004/ 05 NHL season bridged the Americans in the ECHL with the Mississippi Sea Wolves. Following the resumption of gaming operations in the NHL, he received a new contract in Washington, so he moved to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. After a year in the AHL, he was finally obliged by the Toronto Maple Leafs, their farm team, the Toronto Marlies. For the Maple Leafs winger was standing in the 2006/07 season in all 82 games of the regular season on the ice and scored 31 points scorer, including twelve gates. After he was nevertheless still called in the following season 13 times in the NHL squad the Leafs, played the former national team in the 2008 /09 season exclusively for the Marlies in the AHL. Since he did not get contract extension, Battaglia was a so-called Unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2009. In November 2009 he was engaged by the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL before he was taken in January 2010 by Jokerit Helsinki under contract.

In December 2010, Battaglia was committed by the Rochester Americans on the basis of a try-out contract of 25 games. After 20 operations a month later the German second division Lusatian foxes took him under contract, who committed him to the end of the season. On February 8, 2011 - after only two completed games for the Foxes - his contract was terminated for health reasons on the part of the club again. Battaglia had not passed the medical check and flew back the next day to his home. In March 2011 he received a contract with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. There he ran with his brother Anthony Battaglia on the ice. The 2011/12 season spent the Americans in the Swedish third division Karlskrona HK with which he ascended to the end of the season in the second-class HockeyAllsvenskan.

Internationally

For the U.S., Battaglia participated in the Junior World Cup in 1995, as well as the World Championships in 1998 and 2004 in part.

Awards and achievements

• 2004 bronze medal at the World Championships

NHL stats

Family

Battaglia's brother Anthony is also a professional hockey player. Her grandfather Sam was a well-known mafia boss and head of the Chicago Outfit, among others.