Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) Playing career National team United States | Shot Left Position Defence Name George Konik | |
Born May 4, 1937 (age 86)
Flin Flon, MB, CAN ( 1937-05-04 ) Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
George Samuel Konik (May 4, 1937 – October 21, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player.
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Career
Konik was a star on the University of Denver hockey team which won the NCAA hockey championship in 1960 and 1961. He signed a professional contract with the New York Rangers after that but did not make his NHL debut until 1967–68 after the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins traded for his rights. Konik made 52 appearances as a versatile role player for the Penguins that season, but drifted back to the minor professional leagues after that.
Konik eventually became a naturalized American citizen and joined the United States national team for the 1970 and 1971 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments; he was named best defenceman in 1970. Konik came out of retirement in 1972/73 to play a final season of major league pro hockey for the WHA Minnesota Fighting Saints before leaving hockey for good. Konik died in the morning of October 21, 2016; his death was announced later that day by the Penguins' official Twitter account.
Business career
After Hockey Konik founded an engineering firm in 1974 named George Konik Associates.