Position Right Wing Name Joe Motzko Career start 2004 Playing career Weight 89 kg | NHL Draft Undrafted Height 1.85 m Shoots Right Role Ice hockey player | |
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Born March 14, 1980 (age 44) Bemidji, MN, USA ( 1980-03-14 ) teamFormer teams Free AgentColumbus Blue JacketsAnaheim DucksWashington CapitalsAtlanta ThrashersERC IngolstadtEC Red Bull SalzburgRitten/Renon Similar People Tyler Arnason, Bryan Helmer, Scott Mellanby, Mark French | ||
Joe motzko where are they now
Joseph Andrew Motzko (born March 14, 1980 in Bemidji, Minnesota) is an American ice hockey forward currently an unrestricted free agent who last played with Ritten/Renon of the Italian Serie A.
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Playing career
Undrafted, Motzko played for St. Cloud State University in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. After his senior year with St. Cloud, Motzko was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on May 15, 2003. Joe was then sent to join affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
In the 2003–04 season, his first full professional season, Motzko appeared in his first NHL game with the Blue Jackets on February 2, 2004, against the Phoenix Coyotes.
In his fourth season with the Blue Jackets and having played mainly for the Syracuse Crunch, Motzko was traded by the Blue Jackets along with Mark Hartigan to the Anaheim Ducks for Curtis Glencross and Zenon Konopka on January 26, 2007. Ten days earlier, Motzko scored his first career NHL goal at the United Center in Chicago against Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks in a 5-4 Blue Jackets victory. Motzko was then assigned to the Portland Pirates before he was called up to the Ducks during the 2007 playoffs. Motzko appeared in 3 post-season games for the Stanley Cup winning Ducks.
On July 9, 2007, Joe was signed by the Washington Capitals. He appeared in 8 games with the Capitals (in his Capitals debut, he had 3 points scoring 2 goals and one assist) before he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Alexandre Giroux on February 26, 2008. Motzko was assigned to Thrasher's affiliate where he won the 2008 Calder Cup Championship with the Chicago Wolves.
Motzko made his Thrashers debut in the 2008–09 season on January 31, 2009, in a 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes
On July 16, 2009, Motzko signed with Russian team HC MVD of the Kontinental Hockey League. However, before appearing in a game with MVD, Motzko was released on September 11, and four days later signed with ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
After four seasons with Ingolstadt, Motzko left as a free agent and joined neighbouring league in Austria on a one-year deal with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the EBEL on June 26, 2013.