Joe Motzko

Joseph Andrew Motzko (born March 14, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and in European leagues.

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. He was then sent to join its 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, mainly spent with 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, Motzko 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 the Thrashers affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, where he won the 2008 Calder Cup Championship. 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 ever 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.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Omaha Lancers USHL 51 15 21 36 60 12 7 3 10 12 1999–00 St. Cloud State WCHA 36 9 15 24 52 — — — — — 2000–01 St. Cloud State WCHA 41 17 20 37 54 — — — — — 2001–02 St. Cloud State WCHA 39 9 30 39 34 — — — — — 2002–03 St. Cloud State WCHA 38 17 25 42 59 — — — — — 2002–03 Syracuse Crunch AHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2003–04 Syracuse Crunch AHL 70 17 24 41 38 7 2 2 4 6 2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2004–05 Syracuse Crunch AHL 79 28 38 66 72 — — — — — 2005–06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 61 27 34 61 54 3 0 0 0 0 2005–06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2006–07 Syracuse Crunch AHL 33 13 23 36 29 — — — — — 2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 7 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 34 15 14 29 20 — — — — — 2006–07 Anaheim Ducks NHL — — — — — 3 0 0 0 2 2007–08 Hershey Bears AHL 48 21 27 48 44 — — — — — 2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 8 2 2 4 0 — — — — — 2007–08 Chicago Wolves AHL 24 6 16 22 16 16 2 9 11 12 2008–09 Chicago Wolves AHL 73 29 27 56 82 — — — — — 2008–09 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 6 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2009–10 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 48 18 16 34 74 10 3 5 8 10 2010–11 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 50 28 22 50 66 3 0 1 1 4 2011–12 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 44 8 20 28 50 8 3 0 3 6 2012–13 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 52 15 21 36 42 6 3 2 5 14 2013–14 EC Red Bull Salzburg EBEL 45 11 20 31 34 14 1 7 8 16 2014–15 Ritten/Renon ITL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — NHL totals 25 4 2 6 0 3 0 0 0 2

Awards and achievements 1997-98 MSHSL Mr. Hockey Semifinalist (Bemidji High School) 1999-00 WCHA Rookie of the Week (St. Cloud State) 2000-01 WCHA Broadmoor Trophy (St. Cloud State) 2006–07 NHL Stanley Cup (Anaheim Ducks) 2007–08 AHL Calder Cup (Chicago Wolves) 2010 Bemidji High School Athletic Hall of Fame