Jonathan Filewich

Jonathan Filewich (born October 2, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Croatian ancestry Filewich was born in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Playing career Filewich was drafted 70th overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. After playing six seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Prince George Cougars and the Lethbridge Hurricanes, he began his professional career with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, in the 2005–06 season. He participated in the 2007 AHL All-Star Game at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario and assisted on one of Team Canada's goals in a 7-6 defeat to the Planet USA All-Stars.

On January 20, 2008, Jonathan was recalled from the AHL to play with the big club, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Wearing the number 34 on his jersey, he amassed a total of five games, with his NHL debut being played against the Washington Capitals on January 21. One highlight of his stint in the NHL was his 10 minutes and 47 seconds of time on ice in a 4–2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Jonathan was sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in early February, just after the all-star break.

On December 19, 2008, he was traded from the Penguins to the St. Louis Blues for a conditional sixth round draft pick in 2010. Filewich was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, for the duration of the season and didn't debut with the Blues. On June 30, 2009, he was tendered a contract with St. Louis but failed to agree to terms. On October 2, 2009, he left North America and signed with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League. In the 2009–10 season, he posted 32 points in 45 games, as Salzburg went on to win the Championship.

On June 7, 2010, he signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with fellow EBEL team KHL Medveščak Zagreb.

After two seasons in Europe, Filewich retired from professional hockey after the 2010-11 EBEL season. During his final years as a professional hockey player, Filewich often worked on correspondence courses while in the team hotel and while travelling on the bus. Filewich graduated from Brandon University in spring 2013 with a degree in physical education and has said he would like to become a teacher.

After retiring from professional hockey, Filewich played senior hockey for the Souris Elks of the Tiger Hills Hockey League. In 4 seasons, Filewich scored 71 goals, and recorded 80 assists over a 71 game career.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Sherwood Park Flyers AAA AMBHL 39 26 43 72 90 — — — — — 1999–2000 Sherwood Park Kings AAA AMHL 33 28 20 48 59 — — — — — 1999–2000 Prince George Cougars WHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2000–01 Prince George Cougars WHL 61 9 16 25 32 — — — — — 2001–02 Prince George Cougars WHL 66 13 19 32 23 7 2 0 2 2 2002–03 Prince George Cougars WHL 51 27 27 54 45 5 1 1 2 2 2003–04 Prince George Cougars WHL 72 30 25 55 52 — — — — — 2004–05 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 68 42 38 80 26 5 1 1 2 2 2005–06 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 73 22 14 36 40 11 6 4 10 6 2006–07 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 80 30 26 56 38 11 4 2 6 8 2007–08 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 71 10 21 31 44 14 1 2 3 2 2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2008–09 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 19 2 2 4 6 — — — — — 2008–09 Peoria Rivermen AHL 49 5 10 15 12 7 2 1 3 6 2009–10 EC Red Bull Salzburg AUT 45 11 21 32 28 18 4 1 5 14 2010–11 KHL Medveščak Zagreb AUT 44 13 10 23 26 4 1 0 1 12 2012–13 Souris Elks THHL 15 24 24 48 4 — — — — — 2013–14 Souris Elks THHL 19 24 27 51 6 — — — — — 2014–15 Souris Elks THHL 18 21 20 41 10 4 2 3 5 2 2015–16 Souris Elks THHL 21 20 23 43 18 — — — — — 2016–17 Souris Elks THHL 13 6 10 16 4 8 4 3 7 0 AHL totals 292 69 73 142 140 43 13 9 22 22 NHL totals 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2002 Canada WJC18 6th 8 4 3 7 22 Junior totals 8 4 3 7 22