Rob Valicevic

Robert “Big Rob” Valicevic (born January 6, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played six seasons in the National Hockey League, playing with four teams between 1998 and 2004, and also spent several years in various minor and European leagues during his career, which lasted from 1995 to 2008.

Playing career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Valicevic has Croatian ancestry. He was drafted in the 6th round (114th overall) of the 1991 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. He spent four seasons playing with Lake Superior State University in the NCAA from 1991 to 1995 before turning pro in the 1995–96 season. Over that period of time, he recorded 57 goals, 66 assists and 123 points in 161 games. He then moved to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) for the 1995–96 season where he played 60 games with the Louisiana IceGators, scoring 62 points and earning a call-up to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for two games. He played 8 more games for the IceGators during the 1996–97 season before joining the Houston Aeros of the IHL where he played until 1999, when he earned a spot with the Nashville Predators, playing 19 games in the 1998–99 season.

He spent the next two seasons in the NHL as well, before signing with the Los Angeles Kings organization in August 2001. He spent one season with the Kings, playing only 19 NHL games, the rest of the season spent with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. In July 2002, Valicevic signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim organization, with similar results to those in Los Angeles, playing most of the 2002–03 season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL. Valicevic was again a free agent following the 2002–03 season, this time signing with the Dallas Stars, again with little success in the 2003–04 season, playing only 7 games with the Stars, the rest spent with the Utah Grizzlies.

Valicevic then moved to the UHL, and played the 2004–05 season with the Flint Generals before moving to Europe, where he had a short stay with TPS. He then went to Germany to play with ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL. He spent 2005–06 and 2006–07 with Ingolstadt and last played for EC KAC of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, retiring after the 2007–08 season.

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1990–91 Detroit Compuware Ambassadors NAHL 39 31 44 75 54 — — — — — 1991–92 Lake Superior State University CCHA 36 8 4 12 12 — — — — — 1992–93 Lake Superior State University CCHA 43 21 20 41 28 — — — — — 1993–94 Lake Superior State University CCHA 45 18 20 38 46 — — — — — 1994–95 Lake Superior State University CCHA 37 10 22 32 40 — — — — — 1995–96 Springfield Falcons AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1995–96 Louisiana IceGators ECHL 60 42 20 62 85 5 2 3 5 8 1996–97 Louisiana IceGators ECHL 8 7 2 9 21 — — — — — 1996–97 Houston Aeros IHL 58 11 12 23 42 12 1 3 4 11 1997–98 Houston Aeros IHL 72 29 28 57 47 4 2 0 2 2 1998–99 Houston Aeros IHL 57 16 33 49 62 19 7 10 17 8 1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL 19 4 2 6 2 — — — — — 1999–00 Nashville Predators NHL 80 14 11 25 21 — — — — — 2000–01 Nashville Predators NHL 60 8 6 14 26 — — — — — 2001–02 Manchester Monarchs AHL 59 11 23 34 25 5 1 0 1 4 2001–02 Los Angeles Kings NHL 17 1 1 2 8 — — — — — 2002–03 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 69 17 26 43 38 — — — — — 2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 10 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2003–04 Utah Grizzlies AHL 67 11 26 37 44 — — — — — 2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2004–05 TPS FIN 10 1 1 2 29 — — — — — 2004–05 Flint Generals UHL 78 36 60 96 38 — — — — — 2005–06 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 46 12 18 30 28 — — — — — 2006–07 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 51 15 27 42 56 6 3 2 5 12 2007–08 Klagenfurter AC EBEL 24 8 15 23 26 3 0 1 1 0 AHL totals 197 39 75 114 109 5 1 0 1 4 IHL totals 187 56 73 129 151 35 10 13 23 21 NHL totals 193 28 20 48 61 — — — — —

Awards and honors Award Year CCHA All-Tournament Team 1993

2004–05 UHL Second All-Star Team