Tony Hrkac

Anthony John Hrkac (; born July 7, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive, former coach and former player of Croatian and Ukrainian ancestry who played eighteen seasons of professional hockey.

Playing career Collegiate Hrkac was drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 1984 NHL entry draft. Hrkac played collegiately at the University of North Dakota, and was the recipient of the Hobey Baker Award for top men's collegiate hockey player during the 1986–87 season. He led the team (along with future Chicago Blackhawks teammate and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Ed Belfour) —widely known during this period as the "Hrkac Circus" (the name rhymes) — to a national championship and his 116 points that season still stands as the NCAA single-season scoring mark.

Professional He made his National Hockey League debut with the Blues during the 1987 NHL playoffs, appearing in three games. After two-plus seasons with the Blues, he was traded (along with Greg Millen) to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Jeff Brown.

In his NHL career, Hrkac would play for the Blues, Nordiques, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Atlanta Thrashers. Hrkac's rights were also briefly owned by the Pittsburgh Penguins when they acquired him and Bobby Dollas from the Edmonton Oilers for forward Josef Beranek. On June 26, ten days after initially acquiring Hrkac, the Penguins lost Hrkac to the Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft. Less than two weeks later, Hrkac was moved; this time to the Dallas Stars. He was traded on July 9, 1998, for future considerations.

Hrkac came out of retirement for the 2008–09 season, at the age of 42, by signing with the AHL's Houston Aeros on March 11, 2009. Hrkac balanced his return to pro hockey with his coaching career, playing for the Aeros after the Concordia University Wisconsin season came to an end. He joined the Aeros once again during the 2009–10 season, after his coaching obligations were done for the year, before retiring for good.

Coaching career On September 19, 2006, Concordia University Wisconsin officials announced that the university added Division III men's and women's hockey to its sports line-up for the 2007–2008 school year. Hrkac was named the first men's hockey coach in Concordia history serving as coach until February 2012, with a coaching record of 10-109-10 while at Concordia.

Hrkac joined the Madison Capitols in the USHL as an assistant coach for their 2014–15 season, leaving after one year.

Executive career Following his coaching career, Hrkac spent nine seasons as a pro scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In July 2024, Hrkac rejoined the Anaheim Ducks organization as the team's Director of Pro Scouting.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1983–84 Orillia Travelways OPJHL 42 52 54 106 20 — — — — — 1984–85 University of North Dakota WCHA 36 18 36 54 16 — — — — — 1985–86 Canada Intl 62 19 30 49 36 — — — — — 1986–87 University of North Dakota WCHA 48 46 70 116 48 — — — — — 1986–87 St. Louis Blues NHL — — — — — 3 0 0 0 0 1987–88 St. Louis Blues NHL 67 11 37 48 22 10 6 1 7 4 1988–89 St. Louis Blues NHL 70 17 28 45 8 4 1 1 2 0 1989–90 St. Louis Blues NHL 28 5 12 17 8 — — — — — 1989–90 Quebec Nordiques NHL 22 4 8 12 2 — — — — — 1989–90 Halifax Citadels AHL 20 12 21 33 4 6 5 9 14 4 1990–91 Halifax Citadels AHL 3 4 1 5 2 — — — — — 1990–91 Quebec Nordiques NHL 70 16 32 48 16 — — — — — 1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 22 2 10 12 4 — — — — — 1991–92 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 18 1 2 3 6 3 0 0 0 2 1992–93 Indianapolis Ice IHL 80 45 87 132 70 5 0 2 2 2 1993–94 Peoria Rivermen IHL 45 30 51 81 25 1 1 2 3 0 1993–94 St. Louis Blues NHL 36 6 5 11 8 4 0 0 0 0 1994–95 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 71 24 67 91 26 15 4 9 13 16 1995–96 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 43 14 28 42 18 5 1 3 4 4 1996–97 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 81 27 61 88 20 3 1 1 2 2 1997–98 Michigan K-Wings IHL 20 7 15 22 6 — — — — — 1997–98 Dallas Stars NHL 13 5 3 8 0 — — — — — 1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 36 8 11 19 10 12 0 3 3 2 1998–99 Dallas Stars NHL 69 13 14 27 26 5 0 2 2 4 1999–00 New York Islanders NHL 7 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 60 4 7 11 8 — — — — — 2000–01 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 80 13 25 38 29 — — — — — 2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 80 18 26 44 12 — — — — — 2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 80 9 17 26 14 — — — — — 2003–04 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 68 20 39 59 20 22 8 12 20 8 2004–05 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 77 12 28 40 14 6 0 1 1 8 2008–09 Houston Aeros AHL 12 2 2 4 4 19 4 10 14 8 2009–10 Houston Aeros AHL 17 0 3 3 4 — — — — — NHL totals 758 132 239 371 173 41 7 7 14 12

Awards and honors Award Year College All-WCHA First Team 1986–87 AHCA West First-Team All-American 1986–87 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1987 Hobey Baker Award 1986–87 IHL James Gatschene Memorial Trophy 1992–93 Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy 1992–93

-Won the Stanley Cup with the 1998-99 Dallas Stars