Nick Kypreos

Nikos Kypreos (born June 4, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He is a former hockey analyst on the Sportsnet cable television network in Canada. Kypreos is of Greek descent.

Kypreos at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Born (1966-06-04) June 4, 1966
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 211 lb (96 kg; 15 st 1 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Washington Capitals
Hartford Whalers
New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 19861997

Playing career

Kypreos was born in Toronto, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Wexford, Toronto.[1] He was an effective goal scorer in juniors with the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He finished second in the league for goals scored, with 62, in the 1985–86 OHL season, leading the top scoring Centennials to second place in the regular season.

Kypreos struggled to score at the NHL level and immediately became known as an enforcer, a role he maintained throughout his pro career. He was never drafted by an NHL team, but was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers on the eve of his second junior season. However, his NHL career began with the Washington Capitals. His best NHL season came in 1992–93 while a member of the Hartford Whalers, when he scored a career-best 17 goals while earning 325 penalty minutes, which was the fourth-highest penalty minute total in the league that season.

In 1994, Kypreos was a member of the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers. He made his final NHL stop with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. As a Maple Leaf, his career ended as the result of a concussion sustained in a fight with the Rangers' Ryan VandenBussche in a pre-season game on September 15, 1997 when his face hit the ice after he was punched unconscious. After the injury, Kypreos suffered post-concussion syndrome and was forced to retire.[2][3] He would finish his NHL career with 46 goals, 44 assists, 90 points, and 1,210 penalty minutes in 442 regular season games.[4]

Television career

Since retiring as a player, Kypreos had gone on to serve as a hockey analyst for Sportsnet in Canada, as the co-host of Hockey Central (first with Darren Dreger and later with Daren Millard). He also co-hosts Hockey Central at Noon on The Fan 590 in Toronto and simulcast on Sportsnet as of 2018. Hockey Central at Noon is hosted by Jeff Marek.[5] The show was previously co-hosted by Daren Millard and Bill Berg until the fall of 2008, when Berg left and was replaced by Mike Brophy. Starting in the fall of 2009, former NHL coach and executive Doug MacLean was also added to the program as an analyst. His role was expanded in October 2014 when he became part of the new but revamped Hockey Night in Canada as an analyst after its parent, Rogers Media acquired the sole national television rights to the NHL in November 2013, until he departed in 2019.

Kypreos has also appeared on TSN as an analyst, notably when Hockey Canada announced the Canadian national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Kypreos appeared as a pro hockey player, acting in a 1996 episode of the HBO program Arli$$ entitled "What About the Fans?".[6]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84Dixie BeehivesOPJHL9371012
1983–84Kitchener RangersOHL42020
1983–84North Bay CentennialsOHL471011213643259
1984–85North Bay CentennialsOHL6441367771822415
1985–86North Bay CentennialsOHL64623597112
1986–87Hershey BearsAHL100114
1986–87North Bay CentennialsOHL4649419054241151678
1987–88Hershey BearsAHL712420441011202217
1988–89Hershey BearsAHL28121527191245911
1989–90Baltimore SkipjacksAHL1465116741517
1989–90Washington CapitalsNHL3154982710115
1990–91Washington CapitalsNHL799918196901138
1991–92Washington CapitalsNHL654610206
1992–93Hartford WhalersNHL75171027325
1993–94Hartford WhalersNHL1000037
1993–94New York RangersNHL4635810230002
1994–95New York RangersNHL4013493100226
1995–96New York RangersNHL4234777
1995–96Toronto Maple LeafsNHL191123050004
1996–97St. John's Maple LeafsAHL40004
1996–97Toronto Maple LeafsNHL3532562
NHL totals 442 46 44 90 1210 34 1 3 4 65

References

  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  2. "Kypreos, VandenBussche on concussions". sportsnet.ca. March 25, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  3. Campbell, Morgan (March 10, 2011). "A history of violence". The Toronto Star. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  4. "Drawing the Line on Hockey Violence". McLean's Magazine. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  5. "Hockey Central - Sportsnet.ca".
  6. "Arli$$: What About the Fans?". film.com. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
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