Former Barons Rookie of the Year Signs With Sharks
August 11, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
SAN JOSE - San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the club has re-signed Group II restricted free agent right wing Niko Dimitrakos (dee-muh-TRAW-kos) to a two-year contract and defenseman Kyle McLaren to a three-year contract extension. Per club policy, financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Dimitrakos appeared in 62 career games with the Barons registering 19 goals and 33 assists (19-33-52). He was named as the Barons "Rookie of the Year" for the 2002-03 season, producing 44 points (15-29) in 55 games. His award-winning AHL campaign was cut short when Dimitrakos was recalled by the Sharks, where he played in his first career NHL game on Feb. 12 at Columbus.
In 2003-04, he began the season with the Barons, where he scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in only seven games before being recalled. That short stint included a three-game span (3-4-7) that earned the AHL Player of the Week honor from October 9th- October 16th. He was recalled by the Sharks on October 17th and spent the remainder of the season in San Jose. During that time, he posted career-highs in goals (9), assists (15) and points (24) in 68 games with the Sharks.
In the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led all NHL rookie scorers in points (9), was first in assists and power play assists, fourth in plus/minus (plus-4), and T-first in goals (1), game-winning goals (1) and OT goals (1). In addition, "Dimo" was fourth on the team in scoring (9 points), first in assists (8) and scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game One of WCQF vs. St. Louis. He also tied a franchise record (twice) with three assists in one game (April 24 and 26 vs. Colorado in WCSF).
In 2004-05, Dimitrakos, 26, played for the SCL Tigers Langnau of the Swiss League. While Dimitrakos played in only three regular season games tallying just one point, he played in six playoff games scoring six points (three goals, three assists) and ranked second on the team in penalty minutes (16).
"Niko is another highly skilled player who has shown he has the tools to flourish under the League's new rules," said Wilson. "He has continued to improve his play each year and we look forward to him taking the next step in his development during the coming season."
The five-foot-eleven, 200-pound native of Somerville, Massachusetts was originally drafted by San Jose in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft (5th Round, 155th Overall).
In 2003-04, McLaren, 28, posted 24 points (two goals, 22 assists) in 64 games with the Sharks. His 22 assists were a career-high and ranked him second on the team among defensemen. In 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he notched three assists and averaged over 24 minutes of ice time per game.
McLaren enters his tenth NHL season and is one of the top defensemen for the Sharks. Last season, the physical, rugged blueliner ranked fourth on the team in ice-time per game and has averaged over 21 minutes per game in his past two seasons with San Jose.
The six-foot-four, 225-pound native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan was acquired on January 22, 2003 along with a fourth round selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by San Jose in a three-team trade with Boston and Montreal.
For more information regarding the Cleveland Barons Professional Hockey Team, contact the Front Office by calling 216.420.0000 or Crash The Net at www.clevelandbarons.net.
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