| Played For: | Calgary Flames New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers Washington Capitals Adler Mannheim EHC Biel Genève-Servette HC HIFK |
| Position: | Right Wing |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 0 |
| Weight Lb: | 205 |
| Birth Date: | February 12, 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada |
| Draft: | 6th overall |
| Draft Year: | 1998 |
| Draft Team: | Calgary Flames |
| Career Start: | 1999 |
| Career End: | 2014 |
Rico Fata (born February 12, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
As a youth, Fata played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.[1]
Fata's career started as a 15-year-old, when he played for his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In the 1996 OHL Entry Draft, Fata was selected first overall by the last place London Knights. In his three seasons in London, the team became a contender, reaching the OHL Finals in 1999, but losing in seven games to the Belleville Bulls.
Rico Fata was drafted in the first round, sixth overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Despite his high draft position, he was not able to maintain a spot in the Flames lineup and mostly played in the American Hockey League (AHL). He won the Calder Cup with the Saint John Flames in 2001. He was placed on waivers by Calgary and was claimed by the New York Rangers. He spent one and a half seasons with the Rangers before going to the Pittsburgh Penguins in an eight–player trade. On January 31, 2006, the Atlanta Thrashers claimed him off waivers from the Penguins. On March 9, 2006, the Washington Capitals claimed him off waivers from the Thrashers. He played 10 games at the start of the 2006–07 NHL season with Washington before being waived through the league.
On November 8, 2006 Fata signed a contract with the Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).On September 8, 2008 he signed a contract with the EHC Biel.[2] On August 1, 2011 he signed a one-year contract with the Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A, with an option for one more year.[3]
On June 17, 2013, after five seasons in the NLA, Fata left to sign a one-year contract with Finnish club, HIFK of the SM-liiga.[4]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 62 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 52 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | London Knights | OHL | 59 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | London Knights | OHL | 64 | 43 | 33 | 76 | 110 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 49 | ||
| 1998–99 | London Knights | OHL | 23 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 41 | 25 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 42 | ||
| 1998–99 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 76 | 29 | 29 | 58 | 65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 70 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 129 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 2000–01 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 61 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | New York Rangers | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 9 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 27 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | HC Asiago | ITA | 35 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 36 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 10 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 25 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 29 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 53 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | EHC Biel | NLA | 45 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | EHC Biel | NLA | 41 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | EHC Biel | NLA | 47 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Genève–Servette HC | NLA | 50 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Lausanne HC | NLB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Genève–Servette HC | NLA | 41 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | HIFK | Liiga | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 230 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 241 | 103 | 110 | 213 | 275 | 32 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 30 | ||||
| NLA totals | 224 | 71 | 88 | 159 | 134 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| American Hockey League | ||
| All-Rookie Team | 2000 | |
| Second All-Star Team | 2002 | |
Fata's brother Drew also played professional hockey and played eight games for the New York Islanders. [5]
After retiring as a player, Fata opened the Fast By Fata Hockey School.[6] Fata owns 2 Tim Hortons restaurants in Sault Ste. Marie.[7]