Ed Jovanovski

**Ed Jovanovski** (born Edward Jovanovski on June 26, 1976 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Jovanovski was selected first overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers.

## International Play

Ed competed for Canada's under-20 team at the 1995 World Junior Championships, held in Alberta. Scoring two goals in seven games, he helped Canada go undefeated to win gold Following his NHL rookie season, he was named as a reserve to the Canadian men's team for the 1996 World Cup.

The youngest player on the roster, he played in one exhibition game against Russia, a 4–4 tie, but didn't appear in any main tournament games as Canada lost in the final to the United States.

Two years later, he competed at the 1998 World Championships in Switzerland; he was the second-youngest named to the Canadian squad. He scored two goals and an assist over six games as Canada failed to qualify past the crossover round.

Ed made his second World Championships appearance at the 2000 tournament in Russia. He scored a goal and an assist over nine games; however, Canada lost the semifinal 2–1 to the Czech Republic, then lost the bronze medal game 2–1 to Finland.

In December 2001, Ed was chosen to Canada's Olympic team for the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. Playing the United States in the gold medal game, he earned an assist on the game-winning goal, backhanding a saucer pass from the opposition's blueline to Joe Sakic on a five-on-three power play advantage.

Canada went on to win the gold medal, 5–2 and Ed had three points (all assists) in total.

Prior to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ed played for Canada at the 2004 World Cup. He suffered a cracked rib and a second degree sprain on his medial collateral ligament (MCL) during the first game against the United States, sidelining him for the rest of the tournament. He was replaced by San Jose Sharks defenceman Scott Hannan in the lineup. Canada went on to win the championship over Finland in the final.

The following year, he competed at the 2005 World Championships in Austria. In the semi-final, Ed scored the game-winning goal against Russia in a 4–3 win. Advancing to the gold medal game, Canada lost 3–0 to the Czech Republic, thus earning silver.

He finished the tournament with a goal and two assists over nine games. Later that year, he was named to his second Canadian Olympic team for the 2006 Games in Turin, but was unable to play due to a lower abdominal injury.

Making his fourth World Championships appearance in 2008, Ed earned a second-straight silver medal. He recorded one assist over nine games as Canada lost in the gold medal game by a 5–4 score in overtime to Russia.

## Personal Life

Ed was born in Windsor, Ontario, to Kostadin and Lilja Jovanovski. His parents immigrated to Canada in 1973 from Macedonia. Coming from an athletic family, Kostadin was a semi-professional soccer player in Yugoslavia. He speaks English, French and some Macedonian.

Ed followed after his father and played organized soccer growing up. He did not start playing hockey until he was 11 years old when his older brother, Denny joined a team.

During his junior career, he and two other Windsor Spitfire teammates were charged with sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman in February 1995. After a pre-trial hearing in June, the Crown attorney dropped the charges in August due to a lack of convincing evidence.

Beginning his NHL career with the Florida Panthers, Ed owned a condominium in Boca Raton, Florida. He met his wife, Kristin, in Florida and retained a residence in Boca Raton where he spent his summers.

He and Kristin had their first child, daughter Kylie Everett, on August 25, 1998. Three years later, Kyra was born on April 24, 2001 while her twin sister died in utero.

Kristin was later pregnant with twins a second time and gave birth to son Cole & daughter Coco on May 25, 2006, in Florida.

In 2005, Ed was featured in a documentary aired on multicultural network Omni Television called "The Late Bloomer: Ed Jovanovski" which explored his career, family tragedy and attachments to his Macedonian heritage.