Glen Metropolit

Glen David Metropolit (born June 25, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who most notably played over 400 games in the National Hockey League (NHL)

Glen Metropolit
Born (1974-06-25) June 25, 1974
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Washington Capitals
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jokerit
HC Lugano
Atlanta Thrashers
St. Louis Blues
Boston Bruins
Philadelphia Flyers
Montreal Canadiens
EV Zug
SC Bern
Adler Mannheim
HC Bolzano
National team  Canada
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1995–2017

Playing career

Early years

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Metropolit was never drafted by an OHL or NHL team, yet managed a 10-year NHL career and 407 games played. After a GTHL career mostly in AA hockey, Metropolit played two seasons for the Richmond Hill Riots Jr.B. hockey club (OHA) before heading west to play for the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL.

After graduating Tier II Jr.A. hockey, Metropolit started out playing for the Nashville Knights in the ECHL in the 1995–96 season. He also played for the Pensacola Ice Pilots and Grand Rapids Griffins before making his NHL debut in 1999–2000 for the Washington Capitals. For the next three seasons, he alternated between the Capitals and the AHL's Portland Pirates, and also played two games for Tampa Bay in 2001–02.

Overseas

In 2003 Metropolit crossed the Atlantic to play in Helsinki with Jokerit for the 2003–04 season. In a brilliant first season, he scored the most points on the team, 50, with 15 goals and 35 assists, the fifth-highest total during the regular season. He scored six goals during seven playoff games that year, but Jokerit were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

In the 2004–05 season Metropolit and Marko Jantunen were the team's best goal scorers during the regular season, both scoring 16 goals, and Metropolit scored the most points on the team with 31 assists, totalling 47 points; the eighth-highest total in the league. In the playoffs, he scored five goals and six assists, including a 3-on-5 shorthanded goal against Ilves's Vesa Toskala in the quarterfinals. The team went on to win the silver medal.

Metropolit in 2008

Metropolit became a very popular player with the Jokerit fans, who had a number of chants dedicated to him. He is remembered as a gifted playmaker, with one of his favorite spots, on the outside of the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone, being called "Metro's office" by TV commentators and fans, in honour of Wayne Gretzky's "office" behind the goal. He and Marko Jantunen formed a memorable duo on the penalty kill, scoring several short-handed goals. His player number in Jokerit was #50.

After two years with Jokerit, Metropolit moved to Switzerland where he won the Nationalliga A championship with HC Lugano. He also led the league in scoring during the regular season, which is where his infamous nickname "The Underlying Theme" was born by announcer Darren Bavister.

Atlanta/St. Louis/Boston

In 2006, Metropolit returned to North America when he was signed by the Atlanta Thrashers. After limited playing time with Atlanta, Metropolit was dealt near the trade deadline to the St. Louis Blues, along with a package of draft picks, in exchange for Blues centre/wing Keith Tkachuk.

Metropolit became a free agent at the end of the season before being invited by the Boston Bruins to the team training camp. Just prior to the 2007–08 season on October 3, 2007, he signed a one-year contract with the Bruins.[1] Having established a role within the checking lines and on the powerplay he excelled with the Bruins posting a career high 33 points in 82 games.

Philadelphia/Montreal

Metropolit signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent on July 1, 2008. He was placed on waivers and picked up near the trading deadline on February 27, 2009, by the Montreal Canadiens in need of a veteran centreman. He trained with the Philadelphia Flyers on the morning of February 27 before being claimed in the afternoon. Later that night, he played against his former team with the Montreal Canadiens. He scored his first goal with Montreal on March 10 against Dwayne Roloson from the Edmonton Oilers.

In the 2009–10 season on March 30, 2010, it was announced that Metropolit would miss the final 6 games of the season with a torn shoulder muscle, after enjoying a career high 16 goals with Montreal. An extremely speedy recovery allowed him to be back on the ice on April 19, 2010, for the third game of the playoff series against the Washington Capitals.

After the NHL

On August 2, 2010, Metropolit left the NHL as a free agent and signed a two-year contract to return the Swiss NLA with EV Zug.[2] Upon completion of his contract with Zug, Metropolit moved to return to sign a two-year contract with HC Lugano.[3] In the 2013–14 season, on February 5, 2014, Metropolit was traded to SC Bern in exchange for Mikko Lehtonen. After four years in Switzerland, he moved to Germany, spending a two-year stint at Adler Mannheim, capturing the German national championship in 2015.

On October 20, 2016, he signed with Italian club HC Bolzano, a member of the Austrian top-flight EBEL.[4] He parted ways with the club on February 6, 2017 due to family reasons.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95 Vernon Lakers BCHL 60 43 74 117 92 — — — — —
1995–96 Nashville Knights ECHL 58 30 31 61 62 5 3 8 11 2
1995–96 Atlanta Knights IHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1996–97 Pensacola Ice Pilots ECHL 54 35 47 82 45 12 9 16 25 28
1996–97 Quebec Rafales IHL 22 5 4 9 14 5 0 0 0 2
1997–98 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 79 20 35 55 90 3 1 1 2 0
1998–99 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL 77 28 53 81 92 — — — — —
1999–00 Portland Pirates AHL 48 18 42 60 73 1 1 0 1 0
1999–00 Washington Capitals NHL 30 6 13 19 4 2 0 0 0 2
2000–01 Portland Pirates AHL 51 25 42 67 73 — — — — —
2000–01 Washington Capitals NHL 15 1 5 6 10 1 0 0 0 0
2000–01 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2001–02 Portland Pirates AHL 32 17 22 39 20 — — — — —
2001–02 Washington Capitals NHL 33 1 16 17 6 — — — — —
2002–03 Portland Pirates AHL 33 7 23 30 23 3 1 1 2 0
2002–03 Washington Capitals NHL 23 2 3 5 6 — — — — —
2003–04 Jokerit SM-l 55 15 35 50 77 7 6 1 7 33
2004–05 Jokerit SM-l 51 16 31 47 42 12 5 6 11 20
2005–06 HC Lugano NLA 44 23 43 66 60 17 9 17 26 8
2006–07 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 57 12 16 28 20 — — — — —
2006–07 St. Louis Blues NHL 20 2 3 5 14 — — — — —
2007–08 Boston Bruins NHL 82 11 22 33 36 7 1 0 1 4
2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 55 4 10 14 15 — — — — —
2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 21 2 1 3 13 4 0 2 2 2
2009–10 Montreal Canadiens NHL 69 16 13 29 24 16 0 2 2 4
2010–11 EV Zug NLA 47 15 38 53 32 10 2 10 12 8
2011–12 EV Zug NLA 42 15 21 36 28 9 5 7 12 2
2012–13 HC Lugano NLA 50 20 44 64 62 7 2 4 6 2
2013–14 HC Lugano NLA 40 6 28 34 14 — — — — —
2013–14 SC Bern NLA 3 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Adler Mannheim DEL 43 6 35 41 26 12 2 4 6 16
2015–16 Adler Mannheim DEL 49 10 17 27 64 3 0 3 3 0
2016–17 Bolzano HC EBEL 34 4 15 19 41 — — — — —
NHL totals 407 57 102 159 148 30 1 4 5 12

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Canada WC 4th 9 0 2 2 6
Senior totals 9 0 2 2 6

References
  1. "Metropolit Signs with Bruins". Boston Bruins. 2007-10-03. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  2. "Metropolit inks two-year deal with EV Zug in Switzerland". The Sports Network. 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  3. "Hockey Club Lugano - Home". HC Lugano. 2011-09-21. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  4. LT, HCB Press. "Big Player im Anmarsch für den HCB Südtirol Alperia– Glen Metropolit, EX - NHL Spieler - Hockey club Bolzano". Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  5. LT, HCB Press. "Bozen und Glen Metropolit gehen getrennte Wege - Hockey club Bolzano" (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
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