Sasha Lakovic

{{Infobox ice hockey player

| image = Sasha Lakovic wiki.jpg

| image_size = 230px

| birth_date = {{birth date|1971|9|7}}

| birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|4|25|1971|9|7}}

| death_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 220

| position = Right wing

| shoots = Left

| played_for = Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils

| draft = Undrafted

| draft_year =

| draft_team =

| career_start = 1992

| career_end = 2004

| website =

}}

Sasha Gordon Lakovic{{Cref2|a}} (September 7, 1971 – April 25, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for 17 different professional teams during his career. Lakovic also played for four roller hockey teams in the mid-1990s.

Lakovic also had a stint in acting, landing a small role as Russian ice hockey player Boris Mikhailov in the 2004 Disney biopic Miracle.{{cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-enforcer-sasha-lakovic-was-a-fearless-fighter/article34892178/ |work=The Globe and Mail |title=NHL enforcer Sasha Lakovic was a fearless fighter |accessdate=2019-03-31 |date=2017-05-03 |language=English|author-link=The Globe and Mail }}

His nicknames were Hitman, Pitbull and Sasha the Basha.{{Cref2|b}}

Playing career

Lakovic turned pro in 1992–93, playing for three separate Colonial Hockey League teams, as well as the American Hockey League's Binghamton Rangers. Lakovic bounced around the ECHL, Central Hockey League, International Hockey League and AHL for a few more seasons, including an incident where he got on all fours and barked to the crowd after defeating Barry Potomski in a fight while with the IHL's Las Vegas Thunder. Lakovic moved on to the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames in 1996–97. and was dealt to the New Jersey Devils a year later. Lakovic would play only 37 NHL games before finishing his career with stops in the West Coast Hockey League, and finally the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey before retiring following the 2004–05 season.

Lakovic became known as an enforcer, registering 397 penalty minutes in his first pro season. He peaked at 416 penalty minutes in just 49 games in 1996–97 as a member of the Las Vegas Thunder.

During the hockey off-season, Lakovic played roller hockey for three Roller Hockey International teams from 1993 to 1997, and in the Major League Roller Hockey in 1998.

=Battle of Alberta=

Lakovic gained widespread attention on November 23, 1996, when playing in his first, and only, Battle of Alberta game between the Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. Late in the game, played at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, a drunken fan reached over the glass, dumping his drink on the head of Flames assistant coach Guy Lapointe. Lakovic immediately jumped over the glass attempting to get at the fan. Held back from climbing over by his teammates, Lakovic was suspended two games for the incident.{{cite web| last = Francis | first = Eric |url = http://www.canoe.ca/Slam030919/col_francis-sun.html |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120801035833/http://www.canoe.ca/Slam030919/col_francis-sun.html |url-status = usurped |archive-date = 2012-08-01 | title = The uncivil war: Calgary @ Edmonton | publisher = Calgary Sun | date = 2003-09-03 | accessdate = 2009-09-03}}

Post-NHL

Lakovic later played in the American Hockey League, West Coast Hockey League, Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League (now as Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey) and left hockey after 2005. He lived his later years in West Kelowna, British Columbia.

=Acting=

He portrayed Boris Mikhailov, captain of the Soviet hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics, in the movie Miracle based on the Miracle on Ice.

Death

On October 12, 2016, Lakovic publicly announced that he was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and was given only three months to live.{{cite web |last = Slattery |first = Jill |url = http://globalnews.ca/news/2999769/former-nhl-player-sasha-lakovic-diagnosed-with-inoperable-brain-cancer/ |title = Former NHL player Sasha Lakovic diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer |publisher = Global News |date = October 12, 2016 |accessdate = October 13, 2016}}

Lakovic died on April 25, 2017, at the age of 45.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sasha-pit-bull-lakovic-dead-at-age-45-1.4085205 Karin Larsen, «Sasha 'Pit Bull' Lakovic dead at age 45», April 26, 2017, CBC News]

Personal life

Lakovic was born into a Montenegrin Serb family to parents Spasoje and Marsha, who emigrated from Podgorica.{{cite web |url=http://montenegrina.net/fokus/preminuo-poznati-kanadski-hokejas-sin-crnogorskih-iseljenika-iz-podgorice/ |author=Montenegrina.net |title=Preminuo poznati kanadski hokejaš, sin crnogorskih iseljenika iz Podgorice |accessdate=2019-04-02 |date=2017-05-03 |language=Serbian}} He had four children and three brothers named Veso Greg, Zoran, and Milosh.[http://www.springfieldfuneralhome.com/obituaries/lakovic-sasha-pit-bull/ Springfield Funeral Home obituary]

Career statistics

=Regular season and playoffs=

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"\| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"\| ! colspan="5"\|Regular season ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"\| ! colspan="5"\|Playoffs
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
1989–90 \| Grandview Steelers \| PIJHL \| —	—	—	—	— \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1990–91 \| Port Coquitlam Buckaroos \| PIJHL \| —	—	—	—	— \| —	—	—	—	—
1991–92 \| Kelowna Spartans \| BCJHL \| 4	1	0	1	14 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1991–92 \| Bellingham Ice Hawks \| BCJHL \| 24	8	3	11	67 \| —	—	—	—	—
1992–93 \| Chatham Wheels \| CoHL \| 28	7	5	12	235 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1992–93 \| Columbus Chill \| ECHL \| 27	7	9	16	162 \| —	—	—	—	—
1992–93 \| Binghamton Rangers \| AHL \| 3	0	0	0	0 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1992–93 \| Brantford Smoke \| CoHL \| —	—	—	—	— \| 5	2	1	3	62
1993–94 \| Chatham Wheels \| CoHL \| 13	11	7	18	61 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1993–94 \| Toledo Storm \| ECHL \| 24	5	10	15	198 \| —	—	—	—	—
1994–95 \| Tulsa Oilers \| CHL \| 40	20	24	44	214 \| 4	1	3	4	88
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1995–96 \| Las Vegas Thunder \| IHL \| 49	1	2	3	416 \| 13	1	1	2	57
1996–97 \| Las Vegas Thunder \| IHL \| 10	0	0	0	81 \| 2	0	0	0	14
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1996–97 \| Saint John Flames \| AHL \| 18	1	8	9	182 \| —	—	—	—	—
1996–97 \| Calgary Flames \| NHL \| 19	0	1	1	54 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1997–98 \| Albany River Rats \| AHL \| 30	7	6	13	158 \| 13	3	4	7	84
1997–98 \| New Jersey Devils \| NHL \| 2	0	0	0	5 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1998–99 \| New Jersey Devils \| NHL \| 16	0	3	3	59 \| —	—	—	—	—
1998–99 \| Albany River Rats \| AHL \| 10	1	1	2	93 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 1999–00 \| Albany River Rats \| AHL \| 51	10	16	26	144 \| 5	0	0	0	14
2000–01 \| Rochester Americans \| AHL \| 51	3	9	12	161 \| 4	1	1	2	32
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2000–01 \| Long Beach Ice Dogs \| WCHL \| 8	3	6	9	29 \| —	—	—	—	—
2001–02 \| Bakersfield Condors \| WCHL \| 30	5	13	18	147 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2001–02 \| Anchorage Aces \| WCHL \| —	—	—	—	— \| 2	0	1	1	6
2002–03 \| St. Jean Mission \| QPSHL \| 15	0	4	4	51 \| —	—	—	—	—
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2004–05 \| Sherbrooke Saint-François \| LNAH \| 2	0	0	0	16 \| —	—	—	—	—
2004–05 \| Horse Lake Thunder \| NPHL \| 5	3	10	13	42 \| 5	3	3	6	12
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2010–11 \| Horse Lake Chiefs \| NPHL \| 7	3	3	6	61 \| 9	2	7	9	76
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \| AHL totals ! 163 !! 22 !! 40 !! 62 !! 714 ! 22 !! 4 !! 5 !! 9 !! 130
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \| NHL totals ! 37 !! 0 !! 4 !! 4 !! 118 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! —