Zenon Konopka

Zenon Konopka is a Canadian center on the New York Islanders.

Konopka was never drafted, but made himself a career in the minor leagues as an enforcer. He won the Memorial Cup with the Ottawa 67s in 1999, and went on to play a total of four seasons with the club. He spent most of the next ten years playing in the minors, including a 46 point, 212 penalty minute season in 2003-04 with the Utah Grizzlies. In 2005, he appeared in 23 games for the Anaheim Ducks, scoring 4 goals, 7 points and recording 48 penalty minutes. He appeared in 9 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2006 and 2007. He was signed by Tampa Bay in 2008, but played only 7 games in the 2008-09 season. In 2009, he made the roster out of camp, and recorded 76 penalty minutes in his first 21 games. He finished the season with 265 penalty minutes, and had more fighting majors than any other player in the league. Despite his prowess with his fists, he was allowed to walk at the end of the season and was acquired by the New York Islanders to be their primary enforcer. With young stars like John Tavares on the club, Konopka will have to police opposing teams from taking runs at the more talented players, and I doubt he’ll mind doing that very much.