Playing Career
Kwiatkowski was drafted in the 8th round, 194th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. After finishing junior hockey, he signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as a free-agent, but never played in the NHL for the Ducks, instead he spent two seasons with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators for Patrick Traverse in 2000 and played a handful of games with the Sens. As well as that, he was a key player in the IHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins, becoming an all-star in 2001.
After three seasons with the Senators organization, he was traded to the Washington Capitals for a 9th round draft in the 2003 draft (a draft pick traded back to Washington just months later). He played much more ice time in his one full season with the Capitals, playing 80 games and scoring 6 goals and 12 points. He signed with the Florida Panthers in 2004, but spent the season with the San Antonio Rampage due to the NHL Lockout which canceled the 2004–05 season. He was later loaned to the St. John's Maple Leafs for a run in the playoffs. When the lockout was resolved, he finally played for the Panthers and in 73 games, he tied his NHL best of 12 points and scored 10 points in 41 games before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins where he played just one game.
He signed with the Atlanta Thrashers on August 30, 2007 as a free-agent and is currently assigned to the Chicago Wolves, however he is currently playing on a provisional basis for the Thrashers, and recorded an assist in the first period of the game between the Thrashers and the Penguins.
Read more about this topic: Joel Kwiatkowski
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