Dmitri Tarabrin

Dmitri Tarabrin
Born	September 17, 1976 (1976-09-17) (age 35) Moscow, Russia
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Johnstown Chiefs Bloomington PrairieThunder Wheeling Nailers
NHL Draft	undrafted
Playing career	1997–2008

Dmitri "Demo" Tarabrin (born September 17, 1976(1976-09-17)), is a retired Russian professional ice hockey player who spent the majority of his career with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL.

Career

Wheeling Nailers

Tarabrin started his career with the Wheeling Nailers during the 1997-98 ECHL season. As a rookie, he scored 12 goals and 28 points in 60 games under future NHL coach Peter Laviolette. He followed his rookie season with the Nailers by scoring 12 goals and 34 points in his first 41 games before being traded to Johnstown.

Johnstown Chiefs

In what was considered a blockbuster trade, the Wheeling Nailers traded Tarabrin to Johnstown for Chiefs defenseman Jon Sorg on February 2, 1999.^[1] Sorg, at the time of the trade, was the Chiefs' team captain.^[2] Tarabrin would stay with the team until the start of the 2001-02 ECHL season, where he was the final cut at training camp by coach Scott Allen. Tarabrin chose to stay in the area, taking a job with a local construction company.^[2] He would return to the Chiefs' training camp at the start of the 2002-03 ECHL season on a training camp invite by new coach Toby O'Brien, and responded by scoring 17 goals and putting up a career high in penalty minutes. Tarabrin remained with the Chiefs until 2006, where he scored a career high in goals (21).

Bloomington PrarieThunder

Tarabrin started the 2006-07 IHL season with the Bloomington PrarieThunder of the United Hockey League.^[3] After only scoring 4 goals in 25 games and a request to return home to Johnstown to be with his wife and son,^[4] the PrarieThunder released Tarabrin.

Return to Johnstown

The Chiefs re-signed Tarabrin for a third time on December 22, 2006. He finished the season with 34 points in 43 games.^[3]

Tarabrin returned to the Chiefs for the 2007-08 ECHL season. Tarabrin would only play six games and was a healthy scratch before being waived by coached Ian Herbers. Although Tarabrin finished his Chiefs' career one goal shy of 100, he finished his career third all-time in goals scored in Chiefs history.^[2]

Retirement

On December 10, Tarabrin's #17 was raised to the rafters of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. As he was introduced by his former coach Toby O'Brien and while the fans chanted "Demo!", Tarabrin thanked the Nailers, the fans, among many others prior to the start of the Wheeling Nailers game.^[5]

References

1. ^ "CNNSi.com: Tuesday's Sports Transactions". CNNSi.com. 1999-02-02. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/transactions/news/1999/02/02/transactions.html. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Mike Mastovich (2010-12-09). "Nailers honoring Tarabrin at War Memorial". Tribune-Democrat.com. http://tribune-democrat.com/sports/x1853593304/Nailers-honoring-Tarabrin-at-War-Memorial. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Fan Favorite Tarabrin Returns To Chiefs". OurSportsCentral.com. 2006-12-22. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3408443. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
4. ^ Kate Arthur (2006-12-22). "PrairieThunder hockey players find professional life nomadic". Pantagraph.com. http://www.pantagraph.com/lifestyles/article_9ba379fd-d0dd-5c9f-b3bf-c62e512f1ac7.html. Retrieved 2011-01-04. 
5. ^ Ethan Blough (2010-12-10). "Quick start carries Nailers to victory". Tribune-Democrat.com. http://tribune-democrat.com/sports/x765876581/Quick-start-carries-Nailers-to-victory. Retrieved 2011-01-04.