Jeremy Yablonski
Jeremy Yablonski is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Primarily a hockey enforcer, Yablonski is also a former novice boxing champion and mixed martial arts heavy weight fighter.
Playing career
An undrafted player, Yablonski began his pro career in 2000–01 in the West Coast Hockey League. He played his first and only NHL game for the St. Louis Blues in 2003, and received a five-minute major for fighting Todd Fedoruk. From there, Yablonski continued a 15-year career in professional hockey as an enforcer in the AHL, ECHL, and KHL. Yablonski won the Calder Cup in the AHL and the Kelly Cup in the ECHL.Yablonski fought in his first professional mixed martial arts competition on May 12, 2007, at XFS 5, knocking his opponent out in 19 seconds of the first round. Yablonski improved in XFS-6 on June 14, 2007 by knocking his opponent out in 17 seconds of the first round. Jeremy Yablonski confirmed his signing with Vityaz Chekhov on July 24, 2011.
In 2013, he expressed interest in gaining first Polish, and then Ukrainian dual-citizenship in order to play for the Ukrainian national hockey team.
On December 31, 2021, Yablonski came out of retirement and signed with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. He once again came out retirement to play one more game with the Steelheads on December 31, 2023, at the age of 43.