A bruising hitter capable of jumping into the rush and playing the point on the power play, Ed Jovanovski showed flashes of his immense potential when he was with the Florida Panthers. Following a trade to the Vancouver Canucks, Jovanovski gradually developed into one of the best young defencemen in the game. He possessed abundant skill and strength and, most impressively, his skating improved dramatically which allowed him to overcome the fact that he started playing later than most kids.
Born in Windsor, Ontario, Jovanovski was dominant in Bantam, Junior B and in his two years with the hometown Spitfires of the OHL. He was drafted 1st overall by the Florida Panthers at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft then returned for one final year in junior. Jovanovski was voted on the OHL Second All-Star Team in 1994 and the first team in 1995. He was a valuable member of Canada's defence corps when they won gold at the 1995 World Junior Championships.
The burly young defender put forth a fairly solid effort in his rookie season in 1995-96 when he scored 21 points and helped Florida reach the Stanley Cup final. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and seemed destined to rise up to the level of the league's elite defenders. Jovanovski was a reserve on Team Canada at the inaugural World Cup of hockey in 1996. He became a fixture on the Panthers defense as he matured but he was not dominating as he did in junior. He scored two goals for Canada at the 1998 World Championships.
On January 17, 1999 he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster deal that saw Pavel Bure end up in Florida. A member of Canada's entry at the 2000 World Championships, Jovanovski's began to excel on the blueline in 2000-01 and started to play like one of the game's elite defencemen--hitting, moving up ice with the puck, and dictating the pace of the game when on the ice.
During the 2001-02 season Jovanovski led all Canuck defencemen in scoring with 48-points and games played with 82. A member of Canada's gold medal team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Jovanovski was looking to build on his success from 2001-02 in 2002-03.
After a broken foot sidelined him early on, Jovanovski returned to score 46 points in 67 games leading the Canucks into the post season. In 2003-04, Jovanovski and the Canucks dethroned the Colorado Avalanche as the Northwest Division Champions, yet were upset in the first round of the 2004 playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup finalist Calgary Flames.
Upon being eliminated from the post season, Jovanovski was shortly after named to Team Canada's entry for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. However, Jovanovski tournament would last a mere game, after suffering a rib injury in the opening game of the tournament.
Following the NHL lockout of 2004-05, Jovanovski returned for a season with the Canucks posting 33 points in 44 games. During the summer of 2006 Jovanovski signed as a free agent by the Phoenix Coyotes.
In the spring of 2008, Jovanovski made his fourth appearance at the World Championship.
In his first year in Phoenix, Jovanovski brought veteran stabilty to the Coyotes defence corps. His 36 points were tops among Phoenix defenders and his 106 minutes in penalties were second most on the team.
In 2009-10, amid one of the most tumultuous seasons for a franchise in NHL history, Jovanovski provided veteran leadership as the club battled through rumours of relocation, a coaching change and bankruptcy. The Coyotes would shock the hockey world, putting up a franchise record 107 points and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Injuries would limit Jovanovski to just 50 games in 2010-11 and the big defenceman failed to regain his form from previous season, recording just 14 points.
In the summer of 2011, Jovanovski would return to where his NHL career had started. He inked a four-year deal with the Florida Panthers.
