Education
He graduated from Matignon High School (Cambridge, Master of Arts) in 1997.
He graduated from Matignon High School (Cambridge, Master of Arts) in 1997.
After graduation, Niko took a year"s postgraduate course at Avon Old Farms (Avon, Ct), a prestigious hockey prep school. In his senior year, Dimitrakos led the team in points, with 20 goals and 31 assists in 43 games. While still a UMaine Black Bear, he was drafted by the San Jose Sharks, in the 5th round (155th overall) of the 1999 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
Dimitrakos received his first National Hockey League action toward the end of the 2002-2003 National Hockey League season.
Sometimes playing on the same line as National Hockey League star Teemu Selänne, he was credited with 6 goals and 7 assists in 21 games as a rookie. The following year, he logged 9 goals and 15 assists in 68 games.
Despite his modest regular season statistics, he played well in the 2004 National Hockey League playoffs, winning the first game of the first round against Saint Louis with an overtime goal and subsequently helping San Jose advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. 2005-2006 was a bit of a disappointing season for Dimitrakos, however, and on March 9, 2006, he was traded by the Sharks to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a draft pick.
He played in 24 games for the Flyers before being demoted to their AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, in October 2006.
Following the 2006-2007 season, Dimitrakos signed a one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators. Prior to the 2008-2009 season, Dimitrakos signed a one-year contract with Skellefteå in Sweden. Because of his Greek citizenship, he is not counted against the non-European Union player limit.
In September 2011, he returned to play in North America - signing a Pacific Theater of Operations (Professional Tryout) contract with the Vancouver Canucks and attending their training camp.
Dimitrakos was later released by the Vancouver Canucks on September 25, 2011. On October 5, 2011, Dimitrakos agreed to a 25 game Pacific Theater of Operations contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to start the 2011-2012 season.
After 21 games with Wilkes-Barre, Dimitrakos declined an extension to remain in the AHL and returned to his previous team in the DEL, Adler Mannheim, for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season. In January 2014, Dimitrakos signed a contract for the rest of the season with the Finnish team Ilves.
