Tomáš Kopecký
| Tomáš Kopecký | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 5, 1982 Ilava, Czechoslovakia |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) |
| Position | Centre/Right Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Florida Panthers Detroit Red Wings Chicago Blackhawks |
| National team |  Slovakia |
| NHL Draft | 38th overall, 2000 Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 2001–present |
Tomáš Kopecký (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈkopɛtskiː]; born February 5, 1982) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, both of whom won the Stanley Cup with him.
Playing career
Detroit Red Wings
After being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Kopecký played two seasons of junior hockey with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He turned professional with the American Hockey League (AHL), initially with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks before being assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Kopecký played four seasons with the Griffins before making his NHL debut with the Red Wings in 2005–06, appearing in one game. The following season, on December 14, 2006, in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Kopecký was injured a minute into the third period of the Red Wings' 3–2 victory. Kopecký lost his footing and hit the boards as he approached the Chicago blue line and Blackhawks defenseman Jim Vandermeer then fell on top of him. Kopecký was motionless on the ice for a few minutes before being helped to the dressing room by members of the Detroit training staff. He had surgery the next day to repair a broken clavicle. As a result of this injury he was limited to just 26 games in 2006–07 NHL season. Kopecký had previously worn the number 28 with Detroit, but switched to 82 after the Red Wings acquired free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski.
On April 3, 2008, near the end of the 2007–08 NHL season, Kopecký tore his Anterior cruciate ligament during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This injury was repaired during surgery on April 22, 2008.[1] On June 4, 2008, he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, though he did not play a game in the postseason.
Chicago Blackhawks
On July 1, 2009, Kopecky signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, paying $1.2 million per season.[2] He played in 74 games for the Blackhawks in his first year with the team, posting 21 points, 28 PIM, 2 game-winning goals, and a shooting percentage of 10.5%. Into the postseason, Kopecky was a regular starter on Chicago's third or fourth line of forwards. He scored a crucial goal to put Chicago up by 2 in the Western Semifinals against Vancouver, but his most crucial would be in his first game back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for all four games of the sweep of the San Jose Sharks. Replacing the injured Andrew Ladd, Kopecky netted the 6-5 game-winning goal in the game one victory of the Stanley Cup Finals. Ladd returned the next game, but Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville kept Kopecky in the lineup to play every game of the six game series. He finished the playoffs with solid statistics. In 17 games, he tallied six points, 8 PIM, 1 game-winning goal, and a shooting percentage of 14.3%. On June 9, 2010, at the age of 28, he won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks and hoisted the Cup for the second time in his life.
Kopecky entered the 2010–11 NHL season in the last year of his contract with the Stanley Cup defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. He opened the first game of the year on the team's first line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, putting in over twice the amount of time on the ice that he had averaged the year before. On December 26, 2010, in his 36th game of the year, Kopecky tallied his 21st point of the season, matching his career high total for a single season. Kopecky played in the Blackhawks' last game of the season on April 10, 2011, against his former team the Red Wings. Chicago needed a win to decisivley clinch a playoff spot. The Hawks lost the game 4-3, but still clinched the 8th seed of the playoffs due to a Dallas Stars loss on the same day. Kopecky ended the season with career highs in games played, goals, assists, points, shots, and PIM, and has been on a playoff-bound team for five consecutive seasons. Kopecky was taken out of Game 1 with an upper-body injury of the Blackhawks' first playoff series. He never returned and the Blackhawks lost in 7 games to the Vancouver Canucks.
Florida Panthers
Following the 2010–11 season, Kopecky was poised to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2011, however, on June 27, 2011, the Blackhawks traded Kopecky to the Florida Panthers who obtained the exclusive negotiating rights with the player until he becomes a free agent. In return the Blackhawks received from the Panthers a 7th round pick in either the 2012 or 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[3] On June 29, 2011, the Florida Panthers signed Kopecky to a 4 year deal worth a total of $12,000,000.[4]
Personal life
Tomas is married to Maria and has two sons named Jakub (born February 8, 2004)[5][6] and Tobias (born February 20, 2009).[7][8]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Slovakia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Silver | 2012 Helsinki | |
Awards and achievements
- 2008 Stanley Cup Champion with the Detroit Red Wings
- 2010 Member of the Slovakia Winter Olympic Team
- 2010 Stanley Cup Champion with the Chicago Blackhawks
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 49 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 60 | 34 | 42 | 76 | 94 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2001–02 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 70 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 42 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 48 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 48 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 77 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 123 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 25 | ||
| 2005–06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2007–08 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 77 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 74 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 81 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 80 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | HK Dukla Trenčín | Slovak | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 47 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 465 | 62 | 92 | 154 | 261 | 37 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 25 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Comp | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Slovakia | WJC18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | Slovakia | WJC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2001 | Slovakia | WJC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| 2002 | Slovakia | WJC | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 22 |
| 2010 | Slovakia | OG | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Junior int'l totals | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 42 | ||
| Senior int'l totals | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
References
- ↑ Hahn, John (2008). "Kopecky undergoes successfully surgery". Retrieved April 22, 2008.
- ↑ Chicago Blackhawks Press Release (2009). "Blackhawks Sign Hossa To 12-Year Deal, Ink C Kopecky To 2-Year Contract". Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- ↑ Rogers, Jesse. "Blackhawks trade Tomas Kopecky". ESPN. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ↑ "Panthers lock up Kopecky". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ↑ "Kopys a family man". mlive.com. January 2, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
- ↑ http://galeria.azet.sk/sport/201453?foto=0
- ↑ http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/Kopecky-rebounds-from-injury
- ↑ http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/02/kopecky_becomes_a_dad_x_2.html
External links
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