Tomáš Plekanec

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Tomáš Plekanec
Born (1982-10-31) October 31, 1982
Kladno, Czechoslovakia
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Montréal Canadiens
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 71st overall, 2001
Montréal Canadiens
Playing career 1998–present

Tomas Plekanec (born October 31, 1982) is a Czech professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). After beginning his career for HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga, he was selected 71st overall by the Canadiens in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Moving to North America in 2002, he played three seasons for the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, before joining the NHL club full-time for the 2005–06 campaign.

Tomáš Plekanec before a match in the Czech Extraleague on October 11, 2012, during the NHL lockout

Playing career

Plekanec played junior ice hockey in his native Czech Republic with the HC Kladno organization. He debuted with club's senior team in 1998–99, appearing in three Czech Extraliga games. Two years later, he joined the senior team full-time, recording 42 points over 53 games. In the off-season, Plekanec was selected by the Montreal Canadiens 71st overall in the 3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Remaining in the Czech Extraliga for a second full season, he scored 30 points over 43 games in 2001–02.

Plekanec came to North America to begin playing in the Canadiens' system in 2002–03. Assigned to the club's minor league affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL), he recorded 46 points over 77 games. Improving to 66 points with Hamilton in 2003–04, he also made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut that season, playing in two games. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Plekanec automatically remained in Hamilton for a third AHL season and recorded 64 points over 80 games.

In 2005–06, Plekanec became a fixture in the Canadiens' lineup, scoring 29 points in his NHL rookie campaign. He improved to 47 points the next season in 2006–07 and notched his first 20-goal effort. On February 29, 2008, Plekanec recorded his first NHL hat trick in a 6–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. He completed the 2007–08 season with 29 goals and 69 points. Plekanec received a two-game suspension on February 12, 2009, for a slewfoot on Edmonton Oilers defenceman Denis Grebeshkov during a game the previous day. Grebeshkov suffered a high ankle sprain on the play.[1] He finished with a decreased 39 points in 2008–09, but still managed to notch 20 goals.

In the summer of 2009, he re-signed with the Canadiens to a one-year contract worth $2.75 million. That season, he recorded a career-high 45 assists and 70 points. Set to become a free agent, he re-signed once more with the Canadiens on June 22, 2010, agreeing to a six-year contract worth $30 million.[2][3] He scored 22 goals during the 2010-11 NHL season.

Plekanec signed with Kladno during the 2012–13 NHL lockout.[4]

International play

Tomáš Plekanec
Medal record
Competitor for  Czech Republic
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver 2006 Latvia
Bronze 2011 Slovakia
Bronze 2012 Finland
World Junior Championships
Gold 2001 Russia

Plekanec played in three junior international tournaments with the Czech Republic. He was named to the under-18 team at the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he contributed 2 points in 6 games. He then helped the Czechs to a gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Championships with 2 points in 7 games. He made his second consecutive World Junior appearance in 2002 and improved to 7 points in 7 games.

After his first NHL season, Plekanec competed in the 2006 World Championships, where the Czech Republic captured a silver medal in Latvia. Plekanec scored the Czech's first goal in the semi-final, helping the team defeat Finland 3–1. He went on to make his second and third consecutive World Championships appearances in 2007 and 2008. He was member of bronze medal Czech team on 2011 World Championships.

On December 31, 2009, Plekanec was named to the Czech team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He recorded 3 points in 5 games as the Czech Republic were defeated in the quarter-final by Finland.

Plekanec has also competed for the Czech national inline hockey team.

On January 6, 2014, Plekanec was named captain of the Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Personal

Plekanec is married to Czech singer/actress Lucie Vondráčková and welcomed a son Matyáš who was born in 2011.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99 HC Kladno CZE 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2000–01 HC Kladno CZE 47 9 9 18 24 — — — — —
2001–02 HC Kladno CZE 48 7 16 23 28 — — — — —
2002–03 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 77 19 27 46 74 13 3 2 5 8
2003–04 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 74 23 43 66 90 10 2 5 7 6
2003–04 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2004–05 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 80 29 35 64 68 4 2 4 6 6
2005–06 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 67 9 20 29 32 6 0 4 4 6
2006–07 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 20 27 47 36 — — — — —
2007–08 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 29 40 69 38 12 4 5 9 2
2008–09 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 20 19 39 54 3 0 0 0 4
2009–10 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 25 45 70 50 19 4 7 11 20
2010–11 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 22 35 57 60 7 2 3 5 2
2011–12 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 17 35 52 56 — — — — —
2012–13 Rytíři Kladno CZE 32 21 25 46 38 — — — — —
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 47 14 19 33 24 5 0 4 4 2
NHL totals 598 156 240 396 354 52 10 23 33 36

International

Year Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2000 U18 6 1 1 2 2
2001 WJC 7 1 1 2 6
2002 WJC 7 3 4 7 0
2006 WC 9 3 0 3 20
2007 WC 7 4 4 8 2
2008 WC 4 0 3 3 2
2009 WC 7 0 1 1 4
2010 Oly 5 2 1 3 2
2011 WC 8 6 4 10 6
Senior int'l totals 40 15 13 28 36

References

  1. ↑ "Hard-luck Habs lose Plekanec". Montreal Gazette. February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009. 
  2. ↑ "Plekanec signs six-year, $30M contract with Canadiens". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 3, 2010. 
  3. ↑ "2010 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents by Position | NHL Free Agency | 2010 NHL Free Agents". Sportscity.com. Retrieved July 3, 2010. 
  4. ↑ "Hockey: Kladno face league champions Pardubice". Radio Prague. September 26, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 

External links

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