Branislav Mezei
| Branislav Mezei | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
October 8, 1980 Nitra, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||
| Weight | 236 lb (107 kg; 16 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| Slovak team Former teams |
HK Nitra New York Islanders Florida Panthers HC Oceláři Třinec HK Dukla Trenčín Barys Astana HC Plzen Espoo Blues HC Pardubice Lev Poprad Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg HC Vityaz Podolsk KHL Medveščak Zagreb | ||
| National team |
 Slovakia | ||
| NHL Draft |
10th overall, 1999 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2000–present | ||
Branislav Mezei (born October 8, 1980 in Nitra, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player. Mezei is a defenceman currently with HK Nitra of the Slovak Extraliga. Mezei has previous played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. Mezei also played for Barys Astana and HC Plzen of the KHL, and Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga. Mezei was a first-round pick of the Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, tenth overall.
Playing career
Mezei moved to Canada to play junior hockey with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. Mezei played three seasons with the Bulls from 1997 until 2000. After his second season, he was drafted tenth-overall by the New York Islanders. He joined the Islanders organization in 2000. Mezei played two seasons in the Islanders organization, including 66 games with the Islanders, before being traded to the Florida Panthers in July 2002. He was a member of the Panthers from 2002 until 2008, playing a further 178 games.
During the 2004–05 lockout, Mezei played for Trinec Ocelari HC and HK Dukla Trenčín. In 2008, Mezei moved to Europe to play with Barys Astana of the KHL. He has since played for Espoo Blues, HC Plzen, HC Pardubice and Lev Poprad.
On August 31, 2014, Mezei remained in the KHL, signing with his fourth club, in Croatian based KHL Medveščak Zagreb on a one-year deal.[1] After just 8 games with the Croatian club, Mezei was released mutually from his contract in order to return to his native Slovakia with HK Nitra on October 24, 2014.
International play
He has also played with the Slovak national ice hockey team in Ice Hockey World Championships in 2001, 2004 and 2008.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | HK Nitra | Slovak.20 | 45 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | HK Nitra | Slovak.20 | 52 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 114 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 53 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 58 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1998–99 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 60 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 90 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 | ||
| 1999–00 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 58 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 99 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2000–01 | New York Islanders | NHL | 42 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 59 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 137 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 48 | ||
| 2001–02 | New York Islanders | NHL | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 45 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | HC Oceláři Třinec | Czech | 41 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | HK Dukla Trenčín | Slovak | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 38 | ||
| 2005–06 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 45 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 57 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Barys Astana | KHL | 56 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 151 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | HC Plzeň | Czech | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Espoo Blues | SM-l | 38 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 120 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Pardubice | Czech | 51 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 118 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | ||
| 2011–12 | HC Lev Poprad | KHL | 53 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL | 51 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 89 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Vityaz | KHL | 47 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 108 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | KHL Medveščak Zagreb | KHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HK Nitra | Slovak | 40 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 65 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | ||
| NHL totals | 240 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 311 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Slovakia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 1999 Manitoba | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Slovakia | WJC |  |
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2000 | Slovakia | WJC | 9th | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2001 | Slovakia | WC | 7th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2004 | Slovakia | WCH | 7th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Slovakia | WC | 4th | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2008 | Slovakia | WC | 13th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2013 | Slovakia | WC | 8th | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | ||||
| Senior totals | 29 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 22 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Slovakian defender Mezei signs instead of Belle" (in Croatian). KHL Medvescak Zagreb. 2014-08-31. Retrieved 2014-08-31.
External links
- Branislav Mezei's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Branislav Mezei's player profile at NHL.com
- Branislav Mezei's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Taylor Pyatt |
New York Islanders first round draft pick 1999 |
Succeeded by Kristian Kudroc |