Jiří Hudler

Jiří Hudler
Born (1984-01-04) January 4, 1984
Olomouc, Czechoslovakia
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Calgary Flames
HC Vsetín
Havířov Panthers
Ak Bars Kazan
Detroit Red Wings
Dynamo Moscow
Lev Praha
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 58th overall, 2002
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1999–present

Jiří Hudler (/ˈjɪriː ˈhʌdlər/; Czech: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈɦudlɛr]; born January 4, 1984) is a Czech professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). After beginning his career in the Czech Extraliga with HC Vsetín, Hudler was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and won the Stanley Cup with the club in 2008. Hudler also played for Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for one season before the team was merged to form UHC Dynamo.

Playing career

Hudler spent his youth in the elite Czech Extraliga with HC Vsetín, beginning in the 1999–2000 season. After recording a point-per-game season with the club in 2001–02, he was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with their first pick in the second round, 58th overall, of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He remained in the Extraliga the following season, including a brief stint with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague (RSL), before moving to North America for the 2003–04 season. Although he competed in 12 games for the Red Wings that season, he played the majority of the campaign with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL), Detroit's top minor league affiliate, scoring 49 points in 57 games in his rookie AHL season. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Hudler remained in the AHL the following season while also returning to play with Vsetín for seven games. Although NHL play resumed in 2005–06, he played his third season with the Griffins, breaking out with 36 goals and 96 points in 76 games to be named to the AHL Second All-Star Team. His 60 assists established a single-season Griffins team-record.

Hudler played six seasons in Detroit.

Hudler finally broke through onto the Red Wings roster in 2006–07 and scored 25 points in 76 games to be chosen team rookie of the year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. No one in the NHL scored more goals in fewer average minutes per game (10:02) than Hudler. Hudler played sporadically in the 2007 playoffs, however, often splitting time with Kyle Calder. He chipped in two assists in six games. Former Wings teammate and fellow Czech Robert Lang took Hudler under his wing when Hudler joined the team. Hudler spent time living in Lang's home when he first arrived in the United States, and Lang even went so far as to call Hudler "a third son." Following his rookie NHL season, Hudler spent time during the off-season training with fellow NHLers Chris Chelios, Mathieu Schneider and Rob Blake in Southern California. As a result, he said that he felt faster and stronger.[1]

Jiří Hudler holding the Stanley Cup

Playing in his second full season with the Red Wings, Hudler improved to 42 points. On June 4, 2008, he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Red Wings, scoring five goals and adding nine assists during Detroit's successful playoff run, including the game-winning goal in Game 4 of the Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He continued to improve in 2008–09, notching 23 goals and 57 points. However, facing the Penguins once again in the Finals, Hudler and the Red Wings failed to defend their championship, losing in seven games.

Becoming a restricted free agent in the off-season, Hudler filed for arbitration with the Red Wings.[2] However, soon thereafter, he signed a contract with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for $10 million over two years on July 8, 2009, while his arbitration case with the Red Wings was later settled at $5.75 million over the same term.[3] In response to Hudler's signing with Dynamo Moscow, USA Hockey filed an appeal to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that Hudler was still under contract with the Red Wings. Pending the IIHF's investigation, Hudler was not granted a transfer card, which would have either prevented him from playing in the KHL or caused the league sanctions.[4] The IIHF later approved Hudler's KHL contract on September 9, 2009, revealing that although Hudler's agent had filed for the arbitration case on his client's behalf, Hudler had not actually signed for the case himself, deeming the arbitration case invalid. Furthermore, the IIHF ruled that USA Hockey had failed to submit their appeal within the stipulated deadlines.[5]

After one season with Dynamo Moscow, Hudler was released by the team on April 18, 2010, just four days before Dynamo was merged into UHC Dynamo. Eight days later, Hudler returned to the same Red Wings team he had left following his 2009 arbitration case, for two years at $2.875 million, the same contract he would have received in arbitration in 2009.[6] In spite of reaching a settlement with the team, he was ineligible to return for the 2010 playoffs, as he was not an active roster player before the NHL trade deadline.[7] Hudler would return for the 2010-11 season.

On July 2, 2012, Hudler signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Calgary Flames. The contract will pay him $4 million per year. In the 2014–15 season, Hudler NHL career-highs in points, scoring 76 points in 78 games, helping the Flames reach the playoffs for the first time in six years. He was also nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the NHL's most sportsmanlike player, a trophy he won on June 24th.

International play

Medal record
Competitor for  Czech Republic
Men's ice hockey
World U18 Championships
2002 Slovakia

Hudler has participated in nine international tournaments for the Czech Republic:

Awards and records

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–00 HC Vsetín CZE 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2000–01 HC Vsetín CZE 22 1 4 5 10 — — — — —
2000–01 Havířov Panthers CZE 15 5 1 6 12 — — — — —
2001–02 HC Vsetín CZE 46 15 31 46 54 — — — — —
2002–03 HC Vsetín CZE 30 19 27 46 23 — — — — —
2002–03 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 11 1 5 6 12 1 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 12 1 2 3 10 — — — — —
2003–04 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 57 17 32 49 46 4 1 5 6 2
2004–05 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 52 12 22 34 10 — — — — —
2004–05 HC Vsetín CZE 7 5 2 7 10 — — — — —
2005–06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 76 36 60 96 56 16 6 16 22 20
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76 15 10 25 36 6 0 2 2 4
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 13 29 42 26 22 5 9 14 14
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82 23 34 57 16 23 4 8 12 6
2009–10 HC Dynamo Moscow KHL 54 19 35 54 18 4 0 1 1 4
2010–11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 73 10 27 37 28 4 1 2 3 0
2011–12 Detroit Red Wings NHL 81 25 25 50 42 5 2 0 2 4
2012–13 Oceláři Třinec CZE 4 3 2 5 4 — — — — —
2012–13 Lev Praha KHL 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2012–13 Calgary Flames NHL 42 10 17 27 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Calgary Flames NHL 75 17 37 54 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Calgary Flames NHL 78 31 45 76 14 11 4 4 8 2
NHL totals 604 145 226 371 212 77 16 25 41 36
RSL/KHL totals 69 20 41 61 68 5 0 1 1 4

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2000 Czech Republic U17 5th 5 2 4 6 0
2000 Czech Republic U18 6th 6 0 2 2 8
2002 Czech Republic U18 3rd 8 7 7 14 8
2002 Czech Republic WJC 7th 7 1 2 3 0
2003 Czech Republic WJC 6th 6 3 4 7 2
2003 Czech Republic WC 4th 9 2 4 6 2
2004 Czech Republic WJC 4th 7 2 3 5 6
2013 Czech Republic WC 7th 8 4 1 5 6
2014 Czech Republic WC 4th 10 1 3 4 8
Junior totals 39 15 22 37 24
Senior totals 27 7 8 15 16

References

  1. ↑ "Hudler ready to make more of his shot". mlive.com. 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  2. ↑ "Report: Hudler signs contract with KHL team". TSN.ca. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  3. ↑ "Arbitrator awards KHL-bound Hudler 2-year deal with Wings". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  4. ↑ Valois, Erin (2009-08-28). "USA Hockey, NHL blocking Hudler deal". The National Post. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  5. ↑ "Arbitration case against Hudler deemed invalid". The Sports Network. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  6. ↑ "Jiri Hudler set to return". winginitinmotown.com. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  7. ↑ Report: Detroit “fuming” over Radulov return

External links

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