Marek Tvrdoň

Marek Tvrdoň
Born (1993-01-31) January 31, 1993
Nitra, Slovakia
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams		 HC Slovan Bratislava
HK Nitra
Grand Rapids Griffins
NHL Draft 115th overall, 2011
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2010–present

Marek Tvrdoň (born January 31, 1993) is a Slovak junior ice hockey winger who is currently playing for the HC Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Tvrdoň has previously played for HK Nitra's junior and Slovak Extraliga teams. Tvrdoň was drafted 115th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Born in Nitra, Slovakia, Tvrdon developed with his hometown's HK Nitra junior program. Beginning at the under-18 level in 2007–08, he went on to the under-20 level two years later, scoring 56 points (25 goals and 31 assists) over 45 games. During the 2009–10 season, he also played six games with HK Nitra's men's team in the Slovak Extraliga.

During the subsequent 2010–11 season, Tvrdon moved to North America to play for the major junior Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He began the campaign with 11 points (6 goals and 5 assists) in 12 games before suffering a shoulder injury in mid-October 2010. The following month, he underwent season-ending surgery.[1] In the off-season, he was selected 115th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Giant general manager Scott Bonner speculated that if he had played the full season prior to the draft, he would have been selected much higher, perhaps as a "first or second-round pick". Tvrdon has been described as a player with size and skill, while Giants head coach Don Hay listed his work ethic as a weakness following his first WHL season.[1]

On January 8, 2014 Tvrdoň was traded by the Vancouver Giants to the Kelowna Rockets for a second-round pick in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft.[2]

Professional

On July 3, 2012, Tvrdoň signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[3]

During the final season of his entry-level deal with the Red Wings in 2015–16, Tvrdoň was unable to make an impact within the organization and was primarily assigned to secondary affiliate, the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. On December 19, 2015, he was placed on unconditional waivers, in order to mutually terminate his contract. He returned to Slovakia and on December 22, 2015, signed a contract for the remainder of the season with HC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL.[4]

International play

Tvrdon represented with Slovakia at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded three goals and one assist in six games. Two years later, he represented Slovakia's national junior team at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he recorded three goals and one assist in six games, finishing as the second-leading goal scorer on the team.[5] Slovakia finished sixth in the tournament after losing their quarterfinal and the fifth place consolation match.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 HK Nitra Slovak 6 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Vancouver Giants WHL 12 6 5 11 14 — — — — —
2011–12 Vancouver Giants WHL 60 31 43 74 62 6 3 3 6 0
2012–13 Vancouver Giants WHL 18 8 14 22 16 — — — — —
2013–14 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Toledo Walleye ECHL 22 9 4 13 6 — — — — —
2013–14 Kelowna Rockets WHL 29 11 16 27 24 14 5 8 13 14
2014–15 Toledo Walleye ECHL 24 6 18 24 14 — — — — —
2014–15 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 51 10 19 29 16 13 2 4 6 2
2015–16 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Toledo Walleye ECHL 23 8 13 21 16 — — — — —
AHL totals 53 10 19 29 16 13 2 4 6 2

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Slovakia U18 8th 6 3 1 4 4
2012 Slovakia WJC 6th 6 3 1 4 14
Junior totals 12 6 2 8 18

References

  1. 1 2 Pap, Elliott (2011-08-30). "Healed Marek Tvrdon raring to walk the talk". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  2. ↑ Giants Trade Marek Tvrdon to the Rockets vancouvergiants.com, January 8, 2014
  3. ↑ "Nicastro, Tvrdon sign entry-level deals". National Hockey League. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
  4. ↑ "Detroit did not want him, Slovan best choice". hokejportal.net. 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  5. ↑ "Player Statistics By Team" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  6. ↑ "Games & Results". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2012-01-05.

External links

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