Andrej Šustr

Andrej Šustr

Šustr with the Tampa Bay Lightning in December 2014
Born (1990-11-29) 29 November 1990
Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Weight 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team Tampa Bay Lightning
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2013present

Andrej Šustr (born 29 November 1990) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, Šustr made his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2013 after playing three seasons of collegiate hockey with the University of Nebraska–Omaha.

Playing career

Junior/collegiate

Šustr grew up in the city of Plzeň, but after finding little opportunity in his home town, was encouraged to move to the United States at the age of 17 to play junior hockey. He spent a year with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in 2008–09 before moving up to the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2009–10.[1] The University of Omaha–Nebraska ice hockey program then recruited Šustr to join their program in 2010.[2] He played three seasons with the Mavericks, appearing in 111 games and recording 15 goals and 51 points.[3]

Professional

An undrafted player, Šustr participated in NHL development camps with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. After completing his junior season at Omaha, he signed a professional contract with the Lightning on 21 March 2013.[4] He made his NHL debut on 29 March against the New Jersey Devils.[5] He appeared in two games in Tampa before being assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.[6] He played eight regular season games with Syracuse, scoring two goals and adding an assist,[3] while the Crunch reached the Calder Cup Final against the Grand Rapids Griffins.[7]

Šustr scored his first career NHL goal on 5 April 2014, against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars. On 7 July 2014, the Lightning announced that they had re-signed Šustr to a one-year, one-way contract. He made his Stanley Cup playoff debut against the Montreal Canadiens, appearing in three games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Additionally, Šustr appeared in 12 games with the Crunch, recording a goal and three assists.[8]

On 16 February 2015, during the 2014–15 season he played in his 100th career NHL game in Tampa Bay's 3–2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.[9] On 30 March, the Lightning announced that Šustr would be out one-to-two weeks with an upper body injury, but was expected to return in time for the start of the 2015 playoffs.[10] On 18 April, he scored his first career playoff goal in a 5–1 Lightning win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.[11]

On 30 June 2015, the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed Sustr to a two-year, two-way contract. Sustr played in 72 games with the Lightning in the 2014-15 NHL season, recording 13 assists and 34 penalty minutes. Sustr set career highs in games played, assists, plus/minus (+10) and penalty minutes. Sustr also appeared in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Lightning, registering one goal and two points. Sustr has skated in 117 NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past three seasons, collecting one goal and 21 points. Sustr ranked fourth on the Lightning for blocked shots with 84 during the 2014–15 season. He also set the Lightning franchise record for the best plus/minus (+7) in a playoff series in the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings.[12]

On 25 October 2016, Sustr skated in his 200th career NHL game, which came in a 7-3 Lightning victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.[13] On June 26, 2017, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed Sustr to a one-year, $1.95 million contract extension.[14]

International play

On 2 March 2016, the Czech Ice Hockey Association named Šustr to its roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Šustr was joined by Lightning teammate Ondřej Palát. The tournament ran from 17 September to 1 October 2016, in Toronto.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Kenai River Brown Bears NAHL 36 1 7 8 58
2009–10 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 50 1 18 19 95
2010–11 University of Nebraska Omaha WCHA 39 2 7 9 38
2011–12 University of Nebraska Omaha WCHA 33 4 13 17 26
2012–13 University of Nebraska Omaha WCHA 39 9 16 25 53
2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Syracuse Crunch AHL 8 2 1 3 8 18 2 5 7 25
2013–14 Syracuse Crunch AHL 12 1 3 4 2
2013–14 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 43 1 7 8 16 3 0 0 0 2
2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 72 0 13 13 34 26 1 1 2 18
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 77 4 17 21 30 17 1 2 3 16
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 3 11 14 43
NHL totals 274 8 48 56 123 46 2 3 5 36

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Czech Republic WJC 7th 5 0 0 0 6
2016 Czech Republic WCH 6th 3 1 0 1 2
Junior totals 5 0 0 0 6
Senior totals 3 1 0 1 2

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-WCHA Third Team 2012–13

References

  1. Jáchim, Václav (2009-12-27). "Andrej Šustr jde vlastní cestou, z americké juniorky by rád zamířil na univerzitu" (in Czech). hokej.cz. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  2. White, Rob (2011-10-26). "Mavs defenseman a big problem for opponents". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  3. 1 2 "Andrej Sustr statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  4. "Lightning sign college free agent Andrej Sustr". National Hockey League. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  5. Smith, Joe (2013-03-29). "Lightning's Sustr makes NHL debut". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  6. "Lightning assign Angelidis, Palat, Sustr and Desjardins to Syracuse – Brett Connolly and Dana Tyrell recalled to Tampa". Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  7. "Griffins beat Crunch for 2–0 Calder Cup final lead". The Sports Network. 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  8. Tampa Bay, Lightnign (4 July 2014). "Lightning Re-Sign Defensemen Andrej Sustr". Lightning Team News. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  9. Burns, Bryan (17 February 2015). "Kings rally to beat Bolts 3–2". Lightning News. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  10. Smith, Joe (30 March 2015). "Jason Garrison out 3–4 weeks, big blow among Lightning injuries". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. Burns, Bryan (18 April 2015). "Lightning pound Red Wings 5–1 to even series". Tampa Bay Lightning Beat Writer. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  12. Tampa Bay, Lightning (30 June 2015). "Lightning Re-sign Defensemen Andrej Sustr". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  13. Associated, Press (25 October 2016). "Stamkos' 4 points lead Lightning over Maple Leafs". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  14. "Lightning re-sign defenseman Andrej Sustr to one-year contract". NHL.com. Tampa Bay Lightning. June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  15. Peters, Chris (2 March 2016). "World Cup of Hockey: Czech Republic names prelim roster without Jagr". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
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