Andrej Meszároš

Andrej Meszároš

Meszároš with the Boston Bruins in 2014
Born (1985-10-13) 13 October 1985
Považská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams		 HC Slovan Bratislava
HC Dukla Trenčín
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Philadelphia Flyers
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
HC Sibir Novosibirsk
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 23rd overall, 2004
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 2002–present

Andrej Meszároš (Slovak pronunciation: [andrɛj mɛsaːroʃ]; born 13 October 1985) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player who is currently a member of HC Slovan Bratislava. He previously played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators, the latter of which drafted him in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 23rd overall.

Playing career

Andrej Meszároš began playing for Dukla Trenčín in the Slovak Extraliga as a 17-year-old in 2002–03. After two seasons with Trenčín, he was drafted 23rd overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

Meszaros' banner at the Pacific Coliseum, as part of the Vancouver Giants' Ring of Honour

The following season, he went overseas to North America to play junior ice hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Vancouver Giants. Meszároš recorded 41 points in 59 games with Vancouver — fifth in WHL rookie scoring — and was named to the Western Conference's Second All-Star Team. He was also named the Giants' Rookie of the Year and Top Defenceman.[1] Nearly six years later, he was inducted into the Giants' Ring of Honour, a series of banners inside the Pacific Coliseum commemorating the team's best alumni.

In the 2005–06 season, Meszároš made the jump to the NHL with the Senators. Meszároš registered his first NHL point, an assist, on 10 October 2005, in a 6–5 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two months later, he scored his first NHL goal on 9 December — a game-tying goal in the third period of a shootout loss against the Vancouver Canucks.[2] He finished his rookie season with 10 goals and 39 points, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team with the Calgary Flames' Dion Phaneuf. Playing on a defensive pairing with Zdeno Chára, Meszároš' plus-minus rating of +39 was tied for third in the league overall and first among rookies.[1]

The following year, Meszároš registered seven goals and 35 points and added seven points in the playoffs as the Senators made their first franchise appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Anaheim Ducks. The Senators, however, were defeated by Anaheim in five games. Meszároš finished second on the team in playoff plus-minus, behind Wade Redden, at +5. His sophomore season also included an appearance in the 2007 YoungStars Game with teammate Patrick Eaves, in which he scored two goals in a 9–8 victory over the Western Conference.[3]

Although Meszároš produced at a similar pace in 2007–08, the Senators finished a disappointing seventh in the Eastern Conference and were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Meszároš became a restricted free agent in the off-season and, unable to come to terms, the Senators dealt him to the Tampa Bay Lightning on 29 August 2008, in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and the San Jose Sharks' first round draft pick (previously acquired) in 2009.[4] The following day, he agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract.[5]

On 1 July 2010, the first day of the NHL's free agency period, Meszároš was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012.[6]

In his first season with the Flyers, Meszároš won the Barry Ashbee Trophy, awarded to the best defenceman on the team.

On 5 March 2014, the Flyers dealt Meszároš to the Boston Bruins for a conditional 2014 third round draft pick.[7] He scored a power play goal in his debut as a Bruin on 9 March en route to a 5–2 road win against the Florida Panthers.[8]

On 1 July 2014, Meszároš signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres.[9] In the 2014–15 season, expected to contribute on the rebuilding Sabres blueline, Meszároš struggled to play consistently to match his contract, appearing in 60 games with only 14 points.

As a free agent from the Sabres in the off-season, Meszároš went un-signed and later accepted a professional try-out contract to attend the Colorado Avalanche training camp on September 15, 2015.[10] After suffering an early injury during training camp, he was unable to make an impression and was later released on September 30.[11] On October 30, 2015, Meszaros signed with HC Sibir Novosibirsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[12]

International play

Meszároš debuted internationally for Slovakia in the 2003 World U18 Championships as team captain. After a strong round robin, finishing second in their group behind the United States, Slovakia upset the Czech Republic and Russia before being defeated by Canada 3–0 in the gold medal game, earning silver. Meszároš finished with four points in seven games, third in tournament scoring among defencemen.[13]

In 2004, Meszároš competed in World Junior Championships in Finland. After losing their quarter-final match against the Czech Republic, Slovakia was then defeated 3–2 by Russia in the fifth place game. Meszároš scored a goal and an assist in six games. Later that year, he made his senior international debut with Slovakia in the 2004 World Championships. Meszároš recorded one assist in seven games as Slovakia was defeated 1–0 by the United States in the bronze medal game. At 18-years-of-age, he was the youngest player to compete for Slovakia in both 2004 tournaments.[1]

Meszároš made his second World Junior appearance in 2005, returning as team captain. Despite three goals and one assist from Meszároš, Slovakia failed to qualify for the medal rounds.

During his rookie NHL season in 2005–06, Meszároš was chosen to Slovakia's 2006 Olympic hockey team in Turin and registered two assists in six games. As a 20-year-old, he was the second-youngest player in the tournament, behind only Russia’s Evgeni Malkin. After the Ottawa Senators were was eliminated in the second round of the NHL playoffs, Meszároš joined Slovakia for one game in the 2006 World Championships. Slovakia ultimately finished eighth in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Dukla Trenčín SVK 23 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2003–04 Dukla Trenčín SVK 44 3 3 6 8 14 3 1 4 2
2004–05 Vancouver Giants WHL 59 11 30 41 94 6 1 3 4 14
2005–06 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 10 29 39 61 10 1 0 1 18
2006–07 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 7 28 35 102 20 1 6 7 12
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 9 27 36 50 4 0 1 1 6
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 52 2 14 16 36 — — — — —
2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 81 6 11 17 50 — — — — —
2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 81 8 24 32 42 11 2 4 6 8
2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 62 7 18 25 38 1 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 11 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2013–14 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 38 5 12 17 34 — — — — —
2013–14 Boston Bruins NHL 14 2 3 5 6 4 0 2 2 2
2014–15 Buffalo Sabres NHL 60 7 7 14 36 — — — — —
2015–16 HC Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 28 6 3 9 36 9 1 3 4 10
2016–17 HC Slovan Bratislava KHL 35 4 9 13 63 — — — — —
NHL totals 645 63 175 238 457 50 4 13 17 46

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Slovakia WJC18 8th 8 0 1 1 8
2003 Slovakia WJC18 2nd, silver medalist(s) 7 2 2 4 6
2004 Slovakia WJC 6th 6 1 1 2 12
2004 Slovakia WC 4th 7 0 1 1 2
2005 Slovakia WJC 7th 6 3 1 4 4
2006 Slovakia OG 5th 6 0 2 2 4
2006 Slovakia WC 8th 1 0 0 0 0
2010 Slovakia OG 4th 7 0 0 0 4
2014 Slovakia OG 11th 4 0 0 0 6
2015 Slovakia WC 9th 7 3 1 4 27
2016 Slovakia WC 9th 7 0 2 2 4
Junior totals 27 6 5 11 30
Senior totals 39 3 6 9 47

Awards and achievements

SVK

WHL

NHL

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lightning acquire restricted free agent defenseman Andrej Meszaros from Ottawa". Tampa Bay Lightning. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  2. ↑ "Canucks down Senators in shootout thriller". CBC Sports. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "East holds off West in YoungStars Game". ESPN. 24 January 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  4. ↑ "Senators deal Meszaros to Tampa Bay". TSN. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  5. ↑ "Lightning cut six year deal with Meszaros". 30 September 2008.
  6. ↑ "Flyers acquire Meszaros from Tampa Bay; re-sign Coburn". Philadelphia Flyers. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  7. ↑ SanFilippo, Anthony (5 March 2014). "WHAT THE FLYERS TRADES MEAN – Flyers Inside Out". Philadelphia Flyers. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Switaj, Caryn (9 March 2014). "Bruins Take Care of Business, Take Over First in East". bruins.nhl.com. Boston Bruins. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  9. ↑ TSN.ca Staff (1 July 2014). "SABRES SIGN GIONTA, MOULSON TO MULTI-YEAR DEALS; SIGN MESZAROS". www.tsn.ca. TSN. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "2015 Avalanche training camp roster" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  11. ↑ "Avalanche reduces roster". Colorado Avalanche. 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  12. ↑ "Veteran d-man Meszaros signs in KHL". NBC Sports. October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Defencemen Scoring Leaders". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Patrick Eaves		 Ottawa Senators' first round draft pick
2004 		Succeeded by
Brian Lee
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