Tomáš Jurčo

Tomáš Jurčo
Born (1992-12-28) 28 December 1992
Košice, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 35th overall, 2011
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2009–present

Tomáš Jurčo (born 28 December 1992) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He began playing hockey in the HC Košice before moving to North America in 2009 to play for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He spent three seasons with Saint John, helping them win the Memorial Cup as major junior champions of Canada in 2011. Jurčo was drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Junior

At the 2009 CHL Import Draft, Jurčo was selected fourth overall by the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).[1] He joined the team that year, and was nominated for the 2009–10 QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. His skill set involves a unique set of hands and good sense of vision on the ice, and he was compared to his favourite player and fellow countryman, Marián Hossa. Jurčo's videos demonstrating his skills are popular on YouTube amongst many hockey fans.[2] Jurčo was a key contributor in the Sea Dogs' Memorial Cup championship title in 2011, where Saint John defeated the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 3–1 in the Final.[3]

On 25 June 2011, the Detroit Red Wings drafted Jurčo in the second round, 35th overall, as the team's first pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[4][5]

Professional

On 7 August 2012, Jurčo signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Red Wings. He was then assigned to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the 2012–13 season. He recorded 14 goals and 14 assists in 74 games in his first professional season. Jurčo was among the team's leading scorers during the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs, recording eight goals and six assists to help lead the Griffins to the Calder Cup championship over the Syracuse Crunch.[6]

Jurčo began the 2013–14 season with the Griffins before being called up to the Detroit Red Wings. At the time of his first call-up, Jurčo led the Griffins in goals (11), assists (16), points (27) and power play goals (5).[7] On 15 December 2013, Jurčo made his NHL debut for the Red Wings in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[8] Two nights later, on 17 December, he scored his first career NHL goal against Jonas Hiller of the Anaheim Ducks.[9]

On 24 July 2015, Jurčo signed a two-year contract extension with the Red Wings.[10] On 17 November 2015, Jurčo was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning assignment. Before being assigned to Grand Rapids, Jurčo appeared in four games for the Red Wings that season, recording one assist.[11] On 20 November, Jurčo tied a franchise record with three power play goals, becoming just the third Griffin to accomplish the feat.[12] Jurčo was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending 22 November. He posted a league-best seven points for the week, three goals and four assists, and helped lead the Griffins to three consecutive wins, tallying assists on all three game-winning goals.[13] On 28 November, Jurčo was recalled by the Red Wings from his conditioning assignment. In five games for the Griffins, Jurčo recorded five goals and four assists, and helped lead the Griffins in winning all five games he appeared in.[14]

On 24 February 2017, Jurčo was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft. During his career with the Red Wings, he recorded 15 goals and 24 assists in 159 games.[15] He closed out the regular season with the Blackhawks in scoring just 1 goal in 13 games and was a healthy scratch through Chicago's first-round defeat to the Nashville Predators.

As a restricted free agent, on June 26, 2017, Jurčo was re-signed to a one-year contract extension with the Blackhawks.[16]

International play

Jurčo represented Slovakia at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, scoring one point in six games. He again represented Slovakia at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he was the leading scorer on the team, recording one goal and seven assists in five games.[17]

Jurčo was selected to play for the senior Slovakia team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he finished the tournament with one goal in four games.[18]

Jurčo represented Slovakia at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded one assist in five games. Jurčo represented Slovakia at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded two goals and three assists in seven games.

Personal life

Jurčo is the younger brother of Petra Jurčová, a veteran of the Slovak women's ice hockey team.[19]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 64 26 25 51 24 21 7 10 17 8
2010–11 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 60 31 25 56 17 19 6 12 18 8
2011–12 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 48 30 38 68 37 16 13 16 29 12
2012–13 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 74 14 14 28 22 24 8 6 14 21
2013–14 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 32 13 19 32 14 8 5 2 7 11
2013–14 Detroit Red Wings NHL 36 8 7 15 14 3 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 3 15 18 14 7 1 1 2 2
2015–16 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 5 5 4 9 4 — — — — —
2015–16 Detroit Red Wings NHL 44 4 2 6 16 — — — — —
2016–17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2016–17 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 172 16 24 40 48 10 1 1 2 2

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Slovakia WJC 8th 6 1 0 1 0
2012 Slovakia WJC 6th 5 1 7 8 4
2014 Slovakia Oly 11th 4 1 0 1 2
2015 Slovakia WC 9th 5 0 1 1 0
2016 Slovakia WC 9th 7 2 3 5 0
Junior totals 11 2 7 9 4
Senior totals 16 3 4 7 2

References

  1. ↑ "2009 CHL Import Draft". Canadian Hockey League. 2009. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  2. ↑ Charron, C. (21 June 2011). "Tomas Jurco determined to be more than a YouTube star". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  3. ↑ Kennedy, R. (31 May 2011). "The Hot List: Jurco's stock rising". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
  4. ↑ St. James, Helene (25 June 2011). "Red Wings make forward Tomas Jurco top draft pick". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Waddell, D. (27 June 2011). "Red Wings bulk up the roster". The Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
  6. ↑ "Hungry for Success". Grand Rapids Griffins. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Red Wings Firsts: Tomas Jurco". Detroit Red Wings. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Roose, Bill (15 December 2013). "Abdelkader out; Jurco to make debut". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Roose, Bill (17 December 2013). "Rookie Tomas Jurco nets first career NHL goal in his second game". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  10. ↑ St. James, Helene (24 July 2015). "Tomas Jurco, Red Wings agree to two-year contract". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Kujawa, Kyle (17 November 2015). "Jurco goes on conditioning assignment". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "California Dreamin'". Grand Rapids Griffins. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Jurco Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week". Grand Rapids Griffins. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  14. ↑ Kujawa, Kyle (28 November 2015). "Red Wings recall Tomas Jurco from conditioning stint". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Blackhawks acquire Jurco from Detroit". Chicago Blackhawks. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "Blackhawks agree terms with Forsberg and Jurco". Chicago Blackhawks. 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  17. ↑ 2012 World Championship: Tomas Tatar, Slovakia hockeysfuture.com, 18 May 2012
  18. ↑ Nelson, Andrea (18 February 2014). "Olympics come to an end for Tatar, Jurco". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "Jurčova sestra Petra: Takto sme sa s Tomášom hrali na NHL ako malí šraci!". cas.sk (in Slovak). 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
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