Tomáš Kopecký (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈtɔmaːʂ ˈkɔpetskiː]; born 5 February 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers.
| Tomáš Kopecký | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Kopecký pictured in June 2008 during the Detroit Red Wings championship celebration | |||
| Born | 5 February 1982 Ilava, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | HK Dukla Trenčín Detroit Red Wings Chicago Blackhawks Florida Panthers HC Oceláři Třinec HC Slovan Bratislava | ||
| National team |  Slovakia | ||
| NHL draft | 38th overall, 2000 Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 2001–2017 | ||
He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won with both the Red Wings in 2008 and the Blackhawks in 2010.
Playing career edit
Detroit Red Wings edit
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After being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Kopecký played two seasons of junior hockey with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He turned professional with the American Hockey League (AHL), initially with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks before being assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Kopecký played four seasons with the Griffins before making his NHL debut with the Red Wings towards the end of 2005–06 on 28 February 2006 against the San Jose Sharks. This would be his only game played in the season for the Red Wings.
The following season, on 14 December 2006, in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Kopecký was injured a minute into the third period of the Red Wings' 3–2 victory. Kopecký lost his footing and hit the boards as he approached the Chicago blue line and Blackhawks defenseman Jim Vandermeer then fell on top of him. Kopecký was motionless on the ice for a few minutes before being helped to the dressing room by members of the Detroit training staff. He had surgery the next day to repair a broken clavicle. As a result of this injury, he was limited to just 26 games in 2006–07 season. Kopecký had previously worn the number 28 with Detroit, but switched to 82 after the Red Wings acquired free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski.
On 3 April 2008, near the end of the 2007–08 season, Kopecký tore his Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This injury was repaired during surgery on 22 April 2008.[1] On 4 June 2008, he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, though he did not play a game in the post-season.
Chicago Blackhawks edit
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On 1 July 2009, Kopecký signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $1.2 million per season.[2] He played in 74 games for the Blackhawks in the 2009–10 season, posting 21 points (10 goals, 21 assists), 28 penalties-in-minutes (PIM), two game-winning goals and a shooting percentage of 10.5%. Into the 2010 playoffs, Kopecký continued to be a regular starter on Chicago's third or fourth forward lines. He scored a crucial goal to put Chicago up by two in the Western Semifinals against the Vancouver Canucks, but his most crucial would be in his first game back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for all four games of the sweep of the San Jose Sharks. Replacing injured forward Andrew Ladd, Kopecký netted the 6–5 game-winning goal in the Game 1 victory of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. Ladd returned the next game, but Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville kept Kopecký in the lineup to play every game of the six-game series against the Flyers. He finished the playoffs with solid statistics; in 17 games, he tallied six points, 8 PIM, one game-winning goal and a shooting percentage of 14.3%. On 9 June 2010, at the age of 28, he won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks and hoisted the Cup for the second time in his life.
Kopecký entered the 2010–11 season in the last year of his contract with the newly-defending champion Blackhawks. He opened the first game of the year on 7 October 2010 against the Colorado Avalanche on the team's first line with Jonathan Toews and Marián Hossa, putting in over twice the amount of time on the ice that he had averaged the season before until getting moved eventually to the fourth line with Viktor Stålberg and Ryan Johnson as the season went on. On 26 December, in a 4–1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, in his 36th game of the year, Kopecký tallied his 21st point of the season with a goal on Blue Jackets goaltender Mathieu Garon, matching his career high total for a single season. Kopecký played in the Blackhawks' last game of the season on 10 April 2011, against his former team the Detroit Red Wings. The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks needed a win to decisively clinch a playoff spot. The Hawks lost the game 4–3, but still clinched the eighth and final playoff spot due to a Dallas Stars 5–3 loss on the same day against the Minnesota Wild. Kopecký ended the season with career highs in games played (81), goals (15), assists (27) and points (42) and had now been on a playoff-bound team for five consecutive seasons. Kopecký was taken out of Game 1 of the first round of the 2011 playoffs against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks on 13 April with an undisclosed upper-body injury after being hit by Canucks defenseman Sami Salo. He did not return to the ice for the rest of the series, and the Blackhawks ultimately lost the first-round matchup in seven games.
Florida Panthers edit
Following the 2010–11 season, Kopecký was poised to become an unrestricted free agent on 1 July 2011. However, on 27 June, the Blackhawks traded Kopecký to the Florida Panthers, who obtained the exclusive negotiating rights with the player until he was to become a free agent. In return, the Blackhawks received a seventh round draft pick in either the 2012 or 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[3] Two days later, on 29 June, the Panthers signed Kopecký to a four-year deal worth a total of $12 million.[4]
At the conclusion of his contract with the Panthers, and failing to meet the expectations of his contract, Kopecký went un-signed over the summer as a free agent. On 22 October 2015, Kopecký returned to Europe and signed in the Czech Republic for the remainder of the season with HC Oceláři Třinec.
Personal life edit
Tomas is married to Maria and has two sons named Jakub (born 8 February 2004)[5] and Tobias (born 20 February 2009).[6][7]
International play edit
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Slovakia | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 2012 Helsinki | |
Kopecký has participated in eight international tournaments for Slovakia:
Awards and achievements edit
- 2008 Stanley Cup Champion with the Detroit Red Wings
- 2010 Member of the Slovakia Winter Olympic Team
- 2010 Stanley Cup Champion with the Chicago Blackhawks
- 2012 World Championship Silver Medalist
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK U20 | 41 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK U20 | 51 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK U20 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK | 52 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 49 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 52 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 60 | 34 | 42 | 76 | 94 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2001–02 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 70 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 32 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2003–04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 48 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 48 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 77 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 123 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 25 | ||
| 2006–07 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2007–08 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 77 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 74 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 81 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 80 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Dukla Trenčín | SVK | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 47 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 49 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 64 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | HC Oceláři Třinec | ELH | 38 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | HK Dukla Trenčín | SVK | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | HC Slovan Bratislava | KHL | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 246 | 64 | 76 | 140 | 224 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 33 | ||||
| NHL totals | 578 | 68 | 106 | 174 | 307 | 37 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 25 | ||||
International edit
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Slovakia | WJC18 | 5th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | Slovakia | WJC | 9th | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2001 | Slovakia | WJC | 8th | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 | |
| 2002 | Slovakia | WJC | 8th | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 22 | |
| 2010 | Slovakia | OG | 4th | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Slovakia | WC |  | 10 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2013 | Slovakia | WC | 8th | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2014 | Slovakia | OG | 11th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Slovakia | WC | 9th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 42 | ||||
| Senior totals | 33 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 12 | ||||
References edit
- ^ Hahn, John (2008). "Kopecky undergoes successfully surgery". Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
- ^ Chicago Blackhawks Press Release (2009). "Blackhawks Sign Hossa To 12-Year Deal, Ink C Kopecky To 2-Year Contract". Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
- ^ Rogers, Jesse (27 June 2011). "Blackhawks trade Tomas Kopecky". ESPN. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ "Panthers lock up Kopecky". sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ^ "Kopys a family man". mlive.com. 2 January 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ "Kopecky rebounds from injury". Fox Sports. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Kopecky becomes a dad". mlive.com. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Tomáš Kopecký at Olympedia
- Tomáš Kopecký at Olympics.com
- Tomáš Kopecký at Olympic.sk (in Slovak)
