Jiří Hrdina (born January 5, 1958) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He spent 10 seasons in the Czechoslovak First League with Sparta ČKD Praha and HK Dukla Trenčín and five in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins. Of his four full NHL seasons, Hrdina is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, playing on NHL championship teams in 1989, 1991 and 1992.
| Jiří Hrdina | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hrdina during the alumni game at the 2011 Heritage Classic | |||
| Born |
January 5, 1958 Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Calgary Flames Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| National team |
 Czechoslovakia | ||
| NHL draft |
159th Overall, 1984 Calgary Flames | ||
| Playing career | 1977–1992 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing Czechoslovakia
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
1984 Sarajevo | |
| World Championship | ||
|
1982 Finland | |
|
1983 West Germany | |
 |
1985 Czechoslovakia | |
 |
1987 Austria | |
|
1990 Switzerland | |
| World Junior Championship | ||
|
1977 Czechoslovakia | |
Internationally, Hrdina was a member of the Czechoslovakian national team between 1977 and 1990. He appeared in two Canada Cups, and played in six World Championships. He was a member of five World Championship medal-winning teams, including a gold medal at the 1985 tournament. He is a two-time Olympian and won a silver medal with the Czechoslovak team at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo.
Playing career
editNational Hockey League
editThe Calgary Flames selected Hrdina with their eighth round selection, 159th overall, at the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.[1] However, due to a Czechoslovak policy at the time regarding national team players, he was not permitted to join a professional team until after the 1988 Winter Olympics.[2] Hrdina joined the Flames at the Games' conclusion, and made his NHL debut, as a 30-year-old, on March 3, 1988. He recorded his first point, an assist, in that game, then scored his first NHL goal on March 15 against the Hartford Whalers.[1] He appeared in nine games to end the 1987–88 season with Calgary and scored two goals and seven points.
Hrdina had a four-goal game early in his first full NHL season, 1988–89, leading the Flames to a 6–3 win over the Whalers.[3] On the season, he appeared in 70 games and scored 22 goals to go along with 32 assists. He appeared in only four playoff games that season, but was a member of the Flames' Stanley Cup championship team.[4] Playing as a defensive forward, Hrdina recorded 30 points in 64 games in 1989–90.
In need of an additional centre, the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Hrdina from the Flames on December 13, 1990, in exchange for defenceman Jim Kyte.[5] The team also hoped he could help their star Czechoslovak rookie Jaromír Jágr, who was struggling to adapt to life in North America.[4] Initially upset at the trade, Hrdina considered retiring or returning to Europe, but chose to give Pittsburgh a try first.[6] He finished the 1990–91 season with 23 points in 51 games combined between the Penguins and Flames, and appeared in 14 more in the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored two goals in the playoffs, both in game seven of Pittsburgh's first round series against the New Jersey Devils, including the game winner.[6] The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.[4] As a depth player in 1991–92, Hrdina had 16 points in 56 regular season games, and added two assists in 21 playoff games as the Penguins repeated as champions. He announced his retirement from the NHL following the season. He is currently an amateur scout for the Dallas Stars.[7]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977–78 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR Jr | 35 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 39 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 44 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 42 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | ASVŠ Dukla Trenčín | CSSR | 44 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | ASVŠ Dukla Trenčín | SVK-2 | 36 | 40 | 24 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 44 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 44 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 40 | 28 | 21 | 49 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 37 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | TJ Sparta ČKD Praha | CSSR | 22 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1988–89 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 70 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 64 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 37 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 56 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | ||
| CSSR totals | 356 | 128 | 197 | 325 | 300 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 250 | 46 | 85 | 130 | 92 | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 24 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Czechoslovakia | WJC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1978 | Czechoslovakia | WJC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1982 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1983 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | OLY | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | CC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1985 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| 1986 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 | |
| 1987 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | |
| 1987 | Czechoslovakia | CC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1988 | Czechoslovakia | OLY | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1990 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | |
| Junior totals | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | |||
| Senior totals | 83 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 50 | |||
References
edit- ^ a b Halls, Pat, ed. (1990). 1990–91 Calgary Flames Media Guide. Calgary Flames Hockey Club.
- ^ Maki, Alan (1987-01-02). "Hrdina really rings in new year". Calgary Herald. p. E1. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
- ^ "Hrdina, Flames beach Whalers". Record-Journal. Meriden, CT. 1988-11-08. p. 15. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
- ^ a b c Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. p. 508. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
- ^ McMillan, Tom (1990-12-14). "Pens get Czech center from Calgary". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 23. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
- ^ a b Palm, Mike (2010-12-19). "Penguins Cup Chronicles: Jiri Hrdina". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2013-08-24.[dead link]
- ^ "Hrdina announces retirement". The Daily Sentinel. Pomeroy–Middlesport, OH. 1992-07-01. p. 5. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
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