Martin Prusek (born December 11, 1975) is a Czech ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his playing career, Prusek appeared in 57 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets. Prusek currently serves as the goaltending coach for HC Vítkovice Steel of the Czech Extraliga.

Martin Prusek
Born (1975-12-11) December 11, 1975 (age 48)
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 171 lb (78 kg; 12 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for HC Vitkovice
Ottawa Senators
HC Znojemsti Orli
Columbus Blue Jackets
SKA Saint Petersburg
HC Spartak Moscow
Dinamo Riga
National team  Czech Republic
NHL draft 164th overall, 1999
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 1994–2011

Playing career

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Martin Prusek started his professional ice hockey career in 1994 when he joined HC Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga. After playing there for five seasons, Prusek was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the 1999 NHL entry draft with the 164th overall pick. He signed a multi-year contract with Ottawa in 2001 and made his North American debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League during the 2001–02 season.[1] He also made his NHL debut that same season, appearing in one game with the Senators.

Prusek appeared in 47 games with the Senators over the following two seasons, compiling a record of 28–8–4. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he returned to the Czech Republic to play for Vitkovice and HC JME Znojemští Orli. He came back to North America for the 2005–06 season, joining the Columbus Blue Jackets.[2] After spending most of the 2005–06 season with the Blue Jackets AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch, Prusek left North America and joined SKA Saint Petersburg in the Russian Super League. During 2007–08, he rejoined HC Vitkovice in the Czech Extraliga. In 2008-09 Prusek played in Kontinental Hockey League and after a brief contract with HC Spartak Moscow, he joined Dinamo Riga for 2 seasons. After the 2009-10 season, Prusek once again rejoined HC Vítkovice Steel. Although he suffered from carditis [citation needed] and played just in 2 Extraliga games during all the 2010-11 season, he reached a silver medal.

In summer 2011, he stepped into HC Vítkovice Steel pre-season players' camp, but on July 26 he announced his retirement decision and also he accepted the club's offer for the position of goaltender coach.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1995–96 HC Vítkovice ELH 40 2336 113 1 2.90 .911 4 250 10 1 2.40 .935
1996–97 HC Vítkovice ELH 49 2841 109 8 2.30 .921 9 546 19 1 2.09 .935
1997–98 HC Vítkovice ELH 50 2901 129 0 2.67 .948 9 529 26 1 2.95 .910
1998–99 HC Vítkovice ELH 37 1905 85 0 2.68 .917 4 250 12 0 2.88 .923
1999–00 HC Vítkovice ELH 50 2647 132 0 2.99 .911
2000–01 HC Vítkovice ELH 30 1679 64 0 2.29 .924 9 460 25 0 3.26 .919
2001–02 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 33 18 8 5 1903 58 4 1.83 .930 5 2 3 278 10 0 2.16 .896
2001–02 Ottawa Senators NHL 1 0 1 0 62 3 0 2.90 .800
2002–03 Ottawa Senators NHL 18 12 2 1 935 37 0 2.37 .911
2002–03 Binghamton Senators AHL 4 1 2 1 243 7 1 1.73 .925
2003–04 Ottawa Senators NHL 29 16 6 3 1528 54 3 2.12 .917 1 0 0 40 1 0 1.50 .933
2004–05 HC Vítkovice ELH 14 672 28 0 2.50 .931
2004–05 HC Znojemsti Orli Znojmo ELH 8 453 18 0 2.38 .932
2005–06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 23 12 7 1 1203 60 2 2.99 .911
2005-06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 9 3 3 0 373 20 0 3.22 .879
2006–07 SKA St. Petersburg RSL 22 1161 52 3 2.69
2007–08 HC Vítkovice ELH 43 17 26 0 2366 106 3 2.69 .932
2008–09 Spartak Moscow KHL 22 8 9 4 1280 64 2 3.00 .879
2008–09 Dynamo Riga KHL 20 10 6 2 1164 33 6 1.70 .941 3 0 3 167 13 0 4.67 .859
2009–10 Dynamo Riga KHL 28 7 15 2 1477 77 0 3.13 .903 4 1 3 210 9 0 2.57 .921
2010–11 HC Vítkovice ELH 2 106 4 0 2.26 .923
NHL totals 57 31 12 4 0 2898 114 3 2.36 .909 1 0 0 40 1 0 1.50 .933

Awards

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International achievements

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Martin Prusek's first international team game was the game against Russia on December 17, 1995, in Moscow.

Year Total
Ice Hockey World Championships WC 1997  
WC 1998  
WC 1999  
WC 2009 6th place
4x

References

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  1. ^ "SENATORS SIGN GOALTENDER MARTIN PRUSEK". Ottawa Senators. July 23, 2001. Archived from the original on November 22, 2001. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "BLUE JACKETS SIGN GOALTENDER MARTIN PRUSEK". Columbus Blue Jackets. August 4, 2005. Archived from the original on August 6, 2005. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the Hap Holmes Memorial Award
(with Mathieu Chouinard and Simon Lajeunesse)

2001–2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award
2001–02
Succeeded by