Michael Špaček (born 9 April 1997) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward. He currently plays with Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga (ELH). Špaček was born in Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic, but grew up in Dašice.
| Michael Špaček | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_by_Sandro_Halank%E2%80%93194_(cropped).jpg) Špaček with the Czech Republic (2023) | |||
| Born |
9 April 1997 Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| ELH team Former teams |
Sparta Praha HC Pardubice Tappara HC Oceláři Třinec Frölunda HC HC Ambrì-Piotta Genève-Servette HC | ||
| National team |
 Czech Republic | ||
| NHL draft |
108th overall, 2015 Winnipeg Jets | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Playing career
editŠpaček made his Czech Extraliga debut playing with HC Pardubice at age 17, during the 2013–14 season.[1] Špaček had played as a youth within the Pardubice organization since 2010. In his first full professional campaign with Pardubice in 2014–15, Špaček contributed 12 points in 40 games. Spacek was selected in the 4th round, 108th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[2] Špaček competed for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, during the 2015–16 season.[3]
On 2 June 2017, after two seasons with Red Deer, Špaček completed his junior career by agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[4]
During the 2019–20 season, re-assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, Špaček appeared in 45 games posting 20 points assists before he was re-assigned by the Jets to join the Ontario Reign, primary affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, on loan for the remainder of the season on 2 March 2020.[5] Špaček failed to appear in a game with the Reign due to injury before the season was prematurely ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As an impending restricted free agent from the Jets, Špaček opted to halt his NHL aspirations by agreeing to a one-year contract in Finland with Tappara of the Liiga on 4 August 2020.[6] His rights were later relinquished by the Jets on 4 October 2020.[7] In the 2020–21 season, Špaček registered 5 goals and 13 points through 18 regular season games with Tappara before leaving the club to return to the Czech Republic in joining HC Oceláři Třinec of the ELH for the remainder of the season on 26 January 2021.[8] Špaček made an immediate impact with Třinec, collecting 14 points in 16 playoff games to help the club claim the Championship.
As a free agent, Špaček joined his third European club within the year, agreeing to a two-year contract with Swedish outfit Frölunda HC of the SHL on 3 May 2021.[9]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | CZE U18 | 39 | 28 | 22 | 50 | 69 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | CZE U18 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | CZE U20 | 31 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | ELH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | ELH | 40 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | CZE U20 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice | CZE U18 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | ||
| 2015–16 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 61 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 18 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 59 | 30 | 55 | 85 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 70 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 2018–19 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 74 | 10 | 31 | 41 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 45 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Tappara | Liiga | 18 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HC Oceláři Třinec | ELH | 9 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | Frölunda HC | SHL | 49 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | HC Ambrì-Piotta | NL | 50 | 14 | 36 | 50 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | HC Ambrì-Piotta | NL | 48 | 17 | 33 | 50 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| ELH totals | 53 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 8 | ||||
| NL totals | 98 | 31 | 69 | 100 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
International
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Czech Republic
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2022 Finland | |
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
 |
2014 Finland | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | WJC | 6th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | WJC | 5th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Czech Republic | WJC | 6th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Czech Republic | OG | 9th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Czech Republic | WC | 
|
10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Czech Republic | WC | 8th | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 27 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 27 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "HC Pardubice 2013–14 player statistics". eliteprospects.com. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
- ^ "The Winnipeg Jets select Michael Spacek in the fourth round". Arctic Ice Hockey. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ^ "Memorial Cup hosts land Michael Spacek, chase Brandon Hickey". The Hockey News. 6 August 2015.
- ^ "Jets agree to terms with Michael Spacek". Winnipeg Jets. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Reign announce roster moves". Ontario Reign. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Michael Spacek joins Tappara" (in Finnish). Tappara. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Jets tender qualifying offers to six players". The Sports Network. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Steelmakers are strengthening with Spacek" (in Czech). HC Oceláři Třinec. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Spacek first in" (in Swedish). Frölunda HC. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database