Misplaced Pages

Tomáš Kopecký

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Tomas Kopecky) Slovak ice hockey player (born 1982)

For the Czech cyclist, see Tomáš Kopecký (cyclist). Ice hockey player
Tomáš Kopecký
Kopecký pictured in June 2008 during the Detroit Red Wings championship celebration
Born (1982-02-05) 5 February 1982 (age 42)
Ilava, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb)
Position Forward
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

Tomáš Kopecký (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈtɔmaːʂ ˈkɔpetskiː]; born 5 February 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers.

He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won with both the Red Wings in 2008 and the Blackhawks in 2010.

Playing career

Detroit Red Wings (2005–2009)

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.

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 the 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, 77 games into the 2007–08 season, Kopecký tore his ACL during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets resulting in him missing the last five games of the season and all of the post-season. This injury was repaired during surgery on 22 April. On 4 June 2008, he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings after the team defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

After Kopecký recorded six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 79 games in the 2008–09 season, he and the Red Wings would go on to make a second consecutive appearance in Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins where they would be defeated in seven games, one win short from a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. He would play in eight playoff games in the 2009 playoffs (none in the Stanley Cup Finals) where he would be goalless and record one assist for one point.

Chicago Blackhawks (2009–2011)

Kopecký (forefront) as a Blackhawk with teammate Nick Leddy in February 2011

On 1 July 2009, Kopecký signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $1.2 million per season. 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% while playing most of the season on the teams fourth line. 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 in the Western Conference Finals. 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 as this series would be Kopecký's third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with two different teams. He finished the playoffs with solid statistics; in 17 games, he tallied six points (four goals, two assists), 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 and ended the campaign with a breakout season. 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 to the second line with Hossa and Patrick Sharp then eventually the fourth line with Viktor Stålberg and Ryan Johnson as the season went on. On 30 November, Kopecký recorded his first career four-point game in a 7–5 win over the St. Louis Blues having recorded the first goal of the game against Blues' goaltender and former Red Wings teammate Ty Conklin and recording assists on goals by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp, respectively. 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 desperately needed either a win in any fashion or an overtime/shootout loss to decisively clinch a playoff spot. A win would solidify a seventh seed finish while a overtime or shootout loss would result in an eighth seed finish. The Hawks lost the game 4–3 in regulation not gaining any points in the standings, but still clinched the eighth and final playoff spot due to a Dallas Stars 5–3 loss later that same day against the Minnesota Wild. If the Stars had won their finale against the Wild, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks would've missed the playoffs entirely by one point and it would've marked the first time in Kopecký's career to have been on a non-playoff team. 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 six consecutive seasons as a result of the Blackhawks narrow playoff berth. Kopecký was taken out of Game 1 of the first round of the 2011 playoffs on 13 April against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks with a concussion after being hit by Canucks defenseman Sami Salo. He did not return to the ice for the rest of the series and the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks ultimately lost the first-round matchup in seven games.

Florida Panthers (2011–2015)

Kopecký as a member of the Florida Panthers in November 2011

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. Two days later, on 29 June, the Panthers signed Kopecký to a four-year deal worth a total of $12 million. Kopecký finished the 2011–12 season with 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 80 games as the Panthers finished as the third seed in the Eastern Conference leading the Panthers qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2000. The Panthers would be defeated in the first round of the 2012 playoffs in seven games by the sixth seeded New Jersey Devils and Kopecký would record a goal and no assists for one point in all seven games.

The 48 game lockout-shortened 2012–13 season would see the Panthers not only fail to qualify for the playoffs but also finish last place in the entire NHL, resulting in Kopecký missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. Despite the team struggles, Kopecký continued to stay productive individually having finished the abbreviated season by recording 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 47 games played.

On 29 December 2013, Kopecký played in his 500th NHL game in a 4–1 Panthers win over the Montreal Canadiens. On 15 February 2014, Kopecký suffered a concussion in a game against Slovenia in the 2014 Winter Olympics resulting in him missing the rest of the Olympic tournament and the remainder of the 2013–14 season for the Panthers. Kopecký would end the injury-depleted season with four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 49 games as the Panthers would fail to qualify for the playoffs as they finished the season in second-to-last place in the NHL.

Kopecký would play 64 games in the 2014–15 season with two goals and six assists for eight points recorded. Despite his decrease in production and the Panthers failing to qualify for the playoffs once more, Kopecký would be the Panthers nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game of hockey (although he wasn't named a top three finalist by the NHL).

Post NHL career

At the conclusion of his contract with the Panthers, and failing to meet the expectations of his contract the last two seasons of the deal, Kopecký went un-signed over the 2015 off-season 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

Tomas is married to Maria and has two sons named Jakub (born 8 February 2004) and Tobias (born 20 February 2009).

International play

Medal record
Representing  Slovakia
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2012 Helsinki

Kopecký has participated in eight international tournaments for Slovakia:

Awards and achievements

  • 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
  • 2014 Member of the Slovakia Winter Olympic Team

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    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

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 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 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

  1. Hahn, John (2008). "Kopecky undergoes successfully surgery". Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
  2. Michael MRock (17 June 2009). "2009 Stanley Cup Final Game Seven: The Perfect Storm". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  3. 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.
  4. San Diego Tribune (30 November 2010). "Kane, Toews lead Blackhawks past Blues 7-5". sandiegotribute.com. San Diego Tribune. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  5. Dustin Fink (18 April 2011). "NHL Post Season Concussion Report #1". theconcussionblog.com. The Concussion Blog. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  6. Rogers, Jesse (27 June 2011). "Blackhawks trade Tomas Kopecky". ESPN. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  7. "Panthers lock up Kopecky". sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. Staff Report (27 April 2012). "Devils beat Panthers in double OT, get Flyers next". trentonian.com. The Trentonian. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  9. San Diego Tribune (29 December 2013). "Panthers roll to 4-1 win over Canadiens". sandiegotribune.com. San Diego Tribune. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  10. Jeff Klein (24 February 2014). "Injuries at the Olympics Deplete Several Rosters". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  11. George Richards (7 April 2015). "Tomas Kopecky is Florida Panthers' nominee for Masterton Trophy". miamiherald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  12. "Kopys a family man". mlive.com. 2 January 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. "Kopecky rebounds from injury". Fox Sports. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  14. "Kopecky becomes a dad". mlive.com. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.

External links

Categories: