Slovak ice hockey player Tomáš Tatar from the New Jersey Devils during ice skating Source: TASR/Martin Baumann
NEWARK – He is the only Slovak in the NHL who has crossed the 30-year mark. Tomáš Tatar took over the baton after a successful generation and for many years became one of the regulars of the professional league.
During fourteen seasons, he changed six clubs, he is currently working for the second time in New Jersey, where he could be anchored for a longer period.
In the third part of the Slovak rotation, we will look at the milestones of our hockey players. The enclave of hockey players from under the Tatras, however, will not break down combustible numbers, because the average age of our boys is only 24.4.
Slovenská striedačka is a regular series by editor Martin Turčin, which maps the events of Slovak hockey players in the best league in the world – the NHL. In addition to classic statistics, it provides interesting information, news from social networks and own observations about our representatives overseas.
Perhaps the biggest hole in the statistics can be made by the aforementioned Tatar. He has currently played 866 matches, which ranks him 10th in the historical table of Slovaks. In front of him is former defender Ľubomír Višňovský (883 games), whom Tatar could overtake already this season.
But the native of Ilava is aiming higher, he would definitely like to claim the jubilee 1000th match. He is separated by 134 duels from the milestone reached by only six Slovak hockey players. That means he will also need a contract for next season.
Tatar’s name also shines with a number that he could conquer already this year. He is currently only 16 Canadian notches short of the goal of 500 points. With current form, he will celebrate sometime in the middle of the regular season.
Photo gallery (2) Tomáš Tatar during the opening match of the new NHL season Source: TASR/Martin Baumann
Other players will attack much lower numbers. Erik Černák can play his 400th game in the league. The Tampa defender has played 375 games so far, and if the injury does not slow him down for a long time, he will celebrate the anniversary at the beginning of the calendar year. In addition, the Košičan can cross the 100-point mark, figuratively speaking, nine assists are enough for him to reach the milestone.
Juraj Slafkovský could also score 100 Canadian points this year, he currently has 67. It is estimated that he will earn around 70 points this year, which would mean that the limit was easily exceeded.
Martin Fehérváry can have 300 matches on his account. But he would have to play the complete program of the regular season (82), which he has not yet managed in four overseas seasons.
Slovak fans would certainly be pleased if the still only 19-year-old Samuel Honzek could save his first puck. In the pro league, he played five games without scoring a goal and gaining a point.
1. Šimon Nemec found himself out of favor with coach Sheldon Keef and has already sat in the stands for four games as a healthy substitute. After the return of the duo Hughes – Pesca, the Slovak’s place in the charged Devils defense did not increase, and a farm or exchange is mentioned more and more often.
“He has to be patient, keep working on himself and learning. He’s still a young guy who still has a lot to learn and where to move. He got a good opportunity, but others used it better.” Keefe replied to overseas journalists.
The German himself is experiencing this situation for the second time in his career, coach Travis Green put him on the stand last year. But then the situation was resolved in favor of the German and after a short time he returned to the ice. Now the steps of the organization seem unreadable and it is not clear what their plans are with the Slovak defender.
“I’m trying to take the situation like a professional. It’s not easy for me and it’s a hard school for me. It’s something new and I’ve never experienced a similar situation in my life. I’ll simply try to work my way back into the lineup and show that I really belong ” evaluated the unenviable situation of the German.
Whatever the opinions, the stands will give him nothing in the critical second season and the German urgently needs to play.
2. One of the main events of the past week was the return of Steven Stamkos to Tampa Bay. The long-time captain of the Lightning changed his jersey for the first time in his career during the summer and transferred to Nashville.
His arrival to the club that drafted him from the 1st place in 2008 was accompanied by emotions and even tears. “This is where it all started when I was 18. This is where I grew up. This is where a boy became a man, this is where I became a Stanley Cup champion player, and a husband and a father. Most of my life took place here.” Stamkos said.
3. The task of defending him was given to Erik Černák. It must be said that he was not very successful in this. Stamkos scored an assist on both of the visitors’ goals. Unfortunately for the Slovak defender, he watched both accurate hits from the ice surface.
4. Tampa moved on to Colorado after the home game, where they won 5-2. Černak did not finish the match due to an unspecified injury.
During the second period, he was attacked hard by Matt Stienburg, who received a penalty of 5+DKZ. “It was a hard knock, but I hope he will be ready to play soon.” coach Jon Cooper expressed an optimistic prognosis.
5. The Calgary players are on a four-game winless streak. Martin Pospíšil has an even worse streak. The Flames forward did not score in the seventh straight game and after a successful start, the blanket fell on him.
To make matters worse, coach Ryan Huska often changes his position in the lineup, which certainly does not add to his well-being. Either he starts as the center of the 3rd formation or as a winger of the first trio with Kadri and Zary.
If we look at the statistics, he does much better as a center forward. Together with Huberdeau and Manthu, he can create opportunities, he mostly defends himself in the second trio.
6. His teammate Samuel Honzek returned to the game after injury. He missed five games due to a minor concussion. In the matchup against Utah, he lined up in a newly assembled offense with Coleman and Flames captain Mikael Backlund, who played his 1,000th game in the NHL.
PHOTO: Samuel Honzek and Martin Pospíšil arriving for the match against Utah
The Slovaks have arrived.#Flames | @sentinelstorage pic.twitter.com/q4xnQHb4GI
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) October 31, 2024
Slovak player of the week
Juraj Slafkovský became the Slovak player of the week. Despite the fact that he played only one match.
Košičan returned to the Montreal lineup after a three-game absence caused by an upper body injury.
“I’m healthy and one hundred percent ready to play. My injury had nothing to do with the shoulder, that’s absolutely fine. It was something else, but of course I can’t tell you that.” he elaborated in an interview with overseas media at the morning ice skating.
He entered the match against Seattle (2:8) as a member of the 2nd formation together with Armio and Newhook. During the duel, however, the coach transferred him to the elite trio with Suzuki and Caufield. In addition to scoring (0+1), Slafkovský excelled in the match and was Montreal’s best player in several parameters.
When he was on the ice, his team had the prerequisites to score at least two goals. Within the team, he dominated in Corsi statistics (84.21 CF%), Fenwick (80.00 FF%) and also in the number of highly dangerous situations (10:3).
His contribution to the team was also highlighted by the specialized HockeyStatCards profile, which, according to the specified parameters, placed him at the head of domestic hockey players.
Against Seattle, he added two shots and four hits to his statistics. At the end of the match, he also caught the eye of such an effective body on the Kraken defender Joshua Mahura, which sent him to the Canadiens substitution.
VIDEO: Juraj Slafkovský’s hard bodysuit in the match against Seattle
Slafkovsky thought maybe stealing one of their players would be decent revenge. pic.twitter.com/v3NoGNKETR
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) October 30, 2024
Historical moments of Slovaks
This week marks one year since the death of hockey player Adam Johnson, who succumbed to injuries after being hit in the neck by a skate. On this sad occasion, we will remember the moment when Slovak fans couldn’t even breathe.
In February 2008, Florida played in a lineup with Richard Zedník against Buffalo. A few minutes before the end of the duel, there was an ominous moment. The Slovakian hockey player’s teammate Olli Jokinen fell to the ground and his skate hit the neck of our representative. At first, the Finn did not know that it was his knife that injured Zedník.
Blood immediately began to spurt from the wound, but, thank God, Zedník did not panic. He pressed the wound with his hand, gained important time and, according to the doctors’ estimates, definitely saved his life.
He immediately skated to the changing room, from where he headed straight into the bowels of the stadium. In the infirmary, they stopped his bleeding and took him to the hospital, where he underwent a successful operation.
VIDEO: Richard Zedník’s injury (not suitable for the faint of heart)
“I knew in a moment that it was bad. My only goal was to get to the changing room as soon as possible. I knew that they would somehow take care of me there. As I was coming, I started to fall away and come to terms with the situation. The last thought before with the loss of strength, it belonged to my daughter… That if I will ever see her again,” mentioned Zedník in the Boris and Potato podcast several years after the injury.
After a serious injury, he took a break for several months, but now the 48-year-old from Banská Bystrica did not stop playing hockey and returned to the ice in the next season. He spent a total of 13 seasons in the NHL and wore the jerseys of four teams. He played a total of 745 games overseas, scoring 378 points.
Statistical overview
Z
G
A
B
TM
+/-
CNL
Juraj Slafkovský (Montreal) 7 1 6 7 0 1 18:04
Tomas Tatar (New Jersey) 13 2 3 5 2 3 12:12
Martin Pospišil (Calgary) 10 1 4 5 15 1 13:02
Erik Černák (Tampa Bay) 10 0 3 3 10 3 19:17
Martin Fehérváry (Washington) 8 0 1 1 2 1 20:06
Šimon Nemec (New Jersey) 9 0 1 1 2 2 19:03
Samuel Honzek (Calgary)
5
0
0
0
2
-1
12:23
- Author: © List/ Martin Turčin
- VIDEO: X/Matt Drake, YouTube/Jaxon_69; PHOTO: X/Calgary Flames
- Source: Sports shoes
