Versatile athlete could have had an NHL career, but stayed home because of his family

by Petr Polák
Eurohockey.com

Photo: hokejcb.cz.

When Jiří Lála was 20 years old, he was in his second full season in the Czechoslovakian 1. liga, one of the top hockey leagues in the world at the time, and scored 40 points in 44 games. The next season, 1980-81, he broke the point-a-game barrier for the first time in the jersey of Dukla Jihlava, the Czechoslovakian army team where the best Czechoslovak athletes spent a mandatory two-year term in the army.

Because Jiří was a great hockey player, he earned a place on the roster of the club composed of the best young Czechoslovak players; the team that won the league championship 11 times between 1968 and 1985.

 Lála played right wing on a line with his good friend Jindřich Kokrment, and their playing styles complemented each other well. Lála scored 62 points (40+22) in 44 games to give him 1.4 points per game, the highest average of his career.

That year was a breakthrough season. 1980-81 was the first of 21 consecutive seasons in which he scored at least a point a game. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long before Lála’s name was called during the NHL Entry Draft.

He had to wait until the fourth round (76^th, Québec) of the 1982 draft to be picked because of the world’s political situation. Czechoslovakia fell in the sphere of the Soviet Union’s influence and talented young athletes weren’t able to get approval to leave the country for prestigious contracts in the West. NHL clubs didn’t want to waste a draft pick on a player whose arrival was very uncertain.

But Lála would get lots of chances to play in the NHL and the scouts were really interested in bringing him over, but his road across the Atlantic Ocean never came because of the conditions of emigration from Czechoslovakia. The decision was less difficult to make it for young boys without family. But when the chance to leave Czechoslovakia finally came to Lála, he was already married and had a child.

Even in the mid 80s, when the Velvet Revolution and democracy were just around the corner, Lála couldn’t have known that the political regime would change in his home country soon.  If he left his country for the NHL, it was possible that he might never see his family again.

North America’s loss was a blessing to Czechoslovak hockey fans, who were dazzled for years by Lála’s amazing skills.

In 1989, the revolution in Czechoslovakia (and the whole Eastern Bloc) came true and a new chance for to play abroad came to Jiří, but he was already 30 years old and the NHL door stayed closed.

Lála took a chance in Germany and for eight years played top-level German hockey, first in the Bundesliga and later the DEL. He also tried the Ice Hockey Superleague in Great Britain and the Swiss Nationalliga A. The last years of his career he spent in lower-level leagues in Germany. All along he continued to average at least 1 point per game.

During his career he won lots of team and individual awards. He is a holder of one gold, two silver and one bronze medal from the World Championships, one silver from the Olympic Games (1984, Sarajevo) and the Czechoslovakian league title (1982 with Jihlava). Individually, he was named the best Bundesliga import player and IIHF Directorate Best Forward of the World Championships in 1983. Twice he claimed the Gustav Jaenecke Trophy as the leading scorer in the Bundesliga and three times the Fritz Poitsch Trophy for the league’s top goal scorer. As well, he played in the Bundesliga All-Star Game three times, among other accolades (see player profile at Eurohockey.com).

Overall he scored 760 goals and 839 assists for an amazing total of 1599 points in 1165 games.

A multi-talented athlete who also played football for the Czechoslovakian Youth National Team, his career came to a close on August 23, 2002 in an exhibition game in Regensburg. Lála’s name would probably be more famous if he had played in the NHL, but he says that he doesn’t regret anything.

Currently, Jiří Lála is married for the second time and has two more children. He manages a commercial studio in České Budějovice and says that he’s not thinking about returning to hockey as a manager or coach right now.

That’s the story of Jiří Lála, whom Dominik Hašek once called: "One of the best forwards (he has) ever played against".

Jágr signs with Philadelphia

July 1 is the first day of free agency in the National Hockey League, and it's opened with a flurry of action.

In somewhat of a surprise, Jaromír Jágr has signed to play with the Philadelphia Flyers. The deal is for one year and is worth USD 3.3 million.

Jágr has spent the past three seasons playing for the KHL's Avangard Omsk and, while his return to the NHL was highly anticipated, signing with Philadelphia was not. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit, Red Wings, and Montreal Canadiens were speculated to be his most likely destinations. Media outlets in the Czech Republic had been reporting since Tuesday that a deal with Pittsburgh was imminent.

Jágr has long said that he intends to finish his career in his hometown of Kladno, where he will take over the role of club president from his father, Jaromír Jágr Sr. Whether that will happen after this one-year deal is completed remains to be seen.

Other Czechs who have landed on new NHL teams this day are Jan Hejda, formerly of Columbus, who has signed with the Colorado Avalanche and Radek Dvořák, formerly of Atlanta, who has signed with the Dallas Stars.

15 Czechs taken in CHL Import Draft

The Canadian Hockey League, which is the top tier of junior hockey in North America, held its annual Import Draft on Wednesday. Fifteen Czech players, more than from any other country, were selected.

The draft allows European junior-aged players to join teams in the CHL, which is divided into the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The 60 total CHL teams, nine of which are based in the United States, are limited to two import players (non-North American) each.

Petr Šidlík (right) at the 2011 UI8 World Championships. Photo:
hockeyfans.ch.

The first Czech player chosen was defenceman Petr Šidlík of Dukla Jihlava of the Czech First League. He also played for the Czech U18 team at the Five Nations Tournament in Hradec Kralove and the World Championships in Dresden last year. He was taken fifth overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who then traded his rights to the Victoriaville Tigre. 

Then a trio, Tomáš Hyka, Dominik Volek, and Patrik Machač were taken eighth, ninth, and tenth. Hyka, from Mladá Boleslav, was expected to be taken in the recent NHL Draft, but was passed on. Lukáš Sedlák, who was chosen 14th, is the only Czech player who has already been drafted by an NHL team. Sedlák was taken in the sixth round this year by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
 
Most of the players selected played on either the Czech U18 or U17 national teams last season. Inevitably, some of the players drafted will choose to leave the Czech Republic and play for the CHL team that picked them. If they leave, it weakens the talent pool that the Czech national teams have to choose from.

"We would obviously like to see the players stay, but it is not easy to convince them. Likewise, their parents or agents," Czech U18 national team coach Jiří Veber told hokej.cz's Václav Jáchim. "Our desire is the opposite, but some departures are inevitable. We're stuck with it," he says.

Convincing its top young players to remain at home is an ever-increasing challenge in the Czech Republic.
 
Here are the 15 Czech players chosen:

 5. Petr Šidlík        D    Victoriaville Jihlava
 8. Tomáš Hyka         RW   Gatineau      Ml. Boleslav
 9. Dominik Volek      LW   Regina        Sparta Praha
10. Patrik Machač      C    Brampton      Kladno
14. Lukáš Sedlák       C    Chicoutimi    Č. Budějovice
22. Radek Faksa        C    Kitchener     Třinec
26. Tomáš Pavelka      D    PEI           Vítkovice
29. Roman Will         G    Moncton       Ml. Boleslav
35. Matěj Beran        C    PEI           Lulea (SWE)
36. Lukáš Králík       F    Victoria      Olomouc
48. Michal Plutnar     D    Tri-City      Liberec
52. Jaroslav Pavelka   G    Niagara       Hradec Králové
54. Adam Řehák         C    Medicine Hat  Vítkovice
57. Jiří Sekáč         L/C  Sudbury       Youngstown (USHL)
59. Patrik Bartošák    G    Red Deer      Vítkovice

Draft Picks by Country:

Czech Republic – 15
Russia – 11
Sweden – 9
Slovakia – 7
Germany – 5
Switzerland – 5
Norway – 4
Latvia – 3
Finland – 2
Belarus – 1

Brno expresses interest in Palffy

HC Kometa Brno has told website hokej.cz that they are interested in acquiring the services of veteran Slovak star Žigmund Palffy for the 2011-12 Extraliga season.

Photo: Kaiser Matais.

"From our side, we are definitely interested," said Kometa general Manager Jaroslav Medlík. "I contacted Žigmund and some negotiations have taken place. But he was waiting for a lucrative offer from the Russian KHL, so it is now stalled."

For his part, Palffy seems to be eyeing a comeback, and has said there has been some interest from Czech teams, but didn't specifically mention Kometa. "A few people from Russia have called me, but nothing concrete ever came of it. Currently, there are only two applicants from the Czech Extraliga; one even came with a specific and serious offer." 

The 39-year-old Palffy hasn't played the past two seasons. His most recent team was his hometown Skalica HK 36, where he played from 2007 to 2009. Prior to that, he played 12 seasons in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins, where he amassed 713 points in 684 games. His best season was 1996-97, when he had 48 goals and 90 points with the Isles. He also has experience playing in the Czech Republic, as he played with Slavia Praha during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Internationally, he won a bronze medal with Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Winter Olympics and a gold medal with Slovakia at the 2002 World Championships. 

Whether it's Brno or elsewhere, Palffy seems intent on playing: "I want to play hockey as long as it still fulfills the sense of satisfaction that comes from being with the boys on the team. I don't look at age. Age is indeed important, but just look at Dominik Hašek, who is 46 and still enjoying it. The key is always hunger. When a man enjoys hockey and doing it well, there is nothing to worry about. Once he discovers that the team is not so beneficial, it's time to stop."

And clearly, Medlík thinks that Palffy and his team can mutually benefit from each other: "We'll see how it evolves. Our party is obviously still interested, so it will only depend on the decision of the player. We are ready to go again at any time to act."

10 Czechs drafted

Perhaps it's a positive trend in the development of Czech hockey players. For the past decade, the number of Czechs drafted has steadily decreased, from 31 in 2001 to only five in 2010. However, this past weekend in Minnesota, 10 Czech players were drafted by NHL teams, the highest number since 2005. After having no domestic players picked last year for the first time since the fall of the Iron Curtain, three were picked this year, which was last accomplished in 2007.

David Musil was taken 31st overall by Edmonton. Photo: Bruce
Bennett, Getty Images.

Although there were none taken in the first round, the Edmonton Oilers led off round two by choosing David Musil, a native son of sorts. Musil was born in Edmonton while his father, František, was playing in the NHL. "I remember, a little bit, growing up there when my dad played there," he said after being drafted. "I've got a lot of good memories from there."

After his family returned to the Czech Republic, Musil played youth hockey in Jihlava, but has spent the past two seasons playing for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. On his chances of cracking the Oilers lineup this season, Musil said, "I'm getting ready this summer and I'm going to try my best to be in the NHL as soon as possible." Although the Oilers are a young team and not the deepest in talent, Musil will more than likely return for another season in Vancouver.

Dmitrij Jaškin was taken 41st overall by St. Louis.
Photo: Bruce Bennett, Getty Images.

Ten picks later, the St. Louis Blues selected Dmitrij Jaškin of Slavia Praha. There's almost no question where Jaškin will play next season. Last season, he was second in voting for the Extraliga's rookie-of-the-year award, but he is still not a dominant player in the league, and therefore not likely to crack an NHL lineup for the upcoming season.

The lone Czech taken in the third round was goaltender David Honzík of the Victoriaville Tigres, by the Vancouver Canucks. Honzík, who hails from Karlovy Vary, was ranked below Matěj Machovský on the list of North American goaltenders, but he was the only Czech goalie taken in this year's draft.

The other seven draftees were taken between picks 144 and 177. Dominik Uher was taken late in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then six Czechs were taken in the sixth. In addition to Uher, the Penguins also picked Lukáš Sedlák of České Budějovice. Sedlak was a standout in the Junior Extraliga, as was Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha, who was taken by the Montreal Canadiens. Both players are expected to play full-time in the professional Extraliga in 2011-12.

Three teams went off the board and picked un-ranked Czech players. Detroit picked Richard Nedomlel and Tampa Bay took Ondřej Palát, who both play in the CHL. The most interesting pick may have been by the Philadelphia Flyers when they chose Petr Plaček, who plays high-school hockey in Connecticut. Plaček was born in Rakovník and grew up in the Kladno system, but has played the past two seasons in the US. He is committed to Harvard University for next season.

Below are the 10 Czechs who were taken in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft:

 31. David Musil      D    Edmonton      Vancouver (WHL)
 41. Dmitrij Jaškin   RW   St. Louis     Slavia Praha
 71. David Honzík     G    Vancouver     Victoriaville (QMJHL)
144. Dominik Uher     C    Pittsburgh    Spokane (WHL)
158. Lukáš Sedlák     C    Pittsburgh    České Budějovice
165. Matěj Stránský   RW   Dallas        Saskatoon (WHL)
168. Daniel Přibyl    C    Montreal      Sparta Praha
175. Richard Nedomlel D    Detroit       Swift Current (WHL)
176. Petr Plaček      RW   Philadelphia  Hotchkiss Sch.(HIGH-CT)
177. Ondřej Palát     LW   Tampa Bay     Drummondville (QMJHL)

Jaškin and Musil lead list of Czech draft hopefuls

This weekend, the NHL stages its annual Entry Draft. It is the time when the top hockey prospects 18 years of age or older from around the world hold their collective breaths and find out who, if anybody, will hold their NHL rights.

Dmitrij Jaškin. Photo: hokej.cz.

Czechs have had some success in the draft before, most notably 1992 and 1999, when Roman Hamrlík and Patrik Štefan were taken first overall, respectively, by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers. In 2011, when the Edmonton Oilers make their first selection, it won't be a Czech name, barring a miracle. However, there are two Czech players, Dmitrij Jaškin and David Musil, that are expected to be taken in the first two rounds, which would be an improvement over recent years. Jaškin is a right winger who currently plays for Slavia Praha in the Czech Extraliga and Musil is a defenceman who currently plays for the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants. Both players have taken interesting paths to get to this point in their careers, which is explored in greater detail here.

David Musil. Photo: Gerry Kahrmann, theprovince.com.

The NHL divides its draft-eligible prospects into skaters and goaltenders, and further into players on North American clubs and those playing in Europe, with Musil and Jaškin easily leading all Czechs on those lists. In 2010, only five Czechs were drafted and none of them played domestically. This was a particularly embarrassing total for a country that, at one time, was one of the top producers of top hockey players in the world. As recently as 2001, 31 Czechs were drafted, with 21 of them coming from domestic clubs. This downward trend is examined here.

While the 2011 crop of Czechs won't approach 2001 numbers, it is reasonably safe to say there won't be another shutout of domestic players, as many forecasters have predicted that Jaškin will be taken late in the first round. Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha, who was taken by Cherepovets in last month's KHL draft, is pegged to go somewhere in the middle rounds, with Mladá Boleslav's Tomáš Hyka being seen as a possible late-round pick.

Below are the European-based, draft-eligible Czechs, according to their rankings. Of the listed players, only Jaškin and Plzeň's Jakub Jeřábek played full-time in the Extraliga in 2010-11.


  5. Dmitrij Jaškin       right wing   Slavia Praha
 46. Daniel Přibyl        centre       Sparta Praha
 47. Tomáš Hyka           right wing   Mladá Boleslav
 56. Štěpán Jeník         defence      Slavia Praha
 57. Lukáš Sedlák         centre       České Budějovice
 77. Jakub Jeřábek        defence      Plzeň
 79. Lukáš Králík         centre       Olomouc
 86. Tomáš Pavelka        defence      Vítkovice
 88. Václav Tomek         right wing   Slavia Praha
 95. Petr Holík           centre       Zlín
 96. Adam Řehák           right wing   Vítkovice
100. Michael Švihálek     left wing    České Budějovice
101. Dušan Žovinec        defence      Sparta Praha
125. Vojtěch Zadražil     defence      Jihlava
129. Tomáš Rousek         útočník      České Budějovice

Of the Czech players in North America, Musil is currently projected to be taken somewhere in the second round. Matěj Stránský could also be a mid-round pick, while Dominik Uher and Bohumil Jank could be taken late.


 38. David Musil         defence       Vancouver (WHL)
136. Matěj Stránský      right wing    Saskatoon (WHL)
162. Dominik Uher        centre        Spokane (WHL)
181. Bohumil Jank        defence       Victoriaville (QMJHL)

The International Scouting Services ranks goaltenders separately. Among European goalkeepers, Jarolsav Pavelka is ranked third, and has an outside chance at being drafted. He played last season at the starší dorost level, and was impressive at the Five Nations Tournament in his hometown of Hradec Králové. In Dresden at the U18 World Championships, Pavelka backed up Matěj Machovský, who is ranked 10th among eligible netminders in North America.

Ranked Czech goaltenders in Europe:

 3. Jaroslav Pavelka      Hradec Králové
10. Marek Mazanec         Plzeň

Ranked Czech goaltenders in North America:

11. Matěj Machovský      Brampton (OHL)
13. David Honzík         Victoriaville (QMJHL)
15. Tadeáš Galanský      Saginaw (OHL)

Rankings were compiled by International Scouting Services, and were acquired via hockeysfuture.com, nhl.com, and hokej.cz.

Jágr wins his 10th Golden Stick

 The golden boy of Czech hockey has a bit more gold today. For the tenth time in his illustrious career, Jaromír Jágr has been awarded the Golden Hockey Stick, emblematic of the best Czech hockey player in the world.

For Jágr, this is his tenth win, which gives him twice the number of Golden Sticks as Dominik Hašek, the award's next most frequent winner. Hašek finished 12th in voting this year. This was the second time that Jágr won the award without playing in the National Hockey League. His sixth win, back in 2004-05, happened during the NHL lockout, and he split the season between Rabat Kladno and Avangard Omsk, which is where he now plays. The last time a non-NHL player beat out NHL competition was in 2000-01, when Jiří Dopita of HC Vsetín took home the hardware.

Jágr topped the second round of voting with 1,005 points, beating out Tomáš Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens by 201 votes. Jágr's linemate in Omsk and in the World Championships, Roman Červenka, finished third with 743. The national team's top goaltender and left winger at the Worlds, Ondřej Pavelec and Patrik Eliáš, finished fourth and fifth.

Of the top ten, three players did not play for the Czech national team this spring. They were Martin Straka in sixth, David Krejčí in seventh, and Tomáš Vokoun in eighth. Krejčí's chances were doubtlessly hurt by the fact that the vote took place before the start of the Stanley Cup Finals. In addition to capturing the Cup, he lead all players in playoff scoring.

A pair of players from the Minnesota Wild, Martin Havlát and Marek Židlický, who was injured for a significant portion of the season, rounded out the top ten.

1. JAROMÍR JÁGR Avangard Omsk, KHL	1005
2. TOMÁŠ PLEKANEC Montreal Canadiens (NHL)	804
3. ROMAN ČERVENKA Avangard Omsk (KHL)	743
4. ONDŘEJ PAVELEC Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)	662
5. PATRIK ELIÁŠ New Jersey Devils (NHL)	352
6. MARTIN STRAKA HC Plzeň 1929	328
7. DAVID KREJČÍ Boston Bruins (NHL)	304
8. TOMÁŠ VOKOUN Florida Panthers (NHL)	297
9. MARTIN HAVLÁT Minnesota Wild (NHL)	267
10. MAREK ŽIDLICKÝ Minnesota Wild (NHL)	224

In total, 58 players received votes:

11. Tomáš Vlasák (Plzeň) 212 points, 12. Dominik Hašek (Spartak Moscow, KHL) 181, 13. Karel Rachůnek (Yaroslavl, KHL) 178, 14. Martin Růžička (Třinec) 170, 15. Milan Hejduk (Colorado, NHL), 129, 16. Jakub Štěpánek (St. Petersburg, KHL) 124, 17. Zbyněk Michálek (Pittsburgh, NHL) 108, 18. Tomáš Rolinek (Magnitogorsk, KHL) 83, 19. Milan Michálek (Ottawa, NHL) 76, 20. Tomáš Kaberle (Boston, NHL) 74, 21. Miroslav Blaťák (Ufa, KHL), 45, 22. Jakub Voráček (Columbus, NHL) 42, 23. Petr Sýkora (Davos, Switzerland) 36, 24. - 25. Michal Neuvirth (Washington, NHL) and Alexandr Salák (Färjestad, Sweden) 29, 26. Lukáš Krajíček (Třinec) 26, 27. Aleš Hemský (Edmonton, NHL) 24, 28. Petr Nedvěd (Liberec) 18, 29. Michael Frolík (Chicago, NHL) 16, 30. - 31. Jakub Kovář (České Budějovice) and Roman Málek (Vítkovice) 15, 32. Jiří Burger (Vítkovice) 14, 33. Radim Vrbata (Phoenix, NHL) 12, 34. Lukáš Kašpar (Astana, KHL) 11, 35. - 36. Roman Hamrlík (Montréal, NHL) and Jan Marek (Atlant/Yaroslavl, KHL) 10, 37. Milan Gulaš (České Budějovice) 9, 38. - 40. Petr Čajánek (St. Petersburg, KHL), Petr Hubáček (Kometa Brno) and Jiří Hudler (Detroit, NHL) 8, 41. Josef Vašíček (Yaroslavl, KHL) 7, 42. - 43. Miroslav Kopřiva (Slavia Praha) and František Ptáček (České Budějovice) 6, 44. - 45. Tomáš Duba (Zlín/Třinec) and Marek Malík (Vítkovice) 5, 46. - 48. Petr Leška (Zlín), Radek Martínek (New York Islanders, NHL) and Petr Průcha (St. Petersburg, KHL) 4, 49. - 50. Viktor Hübl (Litvínov) and Viktor Ujčík (Vítkovice) 3, 51. - 54. Jaroslav Bednář (Davos, Switzerland), Radek Bonk (Třinec), Petr Čáslava (CSKA Moscow, KHL) and Martin Růžička (Pardubice) 2, 55. - 58. Radek Duda (Chomutov/Plzeň), Jan Kovář (Plzeň), František Lukeš (Litvínov) and Ondřej Němec (Cherepovets) 1.

Past Winners:

1969 - Jan Suchý (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1970 - Jan Suchý (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1971 - František Pospíšil (D), Poldi Kladno
1972 - František Pospíšil (D), Poldi Kladno
1973 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1974 - Jiří Holeček (G), HC Sparta Praha
1975 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1976 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Pardubice
1977 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1978 - Ivan Hlinka (C), CHZ Litvínov
1979 - Vladimír Martinec (RW), HC Dukla Jihlava
1980 - Peter Šťastný (C), HC Slovan Bratislava
1981 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1982 - Milan Nový (C), Poldi SONP Kladno
1983 - Vincent Lukáč (RW), VSŽ Košice
1984 - Igor Liba (LW), HC Dukla Jihlava
1985 - Jiří Králík (G), HC Gottwaldov
1986 - Vladimír Růžička (C), CHZ Litvínov
1987 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1988 - Vladimír Růžička (C), Dukla Trenčín
1989 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1990 - Dominik Hašek (G), Tesla Pardubice
1991 - Bedřich Ščerban (D), HC Dukla Jihlava
1992 - Róbert Švehla (D), HC Dukla Trenčín
1993 - Miloš Holaň (D), TJ Vítkovice
1994 - Roman Turek (G), HC České Budějovice
1995 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Poldi Kladno/Bolzano/Schalker Haïe/Pittsburgh Penguins
1996 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
1997 - Dominik Hašek (G), Buffalo Sabres
1998 - Dominik Hašek (G), Buffalo Sabres
1999 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
2000 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Pittsburgh Penguins
2001 - Jiří Dopita (C), HC Vsetín
2002 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), Washington Capitals
2003 - Milan Hejduk (RW), Colorado Avalanche
2004 - Robert Lang (C), Washington Capitals/Detroit Red Wings
2005 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), HC Rabat Kladno/Avangard Omsk
2006 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2007 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2008 - Jaromír Jágr (RW), New York Rangers
2009 - Patrik Eliáš (LW), New Jersey Devils
2010 - Tomáš Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

Most wins:

10 - Jaromír Jágr
5 - Dominik Hašek
4 - Vladimír Martinec
3 - Milan Nový

2 - Jan Suchý

2 - František Pospíšil

2 - Vladimír Růžička