Róbert Švehla

Róbert Švehla
Born	January 2, 1969 (1969-01-02) Martin, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Slovak Extraliga Dukla Trenčín SEL Malmö IF NHL Florida Panthers Toronto Maple Leafs
National team	Czechoslovakia  Slovakia
NHL Draft	78th overall, 1992 Calgary Flames
Playing career	1990–2003

Róbert Švehla ( /ˈrɒbərt ˈsveɪlə/; born January 2, 1969) is a Slovak retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL for 9 seasons from 1995 until 2003.

Career

Švehla was drafted 78th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, but he did not play a game for them before moving on to the Florida Panthers. Švehla played 8 seasons with the Panthers before moving to the Toronto Maple Leafs for his final season. Švehla played 655 career NHL games, scoring 68 goals and 267 assists for 335 points. His best offensive season was the 1995–96 season when he registered career highs in assists (49) and points (57).

Švehla was also strong defensively and was a willing bodychecker. He led the NHL in hits on multiple occasions during his time in Florida. Despite this, Švehla was a durable player missing only 6 games during his final 8 seasons in the NHL.

Švehla controversially wore number 67 while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was controversial because the Leafs haven’t won the cup since 1967 and some fans thought he was mocking them. The real reason Svehla chose this number was due to the Maple Leafs organization calling him in the middle of the night while he was at home in Slovakia. The Leafs gave a list of numbers and Svehla chose 67 while half asleep.

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Bronze	1992 Albertville	Ice hockey

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990–91	Dukla Trenčín	CS		52	14	8	22	61		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Malmö IF	SEL		40	19	10	29	86		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Malmö IF	SEL		37	14	25	39	127		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Florida Panthers	NHL		5	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Malmö IF	SEL		32	11	13	24	83		9	2	3	5	6
1995–96	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	8	49	57	94		22	0	6	6	32
1996–97	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	13	32	45	86		5	1	4	5	4
1997–98	Florida Panthers	NHL		79	9	34	43	113		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Florida Panthers	NHL		80	8	29	37	83		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	9	40	49	64		4	0	1	1	4
2000–01	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	6	22	28	76		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	7	22	29	87		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		82	7	38	45	46		7	0	3	3	2
NHL totals				655	68	267	335	649		38	1	14	15	42

Coaching career

On January 14, 2009, Švehla joined HC Dukla Trenčín and signed a contract as assistant coach.

External links

• Róbert Švehla's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Awards
Preceded by Bedřich Ščerban	Golden Hockey Stick 1992	Succeeded by Milos Holan