Jiří Hudler
| Jiří Hudler | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
January 4, 1984 Olomouc, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Detroit Red Wings Dynamo Moscow (KHL) Vsetín (CzEx) Havířov Panthers (CzEx) | ||
| NHL draft |
58th overall, 2002 Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 1999–present | ||
Jiří Hudler (English: /ˈjɪriː ˈhʌdlər/, Czech: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈɦudlɛr]; born January 4, 1984) is a Czech professional ice hockey player with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. After beginning his career in the Czech Extraliga with Vsetín, Hudler was drafted by the Red Wings in 2002 and won the Stanley Cup with the club in 2008. Hudler also played for Dynamo Moscow for one season before the team was merged to form UHC Dynamo.
Playing career
Hudler spent his youth in the elite Czech Extraliga with HC Vsetín, beginning in 1999–00. After recording a point-per-game season with the club in 2001–02, he was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with their first pick (58th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He remained in the Extraliga the following season, including a brief stint with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague before moving to North America for the 2003–04 season. Although he competed in 12 games for the Red Wings that season, he played the majority of the campaign with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL), Detroit's minor league affiliate, scoring 49 points in 57 games in his rookie AHL season. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Hudler remained in the AHL the following season while also returning to play with Vsetín for seven games. Although NHL play resumed in 2005–06, he played his third season with the Griffins, breaking out with 36 goals and 96 points in 76 games to be named to the AHL Second All-Star Team. His 60 assists established a single-season Griffins team-record.
Hudler finally broke through onto the Red Wings roster in 2006–07 and scored 25 points in 76 games to be chosen team rookie of the year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association. No one in the NHL scored more goals in fewer average minutes per game (10:02) than Hudler. Hudler played sporadically in the playoffs, often splitting time with Kyle Calder. He chipped in two assists in six games. Former Wings teammate and fellow Czech Robert Lang took Hudler under his wing when Hudler joined the team. Hudler spent time living in Lang's home when he first arrived in the United States, and Lang even went so far as to call Hudler "a third son." Following his rookie NHL season, Hudler spent time during the off-season training with fellow NHLers Chris Chelios, Mathieu Schneider, and Rob Blake in Southern California. As a result, he said that he felt faster and stronger.[1]
Playing in his second full season with the Red Wings, Hudler improved to 42 points. On June 4, 2008, he won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Red Wings, scoring 5 goals and added 9 assists during Detroit's successful playoff run, including the game winning goal in Game 4 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He continued to improve in 2008–09, notching 23 goals and 57 points. However, facing the Penguins once again in the Finals, Hudler and the Red Wings failed to defend their championship, losing in seven games.
Becoming a restricted free agent in the off-season, Hudler filed for arbitration with the Red Wings.[2] However, soon thereafter, he signed a contract with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for $10 million over two years on July 8, 2009, while his arbitration case with the Red Wings was later settled at $5.75 million over the same term.[3] In response to Hudler's signing with Dynamo Moscow, USA Hockey filed an appeal to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that Hudler was still under contract with the Red Wings. Pending the IIHF's investigation, Hudler was not granted a transfer card, which would have either prevented him from playing in the KHL or caused the league sanctions.[4] The IIHF later approved Hudler's KHL contract on September 9, 2009, revealing that although Hudler's agent had filed for the arbitration case on his client's behalf, Hudler had not actually signed for the case himself, deeming the arbitration case invalid. Furthermore, the IIHF ruled that USA Hockey had failed to submit their appeal within the stipulated deadlines.[5]
After one season with Dynamo Moscow, Hudler was released by Dynamo on April 18, 2010, just four days before Dynamo was merged into UHC Dynamo. Eight days later, Hudler returned to the same Red Wings team he had left following his 2009 arbitration case, for 2 years at $2.875 million---the same contract he would have received in arbitration in 2009.[6]
Awards and records
- 2005–06 - AHL Second All-Star Team
- 2005–06 - AHL Grand Rapids Griffins team record with 60 assists.
- 2006–07 - Hudler was named "Detroit Red Wings Rookie of the Year" by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.
- 2007–08 - NHL Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings)
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1999–00 | Vsetín | CZE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Vsetín | CZE | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Havířov Panthers | CZE | 15 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Vsetín | CZE | 46 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Vsetín | CZE | 30 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Ak Bars Kazan | RSL | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 57 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2004–05 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 52 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Vsetín | CZE | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 76 | 36 | 60 | 96 | 56 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 20 | ||
| 2005–06 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 81 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 26 | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 14 | ||
| 2008–09 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 82 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 16 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | HC Dynamo Moscow | KHL | 54 | 19 | 35 | 54 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 73 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 255 | 52 | 75 | 127 | 90 | 51 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 24 | ||||
References
- ^ "Hudler ready to make more of his shot". mlive.com. 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Report: Hudler signs contract with KHL team". TSN.ca. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- ^ "Arbitrator awards KHL-bound Hudler 2-year deal with Wings". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ Valois, Erin (2009-08-28). "USA Hockey, NHL blocking Hudler deal". The National Post. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2010/4/30/1452546/jiri-hudler-set-to-return-to