Patrik Štefan
| Patrik Štefan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
16 September 1980 Příbram, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Sparta Praha Long Beach Ice Dogs Atlanta Thrashers Chicago Wolves Ilves Dallas Stars SC Bern | ||
| National team |
 Czech Republic | ||
| NHL draft |
1st overall, 1999 Atlanta Thrashers | ||
| Playing career | 1996–2007 | ||
Patrik Štefan (born 16 September 1980) is a Czech retired professional ice hockey player who was drafted 1st overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. At the NHL level, Štefan is regarded by most as one of the biggest draft busts in league history.[1]
Playing career
Prior to being drafted by the Thrashers, Štefan played for Sparta Praha in the Czech Republic, and the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL.
Štefan played six seasons for the Atlanta Thrashers scoring 177 points. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Štefan played for Ilves Tampere in the SM-liiga. In 37 games, Štefan collected a total of 41 points including 28 assists. In the playoffs, Štefan had six assists and a goal in seven games.
On 24 June 2006, Štefan was traded to the Dallas Stars along with Jaroslav Modrý for Niko Kapanen and a 7th round draft pick in 2006.
Štefan earned significant notoriety on 4 January 2007 for a blunder during a game against the Edmonton Oilers. With seconds left in the game, and Dallas already ahead by a goal, Štefan gained possession of the puck and found himself on a breakaway towards an empty net. Štefan continued skating towards the crease rather than immediately shooting, then attempted a casual backhand into the net from close quarters. The puck hit bad ice and bounced up and over his stick, causing him to miss the goal, trip, and fall against the ice.[2] To compound the error, he then cleared the puck in the direction of the Oilers. This allowed a play to develop where fellow Czech Aleš Hemský scored with two seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. The Edmonton goal tied the game 5–5, but Dallas then won 6–5 in a shootout.
After Štefan's contract expired in 2007, the Dallas Stars chose not to re-sign him. Štefan signed with SC Bern of the Nationalliga A, but he only played three games for them before retiring in October 2007, largely due to a serious hip injury, the latest of several chronic injuries that plagued his career.[3] He is currently a player agent in Metro Detroit, and a youth coach with Little Caesars Hockey.[4]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | Sparta Praha | CZE | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Sparta Praha | CZE | 27 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Long Beach Ice Dogs | IHL | 25 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Long Beach Ice Dogs | IHL | 33 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 72 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 66 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 59 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 71 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 82 | 14 | 26 | 40 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Ilves | SM-liiga | 37 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 47 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 64 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 41 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | SC Bern | NLA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 455 | 64 | 124 | 188 | 158 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Honours and achievements
- Won silver medal at 2006 IIHF World Championship
See also
References
- ^ What Happened to Patrik Stefan? – The Hockey Writers, 27 February 2009. Archived on March 2011
- ^ Associated Press. "Stars win in shootout after late blunder costs them lead". ESPN. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ Patrik Stefan retires from hockey
- ^ George Sipple. "Ex-NHL top pick moves to Hockeytown to be agent, coach". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Atlanta Thrashers draft picks
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Chicago Wolves players
- Czech ice hockey players
- Dallas Stars players
- HC Sparta Praha players
- Ilves players
- Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) players
- National Hockey League first overall draft picks
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- People from Příbram
- SC Bern players