Ľubomír Vaic
| Ľubomír Vaic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
6 March 1977 Spišská Nová Ves, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Vancouver Canucks | ||
| National team |
 Slovakia | ||
| NHL draft |
227th overall, 1996 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 1997–2017 | ||
Ľubomír Vaic (born 6 March 1977) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player who spent most of his career in the Slovak Extraliga. After several years in Slovakia Vaic joined the Canucks in 1999 and played 9 games for them over two seasons. He returned to Europe in 2000 and continued to play in various leagues before retiring in 2017. Internationally Vaic played for the Slovakian national team at several tournaments at both the junior and senior level and won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championship.
Biography
[edit]As a youth, Vaic played in the 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Poprad.[1]
Drafted by the Canucks 227th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Vaic came to North America a year later. He scored 27 points in 50 games for the Syracuse Crunch, Vancouver's AHL affiliate. He also earned a 5-game call-up to the Canucks, where he scored his only NHL goal, and added an assist.[citation needed]
Vaic returned to Slovakia for another year before returning to the Canucks organization for the 1999–2000 season. However, he would find himself in much the same situation, scoring 42 points in 63 games for Syracuse, and being held pointless in 4 NHL games in Vancouver. Following the season he returned to Europe, signing with Eisbären Berlin.[2]
Vaic became something of a nomad, appearing with five clubs in five different major European leagues over the next five seasons. He was, however, a consistent offensive performer, and helped Metallurg Magnitogorsk to the Russian league championship in 2003–04. He would finally find a long-term home in the Czech Extraliga, after signing with HC Bílí Tygři Liberec in 2004. In 2005–06, he finished 2nd in scoring in the Extraliga and helped Liberec to the league championship. At the end of the 2006–07 season he joined HC Sparta Prague.[citation needed]
Vaic has appeared in 9 NHL games, recording a goal and an assist for two points. He has also represented Slovakia at three World Championships, winning a silver medal in 2000 and a bronze medal in 2003.[citation needed]
Career statistics
[edit]| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Slovakia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2000 Russia | |
 |
2003 Finland | |
Regular season and playoffs
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | ŠKP Poprad | SVK | 28 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | ŠKP Poprad | SVK | 20 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Košice | SVK | 49 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | VTJ Spišská Nová Ves | SVK-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Košice | SVK | 43 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 50 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Košice | SVK | 46 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 63 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 26 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Vsetín | CZE | 34 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | SaiPa | FIN | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | SaiPa | FIN | 56 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | RUS | 49 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 2004–05 | Bílí Tygři Liberec | CZE | 51 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 62 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 2005–06 | Bílí Tygři Liberec | CZE | 52 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 101 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | Bílí Tygři Liberec | CZE | 45 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2007–08 | Sparta Prague | CZE | 52 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 69 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Slovan Bratislava | SVK | 55 | 14 | 37 | 51 | 40 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 16 | ||
| 2009–10 | Slovan Bratislava | SVK | 46 | 15 | 39 | 54 | 30 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 2010–11 | Slovan Bratislava | SVK | 33 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | VIK Västerås | SWE-2 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Poprad | SVK | 54 | 18 | 33 | 51 | 59 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Spišská Nová Ves | SVK-2 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Poprad | SVK | 25 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 27 | ||
| 2013–14 | Poprad | SVK | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Spišská Nová Ves | SVK-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Spišská Nová Ves | SVK-2 | 42 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 69 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 10 | ||
| 2016–17 | Spišská Nová Ves | SVK-2 | 43 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 88 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| SVK totals | 423 | 130 | 212 | 342 | 319 | 45 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 71 | ||||
| NHL totals | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
[edit]| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Slovakia | EJC-C | 6 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 20 | |
| 1994 | Slovakia | WJC-C | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1995 | Slovakia | EJC-B | 5 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 4 | |
| 1996 | Slovakia | WJC | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 25 | |
| 1997 | Slovakia | WJC | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | |
| 2000 | Slovakia | WC | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2003 | Slovakia | WC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2006 | Slovakia | WC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 27 | 22 | 29 | 51 | 61 | |||
| Senior totals | 22 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- ^ "EHC - Presse: Archiv - Index". Eisbären Berlin (in German). Archived from the original on November 18, 2001. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
4.Mai 2000 Eisbären verpflichten Vaic
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Eisbären Berlin players
- HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players
- HC Košice players
- HC Slovan Bratislava players
- HC Sparta Praha players
- HK Poprad players
- HK Spišská Nová Ves players
- Ice hockey people from the Košice Region
- Metallurg Magnitogorsk players
- SaiPa players
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Finland
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Slovak ice hockey centres
- Sportspeople from Spišská Nová Ves
- Syracuse Crunch players
- Vancouver Canucks draft picks
- Vancouver Canucks players
- VHK Vsetín players