Petr Svoboda
Encyclopedia
Petr Svoboda is a Czech former professional ice hockey
defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League
(NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens
, Buffalo Sabres
, Philadelphia Flyers
and Tampa Bay Lightning
. He was the first Czech to play over 1,000 games in the NHL. He is currently working as a sports agent in Santa Monica, California
.
as a part of the Czechoslovak team, and after playing one game, he defected to the West in order to play hockey at a higher professional level. That spring, he was selected fifth overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft
by the Montreal Canadiens
. His career highlights include winning the Stanley Cup
with the Canadiens in 1986, and participating with the Czech team in the 1998 Winter Olympics
in Nagano, Japan, where he scored the only goal in the gold medal game against Russia. He retired in from professional hockey in 2001.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
, Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
. He was the first Czech to play over 1,000 games in the NHL. He is currently working as a sports agent in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
Playing career
In 1984, Svoboda had participated in the world Under-18 ice hockey championships in the former West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
as a part of the Czechoslovak team, and after playing one game, he defected to the West in order to play hockey at a higher professional level. That spring, he was selected fifth overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft
1984 NHL Entry Draft
The 1984 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.The 1984 Entry Draft was noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower rounds. In addition to Mario Lemieux being taken first overall, Patrick Roy was chosen...
by the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
. His career highlights include winning the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
with the Canadiens in 1986, and participating with the Czech team in the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
in Nagano, Japan, where he scored the only goal in the gold medal game against Russia. He retired in from professional hockey in 2001.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | CHZ Litvínov | CZE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | CHZ Litvínov | CZE | 18 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
73 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 93 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 63 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 149 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 147 | 21 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 16 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 98 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 52 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 58 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1991–92 | Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:... |
NHL | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 52 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 40 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 60 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 89 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |||
| 1994–95 | HC Chemopetrol Litvínov | CE Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. As of 2009, it is ranked by the IIHF as the third strongest league in Europe.... |
8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 26 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994–95 | Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 1 | 28 | 29 | 105 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 22 | |||
| Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 67 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 94 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | |||
| Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 56 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the... |
NHL | 34 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 70 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 170 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| NHL totals | 1028 | 58 | 341 | 399 | 1605 | 127 | 4 | 45 | 49 | 135 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 1984 1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 8th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. It was held from December 25, 1983 to January 3, 1984 in Norrköping and Nyköping, Sweden. The Soviet Union won its second consecutive gold medal and sixth overall... |
Czechoslovakia | WJC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | |
| 1984 | Czechoslovakia | EJC | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | |
| 1998 Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics was played at The Big Hat and Aqua Wing Arena in Nagano, Japan.-Men's tournament:The 1998 Olympic men's ice hockey tournament was the first in which professional players from the National Hockey League were allowed to participate, allowing national teams to... |
Czech Republic | OG Ice hockey at the Olympic Games Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics... |
6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 39 | |
| Junior int'l totals | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 40 | |||
| Senior int'l totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 39 | |||