Václav Nedomanský
Václav Nedomanský (born 14 March 1944) is a Czech former ice hockey forward. Nedomanský is best known as the first hockey player to defect to North America to play.[1] He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. He is also a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame (1997), Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame (2002), Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame (2008) and was named into the IIHF All-Time Czech Team (2020).
| Václav Nedomanský | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
14 March 1944 Hodonín, Bohemia and Moravia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Played for |
Slovan Bratislava Toronto Toros Birmingham Bulls Detroit Red Wings St. Louis Blues New York Rangers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |
 Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1962–1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Playing in Czechoslovakia
Nedomanský played for Slovan Bratislava of the Czechoslovak Extraliga for twelve seasons. In 1968, he was a member of the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team which won silver medals at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble and bronze medals in 1972 at the Winter Olympics in Sapporo. He also played for Czechoslovakia in nine IIHF World Championships, and was named top forward at the 1974 World Championships.[2]
Career after defection
Nedomanský defected in 1974 to Toronto via Switzerland.[3] He was not able to return to his home country until after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
He played just over three seasons in the World Hockey Association with the Toronto Toros and the Birmingham Bulls, peaking with 56 goals and 98 points for Toronto in 1975–76. He also won the Paul Deneau Trophy for sportsmanship in 1975–76. He then signed as a free agent with the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings in 1977. Nedomanský played five seasons for Detroit, posting highs of 38 goals and 74 points. He retired after one final season with the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers in 1982–83.
Nedomanský coached in Germany and Austria from 1987 to 1991.
He was born in Hodonin, in eastern Moravia in the present-day Czech Republic.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1960–61 | SHK Hodonín | CZE-2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | SHK Hodonín | CZE-2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 31 | 20 | 7 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 32 | 31 | 10 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 36 | 39 | 14 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 36 | 40 | 20 | 60 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 36 | 34 | 15 | 49 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 11 | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 36 | 27 | 20 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 36 | 29 | 13 | 42 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 33 | 31 | 15 | 46 | — | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 35 | 35 | 21 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 34 | 22 | 17 | 39 | — | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Slovan ChZJD Bratislava | CSSR | 44 | 46 | 28 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Toronto Toros | WHA | 78 | 41 | 40 | 81 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 1975–76 | Toronto Toros | WHA | 81 | 56 | 42 | 98 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Birmingham Bulls | WHA | 81 | 36 | 33 | 69 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Birmingham Bulls | WHA | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 63 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1978–79 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 80 | 38 | 35 | 73 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 79 | 35 | 39 | 74 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 74 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 68 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | New York Rangers | NHL | 35 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| CSSR totals | 388 | 354 | 180 | 534 | — | 26 | 16 | 13 | 29 | — | ||||
| WHA totals | 252 | 135 | 118 | 253 | 43 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||||
| NHL totals | 421 | 122 | 156 | 278 | 88 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1966 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1967 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | |
| 1968 | Czechoslovakia | OLY | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1969 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 10 | |
| 1970 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 11 | |
| 1971 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 10 | 7 | 17 | — | |
| 1972 | Czechoslovakia | OLY | 6 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1972 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 9 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1973 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2 | |
| 1974 | Czechoslovakia | WC | 10 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 93 | 80 | 39 | 119 | 55 | |||
References
- Peng, Sheng (15 September 2016). "Meet 'Big Ned': The international hockey legend you never knew - TheHockeyNews". TheHockeyNews. The Hockey News. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- Pinchevsky, Tal (2012). Breakaway: From Behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL--The Untold Story of Hockey's Great Escapes. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118096215. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- George Gross, "Czech Hockey Star Defects to Canada", front page of The Toronto Sun 18 July 1974 (Vol. 3, No. 182). See also pp. 3 and 32-33.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Cold War Conversations - Czechoslovak hockey star defects to Canada (132) An interview with Václav's son Vashi Nedomanský, who talks about his father's defection from Czechoslovakia to Canada.
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