Jaroslav Jiřík

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Jaroslav Jiřík
Born(1939-12-10)10 December 1939
Vojnův Městec, Bohemia-Moravia
Died 11 July 2011(2011-07-11) (aged 71)
Brno, Czech Republic
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Sokol Kladno (Cze-1)
Rudá hvězda/ZKL Brno (Cze-1)
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
National teamFlag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Playing career 1957–1975
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1968 Grenoble
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1964 Innsbruck
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1965 Finland
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1966 Yugoslavia
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1959 Czechoslovakia
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1963 Sweden
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1969 Sweden

Jaroslav Jiřík (10 December 1939 – 11 July 2011) [1] [2] was a Czech professional ice hockey right winger. He became the first player that an Eastern Bloc country released to play in the National Hockey League [3] [4] when he appeared in three games with the St. Louis Blues in the 1969–70 season. [5]

Contents

Playing career

Jiřík played seventeen seasons in the Czechoslovak Extraliga, scoring 300 goals in 450 games. [3] Jiřík was named an all-star at the 1965 World Championship in Finland, [6] and he was a member of the Czechoslovak national team that won the bronze medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. [5] [7] He scored 83 goals in 134 international games for Czechoslovakia. [5]

Jiřík was first noticed by St. Louis Blues assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher in 1969. Fletcher actually signed three Czechoslovak players: Jiřík, Jan Havel, and Josef Horešovský, all of whom were given permission to transfer to North America by the Czechoslovak government. However, the government changed its mind about Havel and Horesovský, because they were still in their twenties. Jiřík, 30 at the time, was the only player allowed to go. [4]

Jiřík spent most of the 1969–70 season with St. Louis's minor-league affiliate, the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League. [5] He played well in Kansas City, scoring 35 points in 53 games. [1] St. Louis called him up late in the season, and he played three games with the club, going scoreless. He was invited to remain with the organization for the 1970–71 season; however, Jiřík decided to return to Czechoslovakia instead. [4]

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Jiřík coached several Czechoslovak clubs and ran the Swiss national team from 1977 to 1980. [5]

On 11 July 2011, Jiřík, an experienced pilot, died in a plane crash near Brno. [2] [5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1956–57 HC Kladno CZE 40—0——————
1957–58 HC KladnoCZE2214014——————
1958–59 HC KladnoCZE2216016——————
1959–60 HC KladnoCZE2214014——————
1960–61 HC KladnoCZE2423023——————
1961–62 Rudá hvězda Brno CZE31281139——————
1962–63 ZKL BrnoCZE28221032——————
1963–64 ZKL BrnoCZE6303——————
1964–65 ZKL BrnoCZE30231336——————
1965–66 ZKL BrnoCZE35261339——————
1966–67 ZKL BrnoCZE3416824——————
1967–68 ZKL BrnoCZE28161531——————
1968–69 ZKL BrnoCZE3236743——————
1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 30000—————
1969–70 Kansas City Blues CHL 5319163511—————
1970–71 ZKL BrnoCZE31251237—8606—
1971–72 ZKL BrnoCZE221261834—————
1972–73 ZKL BrnoCZE261321516—————
1973–74 ZKL BrnoCZE349413——————
1974–75 ZKL BrnoCZE15448——————
CZE totals446300————————
NHL totals30000—————

International

YearTeamEventGPGAPtsPIM
1959 Czechoslovakia WC 8628—
1960 Czechoslovakia OLY 51342
1963 CzechoslovakiaWC74379
1964 CzechoslovakiaOLY73146
1965 CzechoslovakiaWC784126
1966 CzechoslovakiaWC74152
1967 CzechoslovakiaWC65382
1968 CzechoslovakiaOLY43360
1969 CzechoslovakiaWC52350
Senior totals5636235927

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References

  1. 1 2 Jaroslav Jiřík career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
  2. 1 2 Charvát, Martin (2011-07-11). "První Čech v NHL Jiřík zemřel při pádu sportovního letadla" (in Czech). Czech Radio . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Jaroslav Jirik". HHOF.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 International Hockey Legends: Jaroslav Jirik
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jaroslav Jirik dies at 71". ESPN. Associated Press. July 11, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2001.
  6. ↑ World Hockey Championships first-team all stars [usurped]
  7. ↑ Olympics History - espn.com
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