Jaroslav Hlinka

Jaroslav Hlinka
Born	(1976-11-10) November 10, 1976 (age 47) Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	HC Sparta Praha Kloten Flyers Ak Bars Kazan Colorado Avalanche Linköpings HC HC Plzeň
National team	Czech Republic
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1994–2019

Jaroslav Hlinka (born November 10, 1976, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche. He is currently the Sports manager for his longtime club, HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga.

Playing career

Hlinka began playing ice hockey at the age of four^{[ citation needed ]}. When he was fourteen, HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga offered him a chance on their junior team and he accepted.^{[ citation needed ]}

From 1994 to 2007, Hlinka mostly played for HC Sparta Praha in the Extraliga, scoring 110 goals and winning the Czech Championship four times (2000, 2002, 2006 and 2007). From 2002 to 2006 he played for three seasons with Kloten Flyers in the Swiss Nationalliga A and one season with Ak Bars Kazan in the now defunct Russian Super League.

On June 1, 2007, Hlinka signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL. ^[1] He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche on October 3, 2007, during the season opener, scoring his first NHL points as part of a 2-assist game against the Dallas Stars. ^[2] He scored his first NHL goal on October 23, 2007, against the Edmonton Oilers. ^[3] After a bright start Hlinka's opportunities with the Avalanche diminished as the season wore on, however, he finished the 2007–08 season with a modest 28 points in 63 games.

In May 2008 he signed a two-year contract with Linköpings HC in the Swedish Elitserien. In 2008–09, his first season with Linköpings, Jaroslav led the team in scoring with 55 points finishing with the most assists in the Elitserien. After starting the 2009–10 season on loan to hometown club Sparta Praha, Hlinka returned to Linköpings to score 50 points in 41 games before losing to Djurgårdens IF in the playoff semi-finals. ^[4]

On August 8, 2012, Hlinka again returned to the Czech Extraliga to begin the season for a fourth consecutive year, added with the option of potentially remaining with HC Sparta Praha for the duration of the 2012–13 season. ^[5]

Following the 2018–19 season, Hlinka ended his 25 year professional career, finishing as HC Sparta Praha's All-time leading scorer. He immediately was announced to remain in the organization as the club's sporting manager. ^[6]

International play

Medal record
Representing   Czech Republic
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2001 Nuremberg
	2006 Riga

Hlinka played his first game in the national squad in 1999, and has played 114 times for the national team ^[7] Hlinka has represented the Czech Republic seven times in the World Championships. He won a Gold medal at the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2001, along with a Silver medal at the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2006.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994–95	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		5	0	2	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		18	3	1	4	4		11	1	4	5	0
1996–97	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		44	8	18	26	12		7	0	0	0	0
1997–98	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		50	18	18	36	24		11	2	6	8	8
1998–99	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		40	9	24	33	22		6	1	2	3	0
1999–00	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		49	20	37	57	51		8	2	3	5	10
2000–01	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		45	12	17	29	28		13	2	9	11	12
2001–02	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		52	16	45	61	54		13	9	6	15	4
2002–03	Kloten Flyers	NLA		41	18	30	48	16		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Kloten Flyers	NLA		43	18	24	42	33		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Ak Bars Kazan	RSL		36	4	16	20	10		1	0	0	0	0
2005–06	Kloten Flyers	NLA		37	12	24	36	18		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		9	3	8	11	14		17	10	6	16	10
2006–07	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		46	19	38	57	46		16	4	12	16	38
2007–08	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		63	8	20	28	16		1	0	0	0	0
2008–09	Linköpings HC	SEL		54	12	43	55	16		7	1	2	3	6
2009–10	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		20	5	10	15	16		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Linköpings HC	SEL		41	13	37	50	12		12	4	4	8	2
2010–11	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		9	1	4	5	2		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Linköpings HC	SEL		43	11	29	40	12		7	1	4	5	0
2011–12	HC Plzeň	CZE		13	4	4	8	6		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Linköpings HC	SEL		42	5	17	22	6		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		52	15	36	51	22		7	0	2	2	0
2013–14	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		50	17	45	62	36		12	4	7	11	8
2014–15	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		48	17	33	50	32		10	5	6	11	6
2015–16	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		37	14	22	36	10		17	10	7	17	14
2016–17	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		44	11	25	36	24		4	1	2	3	0
2017–18	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		41	2	15	17	6		3	0	1	1	2
2018–19	HC Vrchlabí	Czech.2		8	1	6	7	0		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	HC Sparta Praha	CZE		5	2	1	3	0		4	0	0	0	2
CZE totals				677	196	402	598	409		164	52	74	126	116
NLA totals				121	48	78	126	67		—	—	—	—	—
RSL totals				36	4	16	20	10		1	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				63	8	20	28	16		1	0	0	0	0
SHL totals				180	41	126	167	46		26	6	10	16	8

^{[8] [9]}

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2001	Czech Republic	WC			9	0	1	1	2
2002	Czech Republic	WC	5th		7	1	5	6	2
2003	Czech Republic	WC	4th		9	2	1	3	6
2004	Czech Republic	WC	5th		2	0	1	1	2
2006	Czech Republic	WC			9	2	4	6	2
2007	Czech Republic	WC	7th		7	3	4	7	0
2008	Czech Republic	WC	5th		6	1	3	4	2
2009	Czech Republic	WC	6th		7	1	2	3	4
Senior totals					56	10	21	31	20

References

1. "Avalanche sign free agent prospect". Colorado Avalanche. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
2. "Stastny records hat trick as Avs start another season with win". ESPN. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
3. "Avalanche make Smyth's return to Edmonton positive one". CBS Sports . 2007-10-23. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
4. "Czechs debut tomorrow" (in Swedish). Linköpings HC. 2009-10-25. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
5. "Good Pigeons return! Jaroslav Hlinka to Sparta". hokej.cz (in Czech). 2012-08-08. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
6. "Jaroslav Hlinka moves on to next chapter of career". HC Sparta Praha. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
7. "Jaroslav Hlinka international stats". hockey.cz (in Czech). 2009-03-20. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
8. "Jaroslav Hlinka - player profile and career stats". European Hockey.Net. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
9. "NHL.com - Players - Jaroslav Hlinka". NHL.com. Retrieved 2014-04-27.

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