Igor Liba

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SlovakiaSlovakia  Igor Liba Ice hockey player
Date of birth November 4th 1960
place of birth Prešov , Czechoslovakia
size 183 cm
Weight 87 kg
position Left wing
Shot hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1983 , 5th lap, 91st position
Calgary Flames
Career stations
1970-1979 ZPA Prešov
1979-1982 HC Košice
1982-1984 HC Dukla Jihlava
1984-1988 HC Košice
1988 New York Rangers
1988-1989 Los Angeles Kings
1989-1992 HC Košice
HC Fiemme Cavalese
1992-1993 TuTo Turku
1993-1996 EV Zeltweg
1996-1997 HK VTJ Spišská Nová Ves
1997-1999 HC Košice
1999-2000 EV Zeltweg
2000-2001 HK Dragon Prešov
2002-2003 HK VTJ Spišská Nová Ves
HK Dragon Prešov

Igor Liba (born November 4, 1960 in Prešov , Czechoslovakia ) is a former Slovak ice hockey player . During his long career he played 589 games in Czechoslovakia and Slovakia and 39 games in the National Hockey League . The greatest success of his career was winning the silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo . In 2005 he was honored with the admission into the Slovak Hockey Hall of Fame .

Career

Igor Liba began his career in 1970 in his hometown at ZPA Prešov , for which he was active until 1978 in the junior division and the third division of Czechoslovakia. In 1978 , at the age of 18, he moved to VSŽ Košice and made his debut for his new club in the first division . In the following three years he played for Košice and established himself in the league. In the 1981/82 season he scored 53 points in 44 games before he moved to the army club ASD Dukla Jihlava for his military service . With Dukla he was Czechoslovakian champion in 1983 and 1984 , he was also elected to the league's all-star team in 1984 and was awarded the ČSSR's most important ice hockey trophy, the Zlatá hokejka ( Golden Ice Hockey Stick ). After these successes he returned to Košice.

In 1988 Liba was given permission to play in non-communist countries because of his merits. As early as 1983 , the Calgary Flames had secured the NHL rights to Liba, which they bartered to the Minnesota North Stars in May 1988 . In October 1988, the North Stars gave the rights to Liba to the New York Rangers , who received Brian Lawton , among others . Liba completed ten NHL games for the Rangers, in which he reached seven scorer points before he was sent to the Los Angeles Kings . In exchange for Liba, the Rangers' defense attorney Dean Kennedy received . In the following 29 games of the season, the Slovaks got 18 points scorer on the side of Wayne Gretzky before he decided to return to the ČSSR.

In the following years he was on the ice for VSŽ Košice as well as for clubs in Western Europe. These included EHC Biel , HC Fiemme Cavalese and TuTo Turku . In 1993 he moved to Austria for EV Zeltweg , for which he completed three seasons. Further stations were the HK VTJ Spišská Nová Ves , the HK VTJ Trebišov , as well as his ex-club HK Dragon Prešov, before ending his career in 2003.

After the end of his career he got a coaching license and works as a junior coach at HC Košice.

International

Liba was a permanent member of the Czechoslovak national team for many years and won one gold, two silver and two bronze medals at world championships . He also won the Olympic silver medal in 1984 and the bronze medal in 1992 . In total, he completed 211 international matches for the ČSSR, in which he scored 66 goals. He also played in an international match for Slovakia .

Achievements and Awards

International

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Liba, Igor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Slovak ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH November 4th 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Prešov , Czechoslovakia