Jiří Crha

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Czech RepublicCzech Republic  Jiří Crha Ice hockey player
Date of birth April 13, 1950
place of birth Pardubice , Czechoslovakia
Nickname George
size 183 cm
position goalkeeper
Catch hand Left
Career stations
1969-1971 ASD Dukla Jihlava
1971-1979 Tesla Pardubice
1979-1981 Toronto Maple Leafs
1983-1984 SV Bayreuth
1985-1993 EHC Freiburg

Jiří Crha (born April 13, 1950 in Pardubice , Czechoslovakia ) is a former Czechoslovak ice hockey goalkeeper who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs after eleven years in the top division of Czechoslovakia in the National Hockey League . He was also the goalkeeper of the EHC Freiburg between 1985 and 1993 .

Career

Jiří Crha started his career in the youth teams of Tesla Pardubice before playing for ASD Dukla Jihlava as part of his military service . At Dukla Jihlava he made his debut in 1969 in the top division of Czechoslovakia, the 1st division . During his military service, he completed 51 games for Jihlava in two seasons with an average of under 2.5 and was twice Czechoslovak champion before returning to Pardubice.

In the following eight seasons Crha played exclusively for Tesla Pardubice and won the Czechoslovak championship in 1973 with his home club. During a family vacation in Yugoslavia in the summer of 1979, Jiří Crha and his family left and moved to Canada . On February 4, 1980 he was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs . First he played for the New Brunswick Hawks , Toronto's farm team in the American Hockey League , before he was called to the NHL roster of the Maple Leafs. He completed 15 NHL games for his team, in which he got eight wins.

In the following season he was the goalkeeper of the Maple Leafs and was used a total of 57 times, but got no contract extension for the following period. This was followed by three inserts in the minor leagues for the Cincinnati Tigers and the St. Catharines Saints before he returned to Europe.

In the 1983/84 season he played for SV Bayreuth in the 2nd Bundesliga before taking a break for a year. In 1985 he was signed by the EHC Freiburg , for which he played for the following eight years. In 1988 he made promotion to the 1st Bundesliga with the EHC before ending his career after the 1992/93 season. In his honor, the jersey number 1 has not been awarded by the EHC Freiburg since then.

Since the end of his career, Jiří Crha has worked as a player agent and agent. Since 1990 he has been working for the International Management Group (IMG), which looks after players such as Radek Bonk , Milan Hejduk and Roman Hamrlík .

International

Jiří Crha played in a variety of international tournaments for the national team of Czechoslovakia . He won three silver and one bronze medal at world championships and one silver medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics . In addition, he was honored as a junior player in the U19 European Championship in 1968 and twice as the best goalkeeper in the U19 European Championship.

Achievements and Awards

  • 1968 gold medal at the U19 European Junior Championship
  • 1968 All-Star Team of the U19 European Junior Championship
  • 1968 Best goalkeeper in the U19 European Junior Championship
  • 1968 bronze medal at the U19 European Junior Championship
  • 1969 Best goalkeeper in the U19 European Junior Championship
  • 1973 Czechoslovakian champion with ASD Dukla Jihlava
  • 1973 Czechoslovakian champion with ASD Dukla Jihlava
  • 1973 Czechoslovakian champion with Tesla Pardubice
  • 1973 bronze medal at the world championship
  • 1974 silver medal at the world championship
  • 1975 silver medal at the world championship
  • 1976 silver medal at the Olympic Winter Games
  • 1978 silver medal at the world championship

NHL statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team GP MIN W. L. T SO ATM GP MIN W. L. GA SO ATM
1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs 15th 830 8th 7th 0 0 3.61 2 121 0 2 10 0 4.96
1980-81 Toronto Maple Leafs 54 3112 20th 20th 11 0 4.07 3 65 0 2 11 0 10.15
NHL overall 69 3942 28 27 11 0 3.84 5 186 0 4th 21st 0 6.77

( Legend for the goalkeeper statistics: GP or Sp = total games; W or S = wins; L or N = defeats; T or U or OT = draws or overtime or shootout defeats; min. = Minutes; SOG or SaT = shots on goal; GA or GT = goals conceded; SO = shutouts ; GAA or GTS = goals conceded ; Sv% or SVS% = catch quota ; EN = empty net goal ; 1  play-downs / relegation ; italics : statistics not complete)

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