Zdeno Chára

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SlovakiaSlovakia  Zdeno Chára Ice hockey player
Zdeno Chára
Date of birth March 18, 1977
place of birth Trenčín , Czechoslovakia
size 206 cm
Weight 118 kg
position defender
number # 33
Shot hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1996 , 3rd round, 56th position
New York Islanders
Career stations
1994-1996 HC Dukla Trenčín
1996-1997 Prince George Cougars
1997-2001 New York Islanders
2001-2006 Ottawa Senators
2004-2005 Färjestad BK
since 2006 Boston Bruins
2012 HC Lev Prague

Zdeno Chára (born March 18, 1977 in Trenčín , Czechoslovakia ) is a Slovak ice hockey player . The defender has been with the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League since July 2006 , which he has since captained and with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2011 . He was previously active in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders , who had selected him in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in 56th position. Chára is considered one of the best defenders of his generation, so he was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defender in the league in 2009, while he is known for his extraordinary physique, given his height of well over two meters. With the Slovak national team he won the silver medal at the World Championships in 2000 and 2012 and represented the team at three Olympic Winter Games .

Career

First NHL station with the New York Islanders (1997-2001)

Chára in the jersey of HC Lev Prague , November 2012

Zdeno Chára began his career in his birthplace at HC Dukla Trenčín . During the NHL Entry Draft in 1996 , he was drawn in the third round at a total of 56th position by the New York Islanders and moved to the Prince George Cougars in the Canadian Junior Western Hockey League in the same year . In the next two years he switched between the farm team and the Islanders, but was able to establish himself in the New Yorkers' NHL squad in the 1999/2000 and 2000/01 seasons . In 2001 he started the season with the Slovak first division club HC Dukla Trenčín, but after a few games he moved to the Ottawa Senators , who had signed him from the Islanders together with a draft law ( Jason Spezza ) for Alexei Jashin .

Ottawa Senators (2001-2006)

In his first season in Ottawa, Chára showed his offensive potential for the first time by marking a total of ten goals. Due to his improved shooting accuracy, he was increasingly used in the majority game and slowly developed into a two-way defender who dominated both the defensive and the offensive game. The following year, the Slovak established himself as one of the best defenders in the league and therefore received his first nomination for an All-Star Game . The 2003/04 season was also successful for the left-handed shooter, when he only had to admit defeat to Scott Niedermayer when he was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the best defender in the NHL .

During the lockout in the 2004/05 season Chára played for the Swedish club Färjestad BK .

Boston Bruins (since 2006)

Despite his good performance, Ottawa waived a new contract offer for Chára for financial reasons, so that his contract with the Senators expired at the end of the 2005/06 season and he got the status of a free agent . The defender then signed a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins , where he was immediately appointed team captain due to the departure of Joe Thornton . In the 2007/08 season, the Bruins were eliminated in the first play-off round against the Montreal Canadiens , but after a personnel change in the previous season, they were greatly improved and the initially criticized commitment Cháras was due to his good performance as rated positive. So he was nominated again for the Norris Trophy after the season, but could not prevail in the election again. At the skills competition as part of the NHL All-Star Game 2009 , the Slovak set a new NHL record in the competition for the hardest slap shot . He propelled the disc into the gate at a speed of 105.4 mph (169.5 km / h), beating the old Al Iafrate record . Chára donated the prize money of 24,000 US dollars to the development aid organization Right To Play , of which he is also a brand ambassador.

During the 2008/2009 season , the defensive player confirmed the sometimes excellent performances of previous years and scored a total of 19 goals and 31 assists. He then won the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the first time as the best defender in the league and prevailed against Mike Green and Nicklas Lidström . Despite a slightly less offensive following season, Chára's contract with the Bruins was extended by seven years in October 2010. In the 2010/11 season the Slovak was nominated again for the All-Star Game , where he broke his own record with a shot speed of 105.9 mph (170.43 km / h). In the game against the Carolina Hurricanes in January 2011, he managed the unusual feat of a hat-trick for defenders , which had only been achieved by three other defenders in the history of the Bruins. The successful 2010/11 season was completed by the Stanley Cup victory of the Bruins, which made Chára the first Slovak and second European captain after Nicklas Lidström (2008) to succeed in the history of the NHL.

As part of the NHL All-Star Game 2012 , Chára was able to beat his own record again when he fired a shot at a measured 108.8 mph (175.1 km / h) after Shea Weber in the same competition Chára's best mark of 2011 initially by 0, 1 mph. Overall, between 2007 and 2012, the Slovak recorded the hardest shot in the NHL five times in a row. In March 2012, he completed his 1000th game in the NHL in the game against the Los Angeles Kings .

Due to the NHL lockout, Chára played for HC Lev Prague in the Continental Hockey League between October and December 2012 and completed 25 KHL games for HC Lev. After the lockout ended, he returned to the Bruins and again played a solid season, but did not come close to his offensive performance from previous years. This was due in particular to the serious weakness of the Bruins' majority game in the 2012/13 season , so Chára was only able to contribute one template despite many attempts in these situations. His outstanding defensive game, however, was largely responsible for reaching the Stanley Cup final of the Bruins at the end of the season. There they were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks .

In the years that followed, Chára was an integral part of Boston's NHL squad despite his age. In November 2019, he became only the sixth defender in league history (after Chris Chelios , Scott Stevens , Larry Murphy , Ray Bourque and Nicklas Lidström ), reaching 1,500 games in the regular season.

Achievements and Awards

International

  • 2012 World Cup best defender
  • 2012 World Championship All-Star Team
  • 2016 second place at the World Cup of Hockey

Career statistics

Status: end of the 2018/19 season

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1994/95 HC Dukla Trenčín U20 extra league 30th 22nd 22nd 44 113 - - - - -
1994/95 HC Dukla Trenčín Extraliga (Svk) 2 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
1995/96 HC Dukla Trenčín U20 extra league 22nd 1 13 14th 80 - - - - -
1995/96 HK VTJ Piešťany 1st League 10 1 3 4th 10 - - - - -
1995/96 HC Sparta Prague U20 extra league 15th 1 2 3 42 - - - - -
1995/96 HC Sparta Prague Extraliga (Cze) 1 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
1996/97 Prince George Cougars WHL 49 3 19th 22nd 120 15th 1 7th 8th 45
1997/98 Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL 48 4th 9 13 125 1 0 0 0 4th
1997/98 New York Islanders NHL 25th 0 1 1 50 - - - - -
1998/99 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 23 2 2 4th 47 - - - - -
1998/99 New York Islanders NHL 59 2 6th 8th 83 - - - - -
1999/00 New York Islanders NHL 65 2 9 11 57 - - - - -
2000/01 New York Islanders NHL 82 2 7th 9 157 - - - - -
2001/02 HC Dukla Trenčín Extraliga (Svk) 8th 2 2 4th 32 - - - - -
2001/02 Ottawa Senators NHL 75 10 13 23 156 10 0 1 1 12
2002/03 Ottawa Senators NHL 74 9 30th 39 116 18th 1 6th 7th 14th
2003/04 Ottawa Senators NHL 79 16 25th 41 147 7th 1 1 2 8th
2004/05 Färjestad BK Elitserien 33 10 15th 25th 132 13 3 5 8th 82
2005/06 Ottawa Senators NHL 71 16 27 43 135 10 1 3 4th 23
2006/07 Boston Bruins NHL 80 11 32 43 100 - - - - -
2007/08 Boston Bruins NHL 77 17th 34 51 114 7th 1 1 2 12
2008/09 Boston Bruins NHL 80 19th 31 50 95 11 1 3 4th 12
2009/10 Boston Bruins NHL 80 7th 37 44 87 13 2 5 7th 29
2010/11 Boston Bruins NHL 81 14th 30th 44 88 24 2 7th 9 34
2011/12 Boston Bruins NHL 79 12 40 52 86 7th 1 2 3 8th
2012/13 Boston Bruins NHL 48 7th 12 19th 70 22nd 3 12 15th 20th
2013/14 Boston Bruins NHL 77 17th 23 40 66 12 2 2 4th 14th
2014/15 Boston Bruins NHL 63 8th 12 20th 42 - - - - -
2015/16 Boston Bruins NHL 80 9 28 37 71 - - - - -
2016/17 Boston Bruins NHL 75 10 19th 29 59 6th 0 1 1 2
2017/18 Boston Bruins NHL 73 7th 17th 24 60 12 1 2 3 4th
2018/19 Boston Bruins NHL 62 5 9 14th 57 23 2 4th 6th 16
Slovak extra league overall 10 2 2 4th 32 - - - - -
AHL total 71 6th 11 17th 172 1 0 0 0 4th
NHL overall 1485 200 442 642 1896 182 18th 50 68 208

International

Represented Slovakia at:

 

Represented Team Europe at:

year team event result Sp T V Pt SM
1999 Slovakia WM 7th place 6th 1 0 1 6th
2000 Slovakia WM 2nd place, silver 9 0 0 0 12
2001 Slovakia WM 7th place 7th 0 1 1 10
2004 Slovakia WM 4th Place 9 2 0 2 2
2004 Slovakia World cup 7th place 4th 0 2 2 8th
2005 Slovakia WM 5th place 7th 0 2 2 2
2006 Slovakia Olympia 5th place 6th 1 1 2 2
2007 Slovakia WM 6th place 7th 3 1 4th 4th
2010 Slovakia Olympia 4th Place 7th 0 3 3 6th
2012 Slovakia WM 2nd place, silver 10 2 2 4th 4th
2014 Slovakia Olympia 11th place 4th 0 1 1 4th
2016 Team Europe World cup 2nd place 6th 2 0 2 6th
Men overall 82 11 13 24 66

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Personal

His father Zdeněk represented Czechoslovakia as a wrestler at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal .

Web links

Commons : Zdeno Chára  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bruins sign Chara to five-year deal. ESPN , July 1, 2006, accessed December 23, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Charitable Chara wins NHL's hardest-shot competition. CBC Sports, January 24, 2009, accessed June 21, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Charitable Chara wins NHL's hardest-shot competition. CBC Sports, July 1, 2006, accessed December 23, 2014 .
  4. ^ Bruins, Chara agree to 7-year contract extension. NHL , October 9, 2010, accessed December 23, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Steve Keating: Chara retains hardest shot crown with record blast. Reuters, January 29, 2011, accessed June 21, 2011 .
  6. ↑ Chara Earns First Career Hat Trick. Boston Bruins, January 17, 2011, accessed June 21, 2011 .
  7. ↑ Chara sets record while keeping Hardest Shot title. NHL , January 28, 2012, accessed December 23, 2014 .
Boston Bruins logo
Squad of the Boston Bruins in the season 2019/20
personal data
SURNAME Chára, Zdeno
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chara, Zdeno
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Slovak ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH Trenčín , Czechoslovakia