Tomáš Plekanec

Tomáš Plekanec (born October 31, 1982) is a Czech ice hockey centre currently playing for the Rytíři Kladno of the Chance Liga.

Playing career
Plekanec began his senior career in season 1998-99 playing for his youth team HC Kladno od the Tipsport Extraliga. Next season played Plekanec for HK Slaný and HC Kralupy nad Vltavou of the 2. Liga. Playing for HC Kladno of the Tipsport Extraliga and HC Mladá Boleslav of the 2. Liga, Plekanec was drafted by the Montréal Canadiens in the 3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. For 2001-02 season, Plekanec stayed in Czech Republic playing for HC Kladno of the Tipsport Extraliga. Plekanec came to North America to play for the Canadiens' minor league affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2002. He recorded 46 points in his professional rookie season in 2002–03, then improved to 66 points the following season. He also made his NHL debut in the 2003–04 season, playing in two games. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Plekanec remained in Hamilton for a third AHL season.

In 2005–06, Plekanec became a fixture in the Canadiens' lineup, scoring 29 points in his NHL rookie campaign. He improved to 47 points the next season in 2006–07 and notched his first 20-goal effort. On February 29, 2008, Plekanec recorded his first NHL hat trick in a 6–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. He completed the season with 29 goals and 69 points. Plekanec received a two-game suspension on February 12, 2009, for a supposed slewfoot on Edmonton Oilers defenceman Denis Grebeshkov on February 11. Grebeshkov suffered a high ankle sprain on the play. Plekanec stayed with Canadiens until the beginning of the 2018-19 NHL season. During the 2012 NHL lockout, Plekanec played for Rytíři Kladno of the Tipsport Extraliga. At the end of the 2017-18 NHL season, Plekanec was sent to Toronto Maple Leafs to finish the season there. In 2018-19 season, Plekanec played only 3 games for Canadiens, then he returned back to Czechia. Plekanec finished the season with Rytíři Kladno of the Chance Liga and HC Kometa Brno of the Tipsport Extraliga. He played for HC Kometa Brno whole 2019-20 season. In 2020, Plekanec returned to his youth team Rytíři Kladno of the Chance Liga.

International play
Plekanec played in three junior international tournaments with the Czech Republic. He was named to the under-18 team at the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he contributed 2 points in 6 games. He then helped the Czechs to a gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Championships with 2 points in 7 games. He made his second consecutive World Junior appearance in 2002 and improved to 7 points in 7 games.

After joining the NHL, Plekanec competed in the 2006 World Championships, where the Czech Republic captured a silver medal in Latvia. Plekanec scored the semi-final first Czech goal to defeat Finland 3–1 to put the Czechs in the gold medal game. He went on to make his second and third consecutive World Championships appearances in 2007 and 2008. He also participated at the 2009 World Championship.

In 2010, Plekanec did not participate at the World Championship, but he joined the Czech team at the 2010 Olympics. He participated at the 2011 World Championship and at the 2012 World Championship played Plekanec as the captain of the Czech Republic. After his participation at the 2013 World Championship, Plekanec skipped the 2014 championship, but led the Czech Republic at the 2014 Olympics as the captain. Plekanec then participated at the 2015 World Championship. In 2016, Plekanec was named the captain of the Czech Republic at the 2016 World Championship again. He also led the Czech Republic as the captain at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Plekanec then played at the 2017 and 2018 World Championship s as the alternate captain.