Milan Nový



Milan Nový (born September 23, 1951 in Kladno, Czechoslovakia) is a retired Czech ice hockey center. He played 16 seasons in the Czechoslovak Elite League, winning six league championships between 1974 and 1980.

Nový played for Kladno in the Czechoslovak junior league from 1963 to 1968. He played in the elite league with HC Kladno from 1968 to 1972, HC Jihlava from 1972 to 1974, and Kladno again from 1974 to 1982 and 1987 to 1989. He was named the top player in the league three times, and was first in scoring six times. His 90 points (59 goals and 31 assists) in 44 games in 1976–77 is the league record. Nový scored 474 goals in 633 league games, as well as 120 goals in 211 games with the national team. He holds the Czech "iron man" record, playing eight seasons without missing a game.

Nový won a silver medal on the 1976 Czechoslovak Olympic team and played in the 1980 Olympics, leading all scorers with 15 points. He appeared in seven consecutive IIHF World Championships from 1975 to 1982, and was named to the all-star team in 1976. He led all players in Moscow's Izvestia Cup with 14 goals in 1974.

Nový was named to the 1976 Canada Cup all-star team, tied for the most goals, and was the top scorer and MVP on his team. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 Czechoslovak victory over Canada, in a game Bobby Orr said was the best he ever played in. He also played in the 1981 Canada Cup.

He played with the Washington Capitals in 1982–83. Though he began with a goal and two assists in his first game and points in his first four games, he had difficulty adjusting to North American culture and the physical play of the North American game, finishing the season with 48 points in 73 games. He played with Zurcher SC in Switzerland from 1983 to 1985 and with EV Wien in Austria in 1985–86. Nový returned to Kladno in 1986, to help his old team get out of the second division, back into the elite league. They succeeded, and he played in the elite league for two more years before retiring in 1989.

Nový came back at the age of 46, playing 39 games over four seasons in the Czech and Slovak leagues between 1997 and 2004. 31 of the games were in 2000–01 (scoring two goals and an assist) when he was 49 years old. He played his final game at the age of 52.

Czechoslovak Elite League awards

 * Golden Hockey Stick (Top player): 1977, 1981, 1982
 * Scoring title: 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982
 * Top goal scorer: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977
 * On championship team: 1974 (Jihlava); 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 (Kladno)