Milan Hejduk

Milan Hejduk (born February 14, 1976 in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia; now Czech Republic) is a professional ice hockey player.

Playing career
The 6-foot (1.83 m) tall, 190-pound (86 kg) Hejduk was drafted 87th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 4th round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Before he left for the NHL, he played in Pardubice, where he returned during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Milan joined HC Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga in 1993-94 and won Rookie of the Year honours with nine points in 22 games. After improving to 11 goals in 1994-95, Milan improved to 13 markers in 1995-96. In 1996-97, Milan set a personal Extraliga high with 27 goals in 51 games. In 1997-98, Milan scored 26 goals and a personal best 45 Extraliga points.

He won the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goalscorer when he potted 50 goals for the Avalanche in the 2002-03 season, narrowly beating Markus Näslund of the Vancouver Canucks, who had been leading for most of the season. Hejduk scored a goal against the Calgary Flames in a 3-0 win for the Avalanche on 12 March 2006, putting him equal with Peter Forsberg in sixth place on the all-time Avalanche franchise goalscoring list with 216 goals. He won a Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche.

Awards

 * 2001 Stanley Cup Championship
 * Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy - 2003
 * Bud Light Plus/Minus Award - 2003

International play
Played for the Czech Republic in:


 * 1998 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
 * 1998 World Championships (bronze medal)
 * 2002 Winter Olympics
 * 2004 World Cup of Hockey
 * 2006 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)