Martin Gernat

Martin Gernát (born on April 11, 1993 in Košice) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with the HC Oceláři Třinec of the Tipsport Extraliga. Gernát was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 5th round (122nd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and he was also selected by the Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 2012 KHL Junior Draft.

Club career
Gernát began his junior career with the HC Prešov organisation. In the 2009-10 season, after 6 games played with the HC Prešov under-18 team, he moved to the HC Košice organisation. He played there 41 games with the HC Košice under-18 team and 2 play-off games with the HC Košice under-20 team.

Gernát again began the 2010-11 season with the HC Prešov under-18 team where he played 8 games before moving to the HC Košice organisation. He finished there the season with 9 games played with the HC Košice under-18 team and 28 regular season games and 12 play-off games played with the HC Košice under-20 team.

In 2011 - 2013, Gernát played with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. In the 2011-12 season, he became the WHL champion and was also the rookie who recorded most assists (46) in the WHL.

On April 20, 2013, the Edmonton Oilers organisation signed Gernát to a three-year entry level contract. He started the 2013-14 season with the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL, but on November 1, 2013 he was sent down to play with the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL. He played there only 3 games before he was sent back up to the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL where he played 57 regular season games and 1 play-off game in this season.

In the 2014-15 season, Gernát continued with the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL.

Gernát also began the 2015-16 season with the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL, but after 22 games played he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks organisation. He finished the season with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. He played there 5 games.

In the 2016-17 season, Gernát played with the HC Sparta Praha of the Tipsport Extraliga.

Gernát then began the 2017-18 season with the HC Prešov of the St. Nicolaus 1. Hokejová Liga SR. He played there 3 games before he moved to the HC Košice of the Tipsport Liga. He played there only 2 games before he was loaned to the Lausanne HC of the NL for the remainder of the season. He played there 11 regular season games and 6 relegation games.

Since 2018, Gernát is playing with the HC Oceláři Třinec of the Tipsport Extraliga. In the 2018-19 season, he became the Czech champion. In the 2019-20 season, he was selected into the Spengler Cup All-Star Team. In the 2020-21 season, he became the Czech champion for the second time and was named the Tipsport Extraliga Defenceman of the Year as he was the defenceman who scored most points (41), most goals (13) and most assists (28) in the Tipsport Extraliga. He is currently signed with the HC Oceláři Třinec until the end of the 2021-22 season.

International career
Gernát played with the Slovak National Team at the 2011 World U18 Championship, 2012 World Junior Championship and at the 2017 World Championship.