Radko Gudas

Radko Gudas (born 5 June 1990 in Kladno) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). The son of Leo Gudas, who competed for Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Winter Olympics, Gudas was raised in Kladno, and played for HC Rabat Kladno. He moved to North America in 2009, spending one season with the Everett Silvertips of the major junior Western Hockey League before the Lightning selected him 66th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally Gudas played for the Czech Republic national junior team at two World Junior Championships and for the senior team at the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2017 World Championship and 2018 World Championship.

Junior
Gudas played in the Czech Extraliga with HC Kladno during the 2008–09 season. Gudas was selected by the Everett Silvertips of the WHL in the first round of the CHL Import Draft with the 20th pick. Gudas was invited to the Kings training camp after going un-drafted in the 2009 NHL Draft. He would not be offered a contract from the Kings following training camp. He would then join the Everett Silvertips that fall. He would have a strong season with the Silvertips, posting 7 goals, 30 assists, and 151 penalty minutes. The choice to play for the Everett Silvertips would pay off when he was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft with their 3rd-round draft pick. Gudas would participate in the 2010 Lightning Developmental Camp that ran from 10–14 July.

On 8 August 2010, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they had signed Gudas to a three-year entry-level contract.

Norfolk Admirals
Gudas participated in first NHL training camp in 2010 with the Lightning. Gudas would be reassigned to the Lightning's American Hockey League affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.

Gudas had shown a desire to lay big hits on his opposition, along with an extensive fight card in his rookie season. In total Gudas dropped the gloves 16 times, and amassed 165 penalty minutes in 76 games for the Norfolk Admirals. His point totals for that season were 4 goals and 13 assists.

He spent the entire 2011–12 season with the Norfolk Admirals. It was during this season that the Admirals set a professional hockey record by winning 28 consecutive games. Gudas would help lead the Admiral blue-line with fellow Lightning prospect Mark Barberio to the 2012 Calder Cup championship in a four game sweep of the Toronto Marlies in the finals.

The Admirals and Lightning fans had been aware of Gudas' ability to grow a great beard. It was during the Admirals' playoff run to the championship that Gudas was noticed for his playoff beard. It has been a signature look of his since then.

Syracuse Crunch
Following the dream season for the Admirals, the Lightning decided to end their affiliation with the Admirals, as they had entered into a multi-year affiliation with the Syracuse Crunch after parting ways with Norfolk. Due to the change in affiliation, Gudas would be assigned to the Crunch for the 2012–13 AHL season. Gudas posted another strong season playing for the Crunch until he was recalled by the Lightning on 11 March 2013. Prior to being recalled Gudas had 4 goals and 20 points for the Crunch. At the time Gudas lead the AHL with a plus/minus rating of plus-32. He was also fourth in the league with 207 penalty minutes.

Gudas played his first NHL game against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida. Gudas posted three blocked shots, and two hits in 15:20 of playtime. During this game Gudas would get himself noticed quickly in the NHL. This happened when he went to lay a hit on Panthers forward Kris Versteeg. Versteeg attempted to avoid the hit, but still collided with him. Versteeg would end up leaving the game with what appeared to be a right leg inury. It was revealed two days later that Kris Versteeg would need to undergo season ending knee surgery due to the collision with Gudas. Gudas would finish out the remainder of the season with the Lightning, playing in 22 contests. He posted 2 goals, 3 assists, 38 penalty minutes and was a +3 in his first NHL season. Gudas would rejoin the Crunch at the finish of the NHL regular season to help the Crunch in the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs. Gudas would suffer a MCL during the Eastern Conference Championship series. Gudas would miss the first four games of the Calder Cup finals. Despite his return, the crunch would fall to the Grand Rapids Griffins to finish out his AHL career.

Tampa Bay Lightning
On Monday 6 May 2013, the Lightning announced they had signed Gudas to a 3 year contract extension.

Gudas was thrust into a top-4 role on defense for the season, with Eric Brewer being moved to a more manageable 3rd pair role. Gudas continued to play his physical game that he had become known for in his first full NHL season. His rough and tumble in-your-face game also landed Gudas in trouble at a few points during the season. The biggest incident involved Panthers forward Scottie Upshall squirting Gudas with a bottle of water from after he had fallen in front of the Panthers bench. Gudas would retaliate by smashing his stick on the Panthers in frustration. He would be ejected from the game for his actions, though the Lightning would still go onto to win the game despite being down a defenseman. Gudas also received a match penalty against the Dallas Stars on 5 March 2014. Though it was announced by Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman that there would not be any additional discipline from the league. Gudas finished his first full NHL season by playing three games in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Lightning in a 4 game sweep by the Montreal Canadiens.

In the 2014–15 season, on 6 January 2015, Gudas underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. The Lightning announced that he would be out for the remainder of the regular season.

Philadelphia Flyers
On 2 March 2015, at the trade deadline Gudas was traded by the Lightning along with a first and third-round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Braydon Coburn.

Gudas was suspended for three games on December 2, 2015 for an illegal check to the head of Mika Zibanejad during a 4-2 win against the Ottawa Senators the night before. He was not assessed a penalty for the hit during the game, though Zibanejad left the game.

Gudas signed a four-year contract with the Flyers worth $13.4 million on 23 June 2016.

In an October 8, 2016 preseason game against the Boston Bruins, Gudas delivered an interfering hit on Austin Czarnik, who left the game and soon underwent concussion protocol. While Gudas was assessed a minor penalty for boarding during the game, upon review of the incident, the NHL Department of Player Safety eventually suspended Gudas for six games, in part because of his previous suspension in 2015.

Personal life
Gudas and his girlfriend have a daughter named Leontyna.

International
On 6 January 2014, Radko Gudas was named to the Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team with teammate Ondřej Palát for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Gudas would miss two games in the Olympics due to an apparent illness. He would appear in 3 games and record 4 penalty minutes during his first Olympics. The Czech Team were eliminated at the hands of Team USA.