| Michael Špaček | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 9, 1997, Mariánské Lázně |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Center/Right winger |
| Shoots | Right |
| SHL team F. teams |
Frölunda HC Tipsport Extraliga HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice HC Oceláři Třinec WHL Red Deer Rebels AHL Manitoba Moose Liiga Tappara |
| Ntl. team |  Czech Republic
|
| NHL Draft | 108th overall, 2015 Winnipeg Jets |
| Playing career | 2010–present |
Michael Špaček (born on April 9, 1997 in Mariánské Lázně) is a Czech professional ice hockey center/right winger. He currently plays with the Frölunda HC of the SHL. He was drafted 108th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.[1]
Club career[]
Špaček began his junior career with the HC Pardubice organisation. He made his senior debut by playing 4 games with the HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice of the Tipsport Extraliga at age 17, during the 2013-14 season.[2] In this season, he also played 6 games with the HC Pardubice under-18 team and 31 games with the HC Pardubice under-20 team.
In his first full professional campaign with the HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice in the 2014-15 season, Špaček contributed with 12 points in 40 regular season games and 0 points in 4 play-off games. He also played 4 play-off games with the HC Pardubice under-18 team and 5 games with the HC Pardubice under-20 team.
Špaček competed with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, during the 2015-16 season.[3]
For the next season, Špaček stayed with the Rebels where he played 59 regular season games and 7 play-off games in this season. After that, he also played 4 games with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. On June 2, 2017, after two seasons with Red Deer, Špaček completed his junior career in agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets organisation.[4]
Špaček stayed in North America playing with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. During the 2019-20 season, still re-assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, Špaček appeared in 45 games posting 20 points before he was re-assigned by the Jets to join the Ontario Reign, primary affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, on loan for the remainder of the season on March 2, 2020.[5] Špaček failed to appear in a game with the Reign due to injury before the season was prematurely ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As an impending restricted free agent from the Jets, Špaček opted to halt his NHL aspirations by agreeing to a one-year contract in Finland with the Tappara of the Liiga on August 4, 2020.[6] After 18 games played with the Tappara, Špaček moved back to his native Czechia to finish the season with the HC Oceláři Třinec of the Tipsport Extraliga. He played there 9 regular season games and 16 play-off games and became the Tipsport Extraliga champion.
In 2021, he signed a two-year contract with the Frölunda HC of the SHL.
International career[]
Špaček participated as a member of the Czech National Team at the 2014 and 2015 World U18 Championships (winning the silver medal at the 2014 tournament and being named one of the top 3 players on the Czech team at the 2015 tournament) and at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 World Junior Championships (being named one of the top 3 players on the Czech squad at the 2016 and 2017 tournaments).
Career statistics[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
Competitor for  CZE
| ||
| IIHF World U18 Championship | ||
| Silver | 2014 Finland | |
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Pardubice | ELH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Pardubice | ELH | 40 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 61 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 18 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 59 | 30 | 55 | 85 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 70 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 2018–19 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 74 | 10 | 31 | 41 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 45 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| ELH totals | 44 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | WJC | 6th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | WJC | 5th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Czech Republic | WJC | 6th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 27 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 6 | ||||
References[]
- ↑ "The Winnipeg Jets select Michael Spacek in the fourth round". Arctic Ice Hockey (27 June 2015). Retrieved on 3 July 2015.
- ↑ "HC Pardubice 2013–14 player statistics". eliteprospects.com (2014-04-01). Retrieved on 2014-04-01.
- ↑ (6 August 2015) "Memorial Cup hosts land Michael Spacek, chase Brandon Hickey".
- ↑ "Jets agree to terms with Michael Spacek". Winnipeg Jets (2017-06-02). Retrieved on 2017-06-02.
- ↑ "Reign announce roster moves". Ontario Reign (March 2, 2020). Retrieved on March 2, 2020.
- ↑ "Michael Spacek joins Tappara" (in Finnish). Tappara (4 August 2020). Retrieved on 4 August 2020.