Tomáš Kopecký

Tomáš Kopecký
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Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Left
Nickname(s)	Koko
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Florida Panthers Detroit Red Wings Chicago Blackhawks
Nationality	Slovak
Born	(1982-02-05)February 5, 1982, Ilava, Czechoslovakia
NHL Draft	38th overall, 2000 Detroit Red Wings
Pro Career	2001 – present

Tomáš Kopecký

Tomáš Kopecký (born February 5, 1982 in Ilava, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak National Hockey League left wing for the Florida Panthers. He has a son named Jakub and wife Maria. Before turning pro in the NHL, Kopecký was a member of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, as well as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL and a former Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. Kopecký has inherited the nickname of "Koko" from the pronunciation of his last name by Red Wings television announcer Mickey Redmond. His surname is pronounced "kaw-PET-skee".

On Thursday December 14, 2006, in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Kopecký was injured a minute into the third period of the Red Wings' 3-2 victory. Kopecký lost his footing and hit the boards as he approached the Chicago blue line, and Blackhawks defenseman Jim Vandermeer then fell on top of him. Kopecký was motionless on the ice for a few minutes before being helped to the dressing room by members of the Detroit training staff. He had surgery the next day to repair a broken clavicle.

Kopecký had previously worn the #28, but switched to #82 after the Red Wings acquired free agent defenceman Brian Rafalski. 82 is a reversal of the 28, as well as Kopecky's birth year.

Kopecky, during his time with the Detroit Red Wings.

On April 3, 2008, near the end of the 2007–08 NHL season, Kopecký was injured in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kopecký ended up with a torn Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which was repaired during surgery on April 22, 2008. On June 4, 2008, he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings.

On July 1, 2009 Kopecky signed a two year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks earning $1.2 million per season. The same day, his good friend Marian Hossa, also a former Red Wing, signed with Chicago with a 12 year deal.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2000–01	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL		49	22	28	50	52		5	1	1	2	6
2000–01	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		-	-	-	-	-
2001–02	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL		60	34	42	76	94		4	2	1	3	15
2001–02	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	AHL		2	1	1	2	6		2	0	0	0	0
2002–03	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		70	17	21	38	42		14	0	0	0	6
2003–04	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		48	6	6	12	28		1	0	0	0	2
2004–05	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		48	8	8	16	35		-	-	-	-	-
2005–06	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		77	32	40	72	123		16	3	4	7	25
2005–06	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		1	0	0	0	2		-	-	-	-	-
2006–07	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		26	1	0	1	22		4	0	0	0	6
2007–08	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		77	5	7	12	43		-	-	-	-	-
2008–09	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		79	6	13	19	46		8	0	1	1	7
2009–10	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-	-
WHL / AHL totals				246	64	76	140	254		33	3	4	7	33
NHL totals				183	12	20	32	113		12	0	1	1	13

External links

• Tomáš Kopecký's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database