Tomáš Plekanec

Tomáš Plekanec
Position	Center
Shoots	Left
Nickname(s)	The Mechanic, Turtlenec
Height Weight	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 196 lb (89 kg)
Chance Liga Team F. Teams	Rytíři Kladno 2. Liga HK Slaný HC Kralupy nad Vltavou HC Mladá Boleslav AHL Hamilton Bulldogs NHL Montréal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs
Teams	Czech Republic
Nationality	Czech
Born	October 31, 1982, Kladno, CS
NHL Draft	71st overall, 2001 Montreal Canadiens
Pro Career	1996 – present

Tomáš Plekanec (born October 31, 1982) is a Czech ice hockey centre currently playing for the Rytíři Kladno of the Chance Liga and for the HC Kometa Brno of the Tipsport Extraliga.

Playing careerEdit

Playing for HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga, Plekanec was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After a second full season in his native Czech Republic, Plekanec came to North America to play for the Canadiens' minor league affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL). He recorded 46 points in his professional rookie season in 2002–03, then improved to 66 points the following season. He also made his NHL debut in the 2003–04 season, playing in two games. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Plekanec remained in Hamilton for a third AHL season.

In 2005–06, Plekanec became a fixture in the Canadiens' lineup, scoring 29 points in his NHL rookie campaign. He improved to 47 points the next season in 2006–07 and notched his first 20-goal effort. On February 29, 2008, Plekanec recorded his first NHL hat trick in a 6–2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. He completed the season with 29 goals and 69 points. Plekanec received a two-game suspension on February 12, 2009, for a supposed slewfoot on Edmonton Oilers defenceman Denis Grebeshkov on February 11. Grebeshkov suffered a high ankle sprain on the play.

International playEdit

Medal record
Competitor for  Czech Republic
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver	2006 Latvia
World Junior Championships
Gold	2001

Plekanec played in three junior international tournaments with the Czech Republic. He was named to the under-18 team at the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he contributed 2 points in 6 games. He then helped the Czechs to a gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Championships with 2 points in 7 games. He made his second consecutive World Junior appearance in 2002 and improved to 7 points in 7 games.

After joining the NHL, Plekanec competed in the 2006 World Championships, where the Czech Republic captured a silver medal in Latvia. Plekanec scored the semi-final first Czech goal to defeat Finland 3–1 to put the Czechs in the gold medal game. He went on to make his second and third consecutive World Championships appearances in 2007 and 2008.

Career statisticsEdit

International statisticsEdit

External linksEdit

• Tomas Plekanec official site
• Tomáš Plekanec's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• ESPN.com profile