Ľubomír Vaic (born 6 March 1977) is a Slovak former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who spent most of his career in the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

. After several years in Slovakia Vaic joined the Canucks in 1999, and played 9 games for them over two seasons. He returned to Europe in 2000, and continued to play in various leagues before retiring in 2017. Internationally Vaic played for the Slovakian national team at several tournaments at both the junior and senior level, and won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championship.

Biography

As a youth, Vaic played in the 1991

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Poprad Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the ten ...

. Drafted by the Canucks 227th overall in the

1996 NHL Entry Draft The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season. ...

, Vaic came to North America a year later. He scored 27 points in 50 games for the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

, Vancouver's AHL affiliate. He also earned a 5-game callup to the Canucks, where he scored his only NHL goal, and added an assist. Vaic returned to Slovakia for another year before returning to the Canucks organization for the 1999–2000 season. However, he would find himself in much the same situation, scoring 42 points in 63 games for Syracuse, and being held pointless in 4 NHL games in Vancouver. Following the season he returned to Europe, signing with

Eisbären Berlin Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also one ...

. Vaic became something of a nomad, appearing with five clubs in five different major European leagues over the next five seasons. He was, however, a consistent offensive performer, and helped

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They a ...

to the Russian league championship in 2003–04. He would finally find a long-term home in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...

, after signing with

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Bílí Tygři Liberec (English: ''Liberec White Tigers'') are a professional ice hockey club based in Liberec, Czech Republic. The team competes in the Czech Extraliga, the highest level of play in professional Czech ice hockey. History The firs ...

in 2004. In 2005–06, he finished 2nd in scoring in the Extraliga, and helped Liberec to the league championship. At the end of the 2006–07 season he joined

HC Sparta Prague Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as ...

. Vaic has appeared in 9 NHL games, recording a goal and an assist for two points. He has also represented Slovakia at three

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, winning a silver medal in 2000 and a bronze medal in 2003.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaic, Lubomir 1977 births Living people Eisbären Berlin players HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players HC Košice players HC Slovan Bratislava players HC Sparta Praha players HK Poprad players HK Spišská Nová Ves players Metallurg Magnitogorsk players Sportspeople from Spišská Nová Ves SaiPa players Slovak ice hockey centres Syracuse Crunch players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players VHK Vsetín players Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Finland