Robert Holík (born January 1, 1971) is a Czech-American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

center who played 18 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Holík is the son of Jaroslav Holík, a Czechoslovak ice hockey world champion in 1972 and Czech national team head coach who led the under-20 team to world titles in 2000 and 2001. Holík is the current head coach of the

Israel men's national ice hockey team The Israel national ice hockey team () is the national men's ice hockey team of Israel. Israel was ranked 35th as of May 2017 by the International Ice Hockey Federation. In 2019, the team won the gold medal in the 2019 IIHF World Championship Div ...

Playing career

Holík began his NHL career playing for the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

in 1990 after being selected tenth overall by them in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. After two seasons with the Whalers, he was traded to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

where he played for ten seasons, featuring as a member of the " Crash Line" alongside Mike Peluso and Randy McKay, and winning two

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

championships, in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Prior to the 2002–03 season, as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, Holík signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. In 2005, following the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, the Rangers bought out the remainder of Holík's contract, after which he signed with the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

. On October 2, 2007, he was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Thrashers for the 2007–08 season. On July 1, 2008, as a free agent, Holík signed a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils for the 2008–09 season, returning to the team he played ten seasons with. On May 23, 2009, following the conclusion of the 2008–09 season, Holík announced his retirement from the NHL. He was 38 when he retired and cited a focus to be with his family. Since 2017, Holík has run a hockey school in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and coached their U-18 and U-20 programs.

Personal life

Holík became an American citizen in a ceremony in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, on November 4, 1996. He is married with a daughter, Hannah Marie Holík, born in 1997, and splits his time between

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Holík's nephew, David Musil, was drafted by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. Holík is an avid rifle, pistol and shotgun enthusiast. After being introduced to firearms manufacturer CZ-USA's president Alice Poluchová by shooting instructor Shepard Humphries, Holík became CZ-USA's celebrity representative.

Awards and achievements

champion – 1994–95, 1999–2000 * NHL All-Star –

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holik, Bobby 1971 births Living people American people of Czech descent Atlanta Thrashers captains Atlanta Thrashers players Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Czech ice hockey centres Czechoslovak ice hockey centres Hartford Whalers draft picks Hartford Whalers players Israel men's national ice hockey team coaches National Hockey League All-Stars NHL first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils players New York Rangers players Ice hockey people from Jihlava Stanley Cup champions Utica Devils players Czech expatriate sportspeople in Israel American expatriate sportspeople in Israel Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in the United States Czechoslovak expatriate ice hockey people Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States Naturalised ice hockey players