Jakub Jeřábek (born 12 May 1991) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

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 ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is currently playing with

HC Oceláři Třinec HC Oceláři Třinec (''Třinec Steelers'') is a Czech ice hockey team from Třinec who play in the Czech Extraliga, the top tier of Czech ice hockey. Their home arena is the Werk Arena. The team's main sponsors are the local Třinec Iron and Steel ...

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 ...

(ELH).

Playing career

Jeřábek played as a youth with his hometown club, HC Plzeň. Undrafted, he remained in the Czech Republic and made his senior debut with Plzeň in the

during the 2008–09 season. Over the following three seasons, Jeřábek continued his development before cementing a full-time role on the blueline of Plzeň in the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. In establishing himself as the club's top defenseman, Jeřábek was recognised in the 2015–16 season, as the league's best defenseman in compiling 33 points in 52 games with Plzeň. To play at a higher level, Jeřábek left Plzeň after eight senior seasons in signing a one-year contract with Russian outfit, Vityaz of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL) on 5 May 2016. In the ensuing 2016–17 season, Jeřábek instantly assumed the role as Vityaz's top pairing defenseman. He led the blueline with 5 goals and 29 assists for 34 points in 59 games, placing him 6th in overall scoring. He was also selected to represent Vityaz at the 2017

KHL All-Star Game The Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game (russian: Матч всех звёзд Континентальной хоккейной лиги) is an exhibition ice hockey game that marks the midway point of the Kontinental Hockey League's regular s ...

. In attracting NHL interest and at the conclusion of his contract with Vityaz, Jeřábek signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

on 1 May 2017. In the 2017–18 season, Jeřábek was initially assigned to AHL affiliate,

Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket (french: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play th ...

. On 22 November 2017, he received his first recall to the NHL. He appeared in 25 games with the Canadiens before on 21 February 2018, Jeřábek was traded to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. Jeřábek played in 11 games during his first season with the Capitals, and scored his only goal with the Caps against his former team in a March game against the Canadiens. Jeřábek also started the first two playoff games of the first round against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

during the Capitals' 2018 Stanley Cup run, but was subsequently scratched for fellow rookie

Christian Djoos Christian Djoos (born 6 August 1994) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). Djoos was selected by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round (195th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Djo ...

. As a free agent from the Cup-winning Capitals, Jeřábek was signed to a one-year contract with 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 of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

on 20 August 2018. Before starting the 2018–19 season, Jeřábek was traded to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

for a conditional 6th-round draft pick in the

2020 NHL Entry Draft The 2020 NHL Entry Draft was the 58th NHL Entry Draft, held from October 6–7, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pan ...

. He played in a single game with the Blues before he was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

, for the remainder of the season. On 3 May 2019, as an impending free agent from the Blues, Jeřábek opted to leave the NHL and return on a one-year contract to Russian club, HC Vityaz of the KHL. Following two seasons with Vityaz Podolsk, Jeřábek left as a free agent and was signed to a one-year contract to continue in the KHL with

HC Spartak Moscow HC Spartak Moscow (russian: ХК Спартак Москва, en, Spartak Moskva) is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. They played in the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2013–14 KHL season, 20 ...

on 29 July 2021. On 6 June 2022, as a free agent, Jeřábek opted to return to his native Czech Republic, returning to the ELH after six years in agreeing to a one-year contract with HC Oceláři Třinec.

International play

Jeřábek captained the junior Czech Republic team at the 2011 World Junior Championships and was the third highest scoring defenceman of the tournament, after

Ryan Ellis Ryan James Ellis (born January 3, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ellis was drafted eleventh overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ...

and Dmitri Orlov.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerabek, Jakub 1991 births Living people Czech ice hockey defencemen Laval Rocket players Montreal Canadiens players Piráti Chomutov players HC Plzeň players Sportspeople from Plzeň St. Louis Blues players San Antonio Rampage players HC Spartak Moscow players Stanley Cup champions Undrafted National Hockey League players HC Vityaz players Washington Capitals players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States