Jaroslav "Yogi" Svejkovský (born October 1, 1976) is a Czech 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 ...

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

. He was drafted in the first round, 17th overall, by 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 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. ...

Career

Drafted from the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center (Kennewick), Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City A ...

, Svejkovský made his professional debut with the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

in the 1996–97 season. He made his

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

debut during the same season with the Capitals, appearing in 19 games and scoring seven goals. In the Capitals' last game of the 1996–97 season, Svejkovský scored four goals, as Washington beat the Buffalo Sabres 8–3. , he is the only Capitals rookie to score four goals in one game. Svejkovský played parts of three more seasons with the Capitals, he was then traded to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

during the 1999–2000 season. Svejkovský finished the season with the Lightning, then spent the 2000–01 season in the International Hockey League with the Detroit Vipers. He sustained a concussion during his second game for the Vipers, subsequently retiring from the sport without taking part in any more games. In a 2002

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story,

general manager

Jay Feaster Jay Harry Feaster (born July 30, 1962) is a National Hockey League (NHL) executive currently serving as the Executive Director of Community Hockey Development for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is the former general manager of the Calgary Flames, hav ...

said that Svejkovský was out of hockey due to

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or a year or more after a concussion – medically classified as a so-called mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About 34 to 35% of people with concussi ...

. In his NHL career, Svejkovský appeared in 113 games, scoring 23 goals and adding 19 assists.

Personal life

Currently, Svejkovský is a skills coach with the Vancouver Giants of the

. He is also Director of Hockey Operations with the Seafair Minor Hockey Association, and Program Director of the BC Bears AAA spring hockey association.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards

* WHL West Second All-Star Team – 1995-96 season *

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award The Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award is given each year to the player in the American Hockey League determined to be the most outstanding rookie. The award is based on voting by the media and the players. It was named after Dudley "Red" Garrett ...

(most outstanding rookie in AHL): 1996–97 season

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Svejkovsky, Jaroslav 1976 births Living people Czech ice hockey left wingers Detroit Vipers players HC Plzeň players HC Tábor players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Sportspeople from Plzeň Portland Pirates players Tampa Bay Lightning players Tri-City Americans players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players Czech ice hockey coaches Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech expatriate sportspeople in Canada