Jiří Dudáček (born April 4, 1962) is a 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 h ...
right wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
. He was drafted in the first round, 17th overall, by the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
in the
1981 NHL Entry Draft
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, making him the first Czechoslovak player to be selected in the first round of a
National Hockey League
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 ...
draft. Dudáček was a star for the Czechoslovak team at the
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...
in 1980 and 1981, and was considered by many NHL scouts to be the top junior prospect in the 1981 draft class.
[1981 NHL Entry Draft – Jiri Dudacek](_blank)
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As Czechoslovakia was a Communist country at the time of Dudáček's drafting, bringing him to North America was a difficult proposition for the Sabres organization. Dudáček's father was also a high-ranking Communist party member.
While other teams helped Czechoslovak players sneak out of their homeland to come to the NHL, Sabres general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Scotty Bowman
William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ...
attempted to convince Czechoslovak officials to legally allow Dudáček to come to Buffalo. All efforts were declined by the Czechoslovak sports authorities, though, claiming Dudáček was "too young" to leave the country.
Playing career
Dudáček played for the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
The Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team was the national ice hockey team of Czechoslovakia, and competed from 1920 until 1992. The successor to the Bohemia national ice hockey team, which ...
in the 1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
and 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
Canada Cup
The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true worl ...
s. He was among Czechoslovakia's leading scorers in 1981, tallying four goals and two assists in six games. In 1984, he went scoreless in four games.Hockey Hall of Fame - Pro Classics: Canada Cup 1984 Czechoslovakia Team Roster
Dudáček never made it to North America to play for the Sabres organization. Instead, he spent his career playing for
HC Kladno and
HC Jihlava
HC Dukla Jihlava, founded in 1956, is an ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. It won the Czechoslovak Extraliga title 12 times: six consecutive championships beginning in 1967, then in 1974, four consecutive championships beginning in 1982, a ...
in the
Czechoslovak Extraliga
The Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League was the elite ice hockey league in Czechoslovakia from 1936 until 1993, when the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Slovak Extraliga and Czech Extraliga formed from the split.
History ...
, until his retirement in 1991.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
External links
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudacek, Jiri
Czechoslovak ice hockey right wingers
Czech ice hockey right wingers
Buffalo Sabres draft picks
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
1962 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kladno
Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in France
Czechoslovak expatriate ice hockey people
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Germany