Jiří Sekáč (born 10 June 1992) is a Czech 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 ...

player for

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL). Originally undrafted by teams 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), Sekáč has previously played for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

, and

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

Playing career

As a youth, Sekáč played in the 2005

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with a team from

Chomutov Chomutov (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as ...

. Sekáč later played with

HC Lev Praha Hockey Club Lev Praha (stylized as HC LEV Praha) was a professional ice hockey team located in Prague, Czech Republic, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. In their two seasons played, Le ...

in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

and

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

in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

. On 1 July 2014 Sekáč signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens worth $1,850,000. In his first North American season in 2014–15 he scored his first NHL goal on 16 October 2014 against

Tuukka Rask Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finns, Finnish former professional ice hockey Goaltender (ice hockey), goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston ...

of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

. On 13 January 2015 Sekáč was invited to the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition as a replacement for

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

' forward

Tanner Pearson Tanner Pearson (born August 10, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 30th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings ...

. Known for his skating speed, he was drafted by Team Foligno, along with Canadiens' teammate

Carey Price Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently under contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the best goaltenders in the world during his career, ...

, and participated in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater race, beating

Aaron Ekblad Aaron Ekblad (born February 7, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ekblad was selected first overall ...

with a time of 13.683s, making him the 6th fastest of the event. After 50 games with the Canadiens on 24 February 2015 he was traded to the

in exchange for

Devante Smith-Pelly Devante Malik Smith-Pelly (born June 14, 1992) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger. He was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Smith-Pelly p ...

. In the following 2015–16 season, Sekáč was unable to secure a regular forward role and appeared in 22 games for 3 points with the Ducks before he was traded to the

in exchange for

Ryan Garbutt Ryan Jonathan Garbutt (born August 12, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He last played under contract to ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Undrafted, Garbutt attended Brown University, p ...

on 21 January 2016. Sekáč was used sparingly in 6 games with the Blackhawks registering one assist before being placed on waivers and claimed by the Arizona Coyotes on 27 February 2016. Sekac closed out the season with the Coyotes, appearing 11 games for two assists. On 6 June 2016 Sekáč headed back to Europe and signed a one-year deal with

Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (, , ), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a professional ice hockey club based in Kazan, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). History Founded as Mashstroy Kazan in 1956, the n ...

in a return to the Kontinental Hockey League. On 1 May 2019, after three productive seasons with Ak Bars, Sekáč was traded to reigning champions

HC CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow (, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a professional ice hockey club based in Moscow, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It is referred to in the West as "Central R ...

in exchange for Igor Ozhiganov's KHL rights. He registered 25 points in 45 regular season games, before ending his season through injury. A free agent from CSKA, Sekáč continued his career in the KHL, agreeing to a one-year contract with

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a professional ice hockey club based in Omsk, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Franchise history Early years of Omsk hock ...

on 16 July 2020. On 28 July 2021, Sekáč joined

Lausanne HC Lausanne Hockey Club is an ice hockey team based in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the HC Lausanne signed National Hockey League players Martin St. Louis and Andy Ro ...

of the

(NL) on a three-year deal through the end of the 2023–24 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sekac, Jiri 1992 births Living people Ak Bars Kazan players Anaheim Ducks players Arizona Coyotes players Avangard Omsk players Chicago Blackhawks players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey left wingers HC CSKA Moscow players HC Lev Poprad players HC Lev Praha players HC Sparta Praha players Ice hockey people from Kladno Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Lausanne HC players Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Montreal Canadiens players Peterborough Petes (ice hockey) players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Undrafted National Hockey League players Youngstown Phantoms players 21st-century Czech sportsmen