Juraj Šimek (born 29 September 1987) is a Slovak-born

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

player. He is currently playing with

GKS Katowice GKS Katowice (; GKS stands for , "Miners Sporting Club") is a Polish football club based in Katowice, Poland. The club currently plays in the I liga, after having won promotion in 2021. History In 1963 in Katowice a special organizational ...

of the

Polska Hokej Liga The Polska Hokej Liga is the premier ice hockey league in Poland. Previously, it was known as the I Liga or Ekstraklasa from 1926 to 1999, and the Polska Liga Hokejowa from 1999 to 2013. In 2013, it was reorganized as a limited liability company ...

(PHL).

Playing career

Prior to moving to North America, Šimek played in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

between the

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

and senior ( Nationalliga A and B) leagues with

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the Gl ...

, and

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) B ...

. After a strong season with Kloten's junior team in 2005–06, posting 68 points in 45 games, Šimek was chosen in the sixth round, 167th overall, by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

in the

2006 NHL Entry Draft The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006. The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006. The draft was ...

. Selected by the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hoc ...

with their first choice in the 2006

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

(CHL) Import Draft, Šimek made his North American debut in 2006–07 with the Wheat Kings. He scored at a near point-per-game pace, with 57 points in 58 games and received his first NHL contract in the off-season, on July 23, 2007, with the Canucks. Signed with the Canucks, he made his AHL debut with Vancouver's minor league affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

, in 2007–08 and scored 17 points in 66 games. On October 6, 2008, he was traded along with

Lukáš Krajíček Lukáš Krajíček (, born March 11, 1983) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers ...

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 ...

for

Michel Ouellet Michel Ouellet (born March 5, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ouellet was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 4th round (124th overall) of the 2000 NHL Entry ...

and Shane O'Brien. On December 9, 2010, Tampa Bay traded Šimek to the Boston Bruins in exchange for minor league forward Levi Nelson. On October 15, 2019, Genève-Servette HC managed to loan struggling Simek to the

SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers The SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland and are members of the National League. History The Lakers were founded in 1945 and were known as SC Rapperswil-Jona until 2005, when the club change ...

through November 10. It was later announced that Simek would remain with the Lakers for the remainder of the 2019/20 season. On April 29, 2020, Simek joined

EHC Kloten EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...

of the second-tier

Swiss League The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, th ...

on a one-year deal.

International play

Šimek has played for the Swiss national junior team twice at the World Junior Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1987 births Brandon Wheat Kings players EHC Biel players EHC Bülach players Genève-Servette HC players HC Lugano players HC TPS players Living people Manitoba Moose players Norfolk Admirals players Sportspeople from Prešov Ice hockey people from the Prešov Region HC 21 Prešov players Providence Bruins players SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players Slovak ice hockey right wingers Swiss ice hockey right wingers Vancouver Canucks draft picks Slovak emigrants to Switzerland Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Finland Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Poland Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Canada Swiss expatriate sportspeople in the United States Swiss expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Expatriate ice hockey players in Poland {{Switzerland-icehockey-bio-stub