Libor Hájek (born 4 February 1998) 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 ...

defenceman 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 ...

for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

of the

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 ...

(NHL). He was selected by 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 ...

, in the second round, 37th overall, in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

Playing career

Hájek made his

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) debut playing 17 games with

HC Kometa Brno HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 13 Czechoslovak (and Czech) league ch ...

during the 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season. In opting to continue his development in the CHL, Hájek was selected second overall in the 2015

CHL Import Draft The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) may select the rights to eligible import players. An import is classified as a player who does not have residency status in either Canada or the U ...

by the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat SaskTe ...

of the WHL. At the completion of his second season with the Blades, Hájek was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the

on March 21, 2017. He immediately joined primary affiliate, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

of the AHL on an amateur try-out to play out the remainder of the 2016–17 season. On 26 February 2018, Hájek was traded to the

, along with

Vladislav Namestnikov Vladislav Yevgenievich Namestnikov (russian: link=no, Владислав Евгеньевич Наместников; born 22 November 1992) is a Russian professional ice hockey centre for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He ...

Brett Howden Brett Howden (born March 29, 1998) is a Canadian ice hockey centre for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Howden was drafted 27th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing career Junior ...

, and two draft picks, for

Ryan McDonagh Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, he play ...

and J. T. Miller. Hájek recorded his first career NHL assist off a goal by

Mika Zibanejad Mika Zibanejad ( fa, میکا زیبانژاد; born 18 April 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey center (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey Le ...

during the 2019–20 season opener against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

on 3 October. On 13 November 2020, Hájek was loaned to HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). On 7 September 2021, the Rangers re-signed Hájek to a one-year contract. On 12 July 2022, he was signed to a one-year contract extension.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1998 births Living people Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey defencemen Hartford Wolf Pack players HC Kometa Brno players New York Rangers players People from Žďár nad Sázavou District Regina Pats players Saskatoon Blades players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Sportspeople from the Vysočina Region {{CzechRepublic-icehockey-defenceman-stub