Marek Malík (born June 24, 1975) 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, ...

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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played in 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) from 1994 to 2009.

Playing career

After playing with TJ Vitkovice Jr. in the Czech

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 ...

league, Malík was drafted 72nd overall by the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He played one season for HC Vítkovice of the

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 le ...

before joining the Whalers'

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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, in 1994–95. He played the better part of two seasons with the Falcons before earning a roster spot with the Whalers. Marek scored his first career NHL goal on October 19, 1996 against Jeff Reese and the New Jersey Devils in a 6-2 Whalers victory. While the Whalers' franchise relocated to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

in 1997–98 to become the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

, Malík played in the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Elitserien with the

Malmö Redhawks The IF Malmö Redhawks (colloquially referred to simply as Malmö or by past abbreviation MIF) is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Malmö which plays in the SHL, with Malmö Arena as the venue for home games. The history of the ...

. He returned to the NHL the following season with the Hurricanes. In 2001–02, Malík recorded a career-high 23 points. The following season, his ninth with the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise, Malík was traded to 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 (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

along with

Darren Langdon Darren Michael Langdon (born January 8, 1971) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Undrafted, he signed his first professional contract in 1993 with the New York Rangers. After retiring from the NHL, Langdon coached a fo ...

in exchange for

Jan Hlaváč Jan Hlaváč (born September 19, 1976) is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HC Stadion Vrchlabí in CZE.3. Playing career Hlaváč has played at the National Hockey League level for the New York Rangers, Phil ...

and

Harold Druken Harold Druken (born January 26, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted 36th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. He played for the Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs du ...

. He completed his second season with the Canucks, in 2003–04, as co-recipient of the NHL Plus/Minus Award (shared with

Martin St. Louis Martin St. Louis (French spelling Martin St-Louis, ; born June 18, 1975) is a Canadian hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He is the current head coach of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undraf ...

of 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 ...

) with a +35 rating. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Malík returned to the Czech Extraliga to play for HC Vítkovice. With NHL play set to resume the following season, he signed a three-year deal with 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 ...

. On November 26, 2005, Malík scored on

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, a ...

netminder

Olaf Kölzig Olaf Kölzig (born 6 April 1970) is a South African-born German former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltender coach and player development coach for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). With the excepti ...

to finish the then longest

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

in NHL history. The goal was described as a "circus shot" as Malík drew the puck towards the center of the net, put his stick between his legs, and shot high on Kölzig's stick side. With goalies

Henrik Lundqvist Henrik Lundqvist (; born 2 March 1982) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his entire 15-season career with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, he ...

and Kölzig dominant in net, the shootout went to 15 rounds. The teams had selected so many players to shoot that they were being forced to send out their weaker defencemen.

Bryan Muir Bryan D. Muir (born June 8, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 279 games in the National Hockey League, winning a Stanley Cup Championship with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. He last played with the Fran ...

of the Caps scored in round 14, and

Jason Strudwick Jason Wayne Strudwick (born July 17, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current broadcaster. Playing career Strudwick was drafted in the third round, 63rd overall, by the New York Islanders in the 1994 NHL Entry D ...

answered for the Rangers to tie the score again. The next Caps shooter (

Matt Bradley Matthew William Bradley (born June 13, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey scout and former player. He currently is a scout for the Washington Capitals. Bradley played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh ...

) was stopped by Lundqvist, which set the stage for Malík. He skated in on Kölzig, deked to his glove, pulled the puck back, put his stick through his legs, and flipped the puck in over Kölzig's blocker to score and win the game. He had not scored a goal during the season at the time. After the shot, he raised his arm and shrugged to the fans before being mobbed by his teammates. Former Rangers commentator John Davidson said, ''"Now I've seen it all! First Strudwick scores, then Malík wins a shootout with a shot between the legs. Oh Baby!"'' The goal was ranked as the play of the year by TSN's '' SportsCentre''. During his time with New York, Malík was criticized for his lack of physical play, despite his size, as well as his risky decision-making with the puck. These criticisms have been applied to Malík as early as his minor league days in Springfield. On January 24, 2008, he was not at the game on

Brian Leetch Brian Joseph Leetch (born March 3, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 18 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins. He has been called one of the to ...

Night, even though it was team policy for players to be present at games. He also did not attend practice and his locker was empty for the game after he refused to shake hands with head coach

Tom Renney Thomas Renney (born March 1, 1955) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and executive. He served as the chief executive officer of Hockey Canada from 2014 to 2022, and was previously an associate coach with the National Hockey League's Detroit ...

after a victory in the Rangers' previous game. On October 14, 2008, Malík signed a one-year contract with the

. On November 23, 2009, Malik signed a one-year contract with the

Genève-Servette HC The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at the ...

from the Swiss National League A. On May 7, 2014, Malik announced his retirement.

Awards

* Awarded the Plus/Minus Award in 2004 (co-recipient with

) * Bronze medal with the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

Personal life

Malík has a wife and two sons. Malik's teammates and coaches called him "Harry", a nickname he received during his rookie season in Hartford because (at that time) he reminded them of the title character from '' Harry and the Hendersons''.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Marek 1975 births Living people Beast of New Haven players Carolina Hurricanes players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey defencemen Genève-Servette HC players Hartford Whalers draft picks Hartford Whalers players HC TWK Innsbruck players HC Vítkovice players Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Malmö Redhawks players Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics New York Rangers players Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Olympic medalists in ice hockey Ice hockey people from Ostrava Springfield Falcons players Tampa Bay Lightning players Vancouver Canucks players Expatriate ice hockey players in Austria