Michael Frolík (; born 17 February 1988) is a 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 ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who is currently playing with

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Bílí Tygři Liberec (English: ''Liberec White Tigers'') are a professional ice hockey club based in Liberec, Czech Republic. The team competes in the Czech Extraliga, the highest level of play in professional Czech ice hockey. History The firs ...

in 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 leag ...

. Frolík has played in the NHL with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

, the organization that drafted him tenth overall in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, as well as the

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 i ...

, with whom he won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. He has also had stints with 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 ...

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

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 ...

and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Frolík played in the 2002

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a team from

Chomutov Chomutov (; german: Komotau) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The city centre is well preserved and is protec ...

. Frolík played two seasons in the

for Rabat Kladno before being selected tenth overall 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 ...

by the

. While playing in Kladno, Frolík was nicknamed "The Baby Jágr" due to his similar playing style and appearance to

Jaromír Jágr Jaromír Jágr (; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger for and the owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, ...

, who also played for Kladno earlier in his career. To add to his overwhelming resemblance, Frolík, who cites Jágr as his role model, wore #68 at the Panthers' rookie camp. Beginning in the 2006–07 season, Frolík began his North American career playing at the

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

level for the

Rimouski Océanic The Rimouski Océanic are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season as the Sherbrooke Castors. The Castors played in Sherbrooke from 1969 to 1982 before moving to ...

of the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

(QMJHL).

Professional

Florida Panthers

Frolík made his NHL debut for Florida during the 2008–09 season, in which he finished with 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 79 games. Frolik recorded 43 points the following season.

Chicago Blackhawks

On 9 February 2011, during Frolík's third season with the Panthers, in 2010–11, he was traded to the

(along with goaltender

Alexander Salák Alexander Salák (born January 5, 1987) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He played two games in the National ...

) in exchange for

Jack Skille Jack Skille (born May 19, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche, and the Vancouver C ...

Hugh Jessiman Hugh S. Jessiman (born March 28, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger. Drafted by the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the first round, 12th overall, of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Jessiman played ...

and David Pacan. Frolík scored his first goal as a Blackhawk on 2 March 2011, against the

. On 24 April, he scored the first Stanley Cup playoff penalty shot in Blackhawks history against goaltender

Cory Schneider Cory Franklin Schneider (born March 18, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Bridgeport Islanders in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

of 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 Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. On 15 July 2011, Frolík signed a three-year contract extension with the Blackhawks at an annual average value of $2.333 million. During the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...

, Frolík played for

Piráti Chomutov Piráti Chomutov is a Czech ice hockey team from Chomutov, Czech Republic. Established as ČSK Chomutov in 1945, the team has played in Chomutov through numerous team name changes and elevations/relegations in the Czechoslovak and Czech hockey l ...

of the

. On 27 May 2013, during the 2013 playoffs, he scored the second playoff penalty shot goal of his career against

Jimmy Howard James Russell Howard III (Jimmy Howard) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender and currently a Detroit Red Wings studio analyst for Bally Sports Detroit. He spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit ...

of the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

, becoming the first player in NHL history to score more than one career penalty shot goal in the playoffs. He ultimately scored ten points in the playoffs en route to the Blackhawks'

victory over 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 in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in six games.

Winnipeg Jets

In the subsequent off-season, on 30 June 2013, Frolík was traded to the

in exchange for a third- and fifth-round pick at the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Alek ...

. In the 2013–14 season opener on 2 October 2013, at

Rexall Place Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands (organization), Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hock ...

against the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, Frolík scored twice in a 5–4 Winnipeg win. On 29 July 2014, Frolík and the Jets agreed on a one-year, $3.3 million contract. He finished with 19 goals and 23 assists on in the regular season, but was held pointless during the Jets' four-game sweep at the hands of the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

in the 2015 playoffs.

Calgary Flames

On 1 July 2015, Frolík, as an unrestricted free agent, signed a five-year, $21 million contract with the

at an annual average value of $4.3 million.

Buffalo Sabres

During his final year under contract with the Flames in the 2019–20 season, unable to replicate his offensive production from previous years with 10 points through 38 games, Frolik was traded by the Flames to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a fourth-round pick in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

on 2 January 2020.

Montreal Canadiens

On 23 December 2020, Frolík signed as a free agent to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the

St. Louis Blues

As a free agent over the summer and approaching the season, Frolík accepted an invitation to attend the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

training camp on a Professional Tryout contract on 18 September 2021.

Lausanne HC

On 15 October 2021, Frolík joined

Lausanne HC , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) on a two-year deal through the 2022/23 season.

Personal life

His wife is former

Miss Czech Republic Miss Czech Republic is a national beauty pageant in the Czech Republic where the winner represents the country at Miss World. History Miss Czech Republic was founded by and still to this day organized by . The organization was originally called ...

2001, model and TV/radio personality Diana Kobzanová. They have two daughters together.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frolik, Michael 1988 births Buffalo Sabres players Calgary Flames players Chicago Blackhawks players Czech ice hockey right wingers Florida Panthers draft picks Florida Panthers players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Rytíři Kladno players Lausanne HC players Laval Rocket players Living people Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic Sportspeople from Kladno Piráti Chomutov players Rimouski Océanic players Stanley Cup champions Winnipeg Jets players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics