Patrik Štefan (born 16 September 1980) 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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 ...

player who was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the

1999 NHL Entry Draft The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talen ...

Playing career

Prior to being drafted by the Thrashers, Štefan played for Sparta Praha in 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 ...

, and the

Long Beach Ice Dogs The Long Beach Ice Dogs were an American professional ice hockey team based in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach Sports Arena. They played until the end of the 2006–07 ECHL season. History The Ice Dogs trace their origins to the San Di ...

of the IHL. Štefan played six seasons for the Atlanta Thrashers scoring 177 points. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Štefan played for Ilves Tampere in the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. In 37 games, Štefan collected a total of 41 points including 28 assists. In the playoffs, Štefan had six assists and a goal in seven games. On 24 June 2006, Štefan was traded to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

along with

Jaroslav Modrý Jaroslav Modrý (born 27 February 1971) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Star ...

for

Niko Kapanen Niko Klaus Petteri Kapanen (born 29 April 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre, who last played for HPK of the Finnish Liiga. Playing career Kapanen was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the 6th round as the 173rd overall pick i ...

and a 7th round draft pick in 2006.

Empty net blunder

Štefan earned significant notoriety on 4 January 2007 for a blunder during a game 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 ...

. With seconds left in the game, and Dallas already ahead by a goal, Štefan gained possession of the puck and found himself on a breakaway towards an empty net. Štefan continued skating towards the crease rather than immediately shooting, then attempted a casual backhand into the net from close quarters. The puck hit bad ice and bounced up and over his stick, causing him to miss the goal, trip, and fall against the ice. To compound the error, he then cleared the puck in the direction of the Oilers. This allowed a play to develop where fellow Czech

Aleš Hemský Aleš Hemský (, born 13 August 1983) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He most recently played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally a member of the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him i ...

scored with two seconds remaining to tie the game 5-5; ultimately, Dallas won in a shootout. After Štefan's contract expired in 2007, the

chose not to re-sign him. Štefan signed with

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. For the 18th year in a row, the club is the mos ...

of the Nationalliga A, but he only played three games for them before retiring in October 2007, largely due to a serious hip injury, the latest of several chronic injuries that plagued his career.Patrik Stefan retires from hockey
/ref> He is currently a player agent in the Detroit area, and a youth coach with 15U Little Caesars Hockey.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Honours and achievements

* Won silver medal at

2006 IIHF World Championship The 2006 IIHF World Championship was held in between 5–21 May 2006 in Riga, Latvia. It was the 70th annual event, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). One of the requirements of the IIHF for Latvia to host the even ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stefan, Patrik 1980 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers draft picks Atlanta Thrashers players Chicago Wolves players Czech ice hockey centres Dallas Stars players HC Sparta Praha players Ilves players Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) players National Hockey League first-overall draft picks National Hockey League first-round draft picks Sportspeople from Příbram SC Bern players