Tomáš Slovák (born April 5, 1983) is a Slovak 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 ...

. He is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted 42nd overall by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in the

2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are M ...

Playing career

Slovak played as a youth in the developmental program of hometown club,

HC Košice Hockey Club Košice is a Slovak professional ice hockey club based in Košice that competes in the Slovak Extraliga, the top tier of Slovak ice hockey. It is the most successful hockey club in Slovakia and the former Czechoslovakia, having won th ...

, from 1997 to 2001. He made his

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

debut with Košice in the 1999–00 season, appearing in a pair of games. After impressing on the international junior stage for the Slovak junior team, Slovak was selected by the Nashville Predators in the second round, 42nd overall, in the

. With intention to pursue an NHL career, Slovak opted to play major junior hockey in North America after he was drafted 4th overall in the 2001

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

Kelowna Rockets The Kelowna Rockets are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The Rockets play in the Western Hockey League (WHL), out of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They play their home games at Prospera Place. The Roc ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL). Slovak enjoyed a standout second season with the Rockets in 2002–03, contributing with 71 points in 65 games to lead the league amongst defensemen. Having concluded his junior career, Slovak's was expected to compete for a roster position on the Predators defense corps. However, with the Predators going heavy in

2003 NHL Entry Draft The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the 41st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 21 and 22, 2003. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was ...

on blue chip defenseman

Ryan Suter Ryan Suter (born January 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild. Suter's father, Bob Suter, was ...

and

Shea Weber Shea Michael Weber (born August 14, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman under contract with the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played sixteen seasons in the NHL for the Nashville Predators and M ...

, his rights were traded by the Nashville Predators to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

in exchange for Sergei Soin on June 21, 2003. On July 15, 2003, Slovak agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Avalanche. After attending the Avalanche's training camp, Slovak was assigned to begin his rookie season with affiliate,

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

, of the

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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. In the 2003–04 season, Slovak split time between the Bears and the

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown Re ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. He contributed with 11 points in 43 AHL games. In the following 2004–05 season, with his role affected with the Bears by the

2004–05 NHL Lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Slovak returned to Slovakia after just one game with the Bears and played out the season with HC Košice. Slovak returned to North America for the final year of his entry-level contract with the Avalanche in the 2005–06 season. He was familiarly assigned by Colorado to the AHL, playing with new partner the

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

. In 59 games, Slovak produced just 8 assists from the blueline, signalling the end of his tenure within the Avalanche organization. On the opening day of free agency, Slovak was unable to gain NHL interest and opted to sign a contract with Swedish club,

Mora IK Mora IK (or Mora Ishockeyklubb) is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Mora in northern Dalarna. After failing the 2019 SHL qualifiers, Mora has been relegated for play in the second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan. Mora has previously pla ...

of the then

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

on July 1, 2006. He played just 6 games with Mora in the 2006–07 season, before embarking on a tumultuous year by playing in four separate European teams in three different leagues. From his return to European hockey, Slovak adapted to his journeyman status and has played in 6 countries and 14 clubs. Playing predominately in the Czech Extraliga over the last 7 years, Slovak agreed to extend his playing career by signing a one-year contract with Piráti Chomutov on May 1, 2017. His signing marked a return to Chomutov after 6 years from his first stint in the Czech 1st Division.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links