Vladimír Růžička (; born 6 June 1963) is a Czech

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 ...

coach and former professional player. Růžička was twice named the top player in the Czechoslovak Elite League, and was on the gold medal team in the

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and 1998 Olympic Games. He also played 233 games 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). Since 2008, Růžička has been the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of both

HC Slavia Praha HC Slavia Praha (eng: HC Slavia Prague) is a Czech ice hockey team located in Prague playing the Czech 1st National Hockey League, the second-highest league in the country. Slavia played in the Extraliga from 1994 until 2015, winning the nati ...

and the

Czech national ice hockey team The Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of the Czech Republic. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called " Big Six", the unofficial group of th ...

Playing career

Růžička started his career with Czechoslovak side

Litvínov Litvínov (; german: Leutensdorf) is a town in Most District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. It is known as an industrial centre. Administrative parts Litvínov is made up of 12 town parts an ...

, making his first appearance at the age of 16 and scoring after just 10 seconds in his first game, against

Dukla Jihlava HC Dukla Jihlava, founded in 1956, is an ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. It won the Czechoslovak Extraliga title 12 times: six consecutive championships beginning in 1967, then in 1974, four consecutive championships beginning in 1982, an ...

. Růžička was selected by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

73rd overall in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

. Despite this, he was barred from leaving Czechoslovakia by the Communist authorities. He continued to play internationally for Czechoslovakia before finally making his

NHL 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 ...

debut in 1989. Růžička had a short career in the NHL, playing a total of five seasons for 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 ...

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 ...

and

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. His best season statistically came in 1991–92 when he recorded 75 points (39 goals, 36 assists) with Boston, and led the team in scoring. He has a Stanley Cup ring and is on the 1990 Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup team picture. However, Růžička only played 25 regular season games and did not appear in the playoffs that season. Thus, his name was not engraved on the Stanley Cup. Růžička finished his NHL career with 233 games, scoring 82 goals and 85 assists. Růžička played 200 games for his national team, scoring 112 goals in the process. In 1985, he won a gold medal with Czechoslovakia at the

1985 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1985 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia from 17 April to 3 May. Eight teams took part, with each team playing each other once. The four best teams then played each other once more with no results carrying over ...

. He captained the gold medal winning Czech Republic team at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, going on to retire from the international team after the tournament.

Awards

* 1985: World championship All-star team * 1986:

Golden Hockey Stick The Golden Hockey Stick ( cs, Zlatá hokejka) is an award given to the top Czech ice hockey player. It was originally awarded to the top player in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, beginning in the 1968–69 season. After the Czech Republic ...

* 1988:

Coaching career

After retiring as a player in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

he started working as a coach in

and in 2002–03 and 2007–08 seasons his team won 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 ...

. Between 2002–2004 he was also an assistant

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

of the

. Shortly after he left the team, the head coach

Ivan Hlinka Ivan Hlinka (January 26, 1950 – August 16, 2004) was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey history. A big centre, his playing style was comparable to Phil ...

died and Růžička took over the position, leading 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 ...

team to the Vienna World Championship gold medal in 2005. Růžička has coached the

to two gold medals.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzicka, Vladimir 1963 births Living people Boston Bruins players Czech ice hockey coaches Czech ice hockey centres Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team coaches Czechoslovak ice hockey centres Edmonton Oilers players EV Zug players HC Litvínov players HK Dukla Trenčín players HC Slavia Praha players Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic ice hockey players of Czechoslovakia Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic Olympic medalists in ice hockey Ottawa Senators players Sportspeople from Most (city) Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Canada Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in the United States Czechoslovak expatriate ice hockey people Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland