David Volek (born 16 August 1966) is a 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 ...

player. Volek was born in the former

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, where he played in 1983–84 for TJ Slavia PS Karlovy Vary. He later moved to

HC Sparta Praha Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as w ...

and became a member of the Czechoslovakian national ice hockey team for the 1988 Winter Olympics. In 1988 he gained permission from the Czech authorities to visit his parents in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and used this permission to defect to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He joined the New York Islanders, having been selected by them in the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lowe ...

, and was named to the

NHL All-Rookie Team The NHL All-Rookie Team is chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from the best rookies in the National Hockey League at each position for the season just concluded based on their performance in that year. The team was first named a ...

in 1988–89. Volek is best remembered for scoring an overtime goal that eliminated the favoured and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

from the

1993 Stanley Cup playoffs The 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began after the conclusion of the 1992–93 NHL season on April 18 and ended with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Los Angeles Kings four games to one ...

. The goal came at 5:16 of overtime in the seventh (and deciding) game of the second round of the playoffs. CBC ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

'' announcer

Chris Cuthbert Chris Cuthbert (born September 20, 1957) is a Canadian sportscaster. He is the lead play-by-play commentator for ''NHL on Sportsnet'' and ''Hockey Night in Canada'', since 2021. Formerly, he worked for TSN, NBC, and CBC Sports in a multitude of ...

called Volek's play in a dramatic fashion: The next year, a

herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

forced Volek to retire from the NHL. Volek finished his NHL career, which was spent exclusively with the Islanders, with 95 goals and 154 assists for 249 points. He underwent back surgery the following year in an attempt to return to the game, but after five games with HC Sparta Praha, he was forced to retire for good. Volek has been the assistant coach of HC Sparta Praha since 2005. Between his retirement from playing in 1996 and 2005 he was a scout.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Volek, David 1966 births Living people Buffalo Sabres scouts Calgary Flames scouts Czech ice hockey coaches Czech ice hockey forwards Czechoslovak ice hockey forwards HC Sparta Praha players Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Olympic ice hockey players of Czechoslovakia Ice hockey people from Prague Vancouver Canucks scouts Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in the United States Czechoslovak defectors Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Canada