Marek Svatoš (17 June 1982 – 4 November 2016) was 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 ...

winger. He last played during the 2013–14 season in the

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 ...

with

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

, the same club with which he began his career in 1999. Svatoš played 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) for several seasons, mostly with 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 ...

; his last stint in the NHL was in the 2010–11 season, during which he played with 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 ...

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 ...

after beginning the season in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL) with

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (russian: ХК Авангард, links=no, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team from Omsk. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental H ...

Playing career

Svatoš was drafted 227th overall by the

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 ...

. He played his first NHL games for the Avalanche in the 2003–04 season. Following a strong performance in the Avalanche's second-round loss in the playoffs, he returned to the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the

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 ...

, during the

2004 NHL lockout 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. Svatoš recorded his first career

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in the NHL against the

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 ...

in a 7–3 win on 10 October 2005. He was chosen to play in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy, as part of the Slovak national team. On 9 March 2006, it was announced that Svatoš sustained a fracture to his right shoulder that forced him to miss the rest of the 2005–06 season. At the time of his injury, Svatoš led the NHL in game-winning goals with nine, which tied an NHL record for game-winning goals by a rookie. He was also one of the top rookie scorers with 32 goals in 61 games. Svatoš' numbers dropped in 2006–07, his second season, as he recorded 15 goals and 15 assists in 66 games while suffering a recurring groin injury throughout the season. Svatoš was leading the Avalanche with 26 goals during the 2007–08 campaign when he suffered a torn ACL in a game against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

on 1 March 2008. Svatoš missed the final sixteen games of the season and the additional playoff series, but still placed second in goals on the team. On 25 July 2008, Svatoš re-signed with the Avalanche for a further two years, avoiding arbitration scheduled on the same day. He managed to return to the opening night roster for the 2008–09 season, recovering from his ACL tear gradually as the season went on. He played in 69 games with the Avalanche before injuring his hand on 7 April 2009, in a 0–1 overtime loss against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in San Jose, ending his play with three games left in the season. His 14 goals tied

Wojtek Wolski Wojciech "Wojtek" Wolski (; born February 24, 1986) is a Polish-Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florid ...

for fourth on the Western Conference last-placed Avalanche. In the 2009–10 season, Svatoš was limited to 54 games, again missing 18 games through groin and chest injuries. With a sixth consecutive NHL season affected by injury, he suffered from a loss of form, and under new coach

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books ''Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian relati ...

was relegated to a reserve role and recorded a career-low 7 goals and 11 points. Without a contract offer, Svatoš left the NHL and signed a one-year contract during the early stages of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

European season with Russian team Avangard Omsk of the KHL, on 24 September 2010. In 19 games with Omsk, he posted 3 goals and 8 points before he was granted a release, after both sides agreed to terminate the deal on 23 December 2010. On 28 December 2010, Svatoš returned to North America with NHL ambitions, signing a one-year,

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with 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 ...

. However, in order to return to the NHL he was placed on waivers due to starting the season in Europe and the following day on 29 December, was subsequently claimed by the Nashville Predators. On 31 December 2010, he dressed for the Predators to make his

season debut in an away game win over the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. In his fourth game, Svatos registered his only goal for the Predators in a 5–2 victory over the

on 6 January 2011. Leading up to the trade deadline, Svatos was waived by the Predators after nine games and was subsequently claimed by the

on 24 February 2011. Svatos earned a regular shift with the Senators and on 27 March 2011, he scored his second goal of the game, which marked his 100th career NHL goal, in a defeat by the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

. Svatos appeared in 19 games for the Senators before he suffered a season ending concussion as a result of a check from Jay Rosehill in a late season contest against 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 ...

. After sitting out the entire 2011–12 season recovering from injury, Svatoš signed a try-out contract to attend 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 ...

' training camp for the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, following a resolution to the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

on 7 January 2013. Upon completion of the abbreviated training camp, Svatoš was released two days prior to the regular season on 17 January 2013. Shortly after leaving Panthers camp, Svatoš signed with KHL team Slovan Bratislava in his home country for the remainder of the

season on 22 January 2013. Svatoš opted to remain in Slovakia the following season. As a free agent, he signed a one-year contract with

of the

on 18 September 2013. He helped his hometown club win their seventh league title in the final season of his hockey career.

Death

Svatoš died on 4 November 2016 at his home in

Lone Tree, Colorado The City of Lone Tree is a home rule municipality located in northern Douglas County, Colorado, United States. Lone Tree is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 10,218 at the 2010 Un ...

at the age of 34. He was survived by his wife, Diana, and two children. It was revealed on 5 December 2016 that Svatoš' death was due to mixed drug intoxication. His wife later revealed that Svatoš had been suffering from Stage 2

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

at the time of his death.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Svatoš, Marek 1982 births 2016 deaths Avangard Omsk players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Colorado Avalanche players Drug-related deaths in Colorado HC Košice players HC Slovan Bratislava players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Kootenay Ice players Nashville Predators players Olympic ice hockey players of Slovakia Ottawa Senators players Sportspeople from Košice Slovak ice hockey right wingers Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the United States