Martin Hanzal (; born 20 February 1987) is a

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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 ...

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. He was drafted by the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

in the first round, 17th overall, of the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Hanzal played in the 2001

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a team from Chomutov. Hanzal was the Phoenix Coyotes' first round draft pick, 17th overall, in the

from hometown team HC České Budějovice. He then moved to North America to play for the

Omaha Lancers The Omaha Lancers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ralston, Nebraska. Previou ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

(USHL) in the 2005–06 season. In 19 games played with Omaha, he scored 19 points, and in five playoff games, he had one goal. Hanzal then played

major junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

during the 2006–07 season with the

Red Deer Rebels The Red Deer Rebels are a Western Hockey League junior ice hockey team based in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. The Rebels play at the Peavey Mart Centrium. History A "Name the Team" contest ran in Red Deer from October 7 to 17, 1991. The top t ...

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) after being acquired from the

Chilliwack Bruins The Chilliwack Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins' inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Centre, ...

before even playing a game with the latter. He led the Rebels in scoring with 85 points in 60 games.

Professional

Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes

Hanzal made his professional debut with the Coyotes in the 2007–08 season. He finished with eight goals and 35 points on the season, placing him sixth in team scoring. He also ranked ninth among NHL rookies in both points and assists. On 4 December 2008, Hanzal scored his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

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 ...

in only 20:27 of play time, setting the record for the fastest hat-trick recorded in Coyotes history. On 8 October 2011, Hanzal was named an alternate captain for the Coyotes. On 12 April 2012, Hanzal scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

, giving the Coyotes a 3–2 victory and a 1–0 series lead. His goal came from a redirect of a shot from the blueline by teammate

Adrian Aucoin Adrian Mark Aucoin (born July 3, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played over 1,100 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Aucoin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, but grew up in Gloucester, Ontario. Playing car ...

past Blackhawks goaltender

Corey Crawford Corey Crawford (born December 31, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Crow" by teammates and fans, he played his entire professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), w ...

. On 14 November 2014, during the 2014–15 season, Hanzal scored his second career hat trick in a 5–0 rout against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

; two of the goals were scored only nine seconds apart. Hanzal's hat trick ended up being a natural hat trick, meaning all three of his goals were scored without the opposing team scoring. Later in the season, on 15 February 2015, the Coyotes announced that Hanzal was to have season-ending back surgery. Prior to the announcement, he had not played for Arizona since January 29, against the

Minnesota Wild

On 27 February 2017, in the midst of the 2016–17 season, his ninth season with the Coyotes and in the final year of his five-year contract, Hanzal collected 26 points in 51 games before his tenure came to an end with Arizona. He was dealt alongside

Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnos ...

and a fourth-round pick in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, to 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 exchange for a 1st-round pick in

, 2nd-round pick in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, conditional 4th-round pick in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, and Grayson Downing on 26 February 2017. Martin Hanzal

Dallas Stars

On 1 July 2017, Hanzal as a first time free agent, signed a three-year, $14.25 million contract with 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 ...

. In his first season with the Stars in 2017–18, Hanzal missed the majority of training camp with the foot injury. He was then hampered by multiple injuries limiting his effectiveness in recording just 5 goals and 10 points in just 38 games. Approaching the final push for the post-season, on 9 March 2018, it was announced that Hanzal was ruled out for the remainder of the season to undergo a

spinal fusion Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a neurosurgical or orthopedic surgical technique that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) and pre ...

surgery to correct a persistent back injury with a recovery of six to seven months.

Return to Czech Republic

With his contract concluded with the Stars during the July pause in the 2019–20 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Hanzal having earlier returned to continue his rehabilitation in the Czech Republic, opted to continue his playing career by making a return with newly formed club, HC Samson České Budějovice at the Regional Hockey tier to begin the 2020–21 season. On 26 October 2020, Hanzal announced his retirement from the NHL after 12 seasons.

International play

In 2006 and 2007, Hanzal represented the

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at the

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

. He played his first senior game for the

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

at the 2008 World Championships, and has played in four tournaments for the national team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanzal, Martin 1987 births Arizona Coyotes draft picks Arizona Coyotes players Czech ice hockey centres Dallas Stars players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Minnesota Wild players Motor České Budějovice players Living people National Hockey League first-round draft picks Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic Omaha Lancers players Phoenix Coyotes players Red Deer Rebels players Sportspeople from České Budějovice