Aleš Kotalík (born 23 December 1978) is a Czech former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger who played nine seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

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 (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, and

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. The ...

Playing career

Kotalík was drafted 164th overall by the

in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. In the

2005–06 NHL season The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation (88th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the Na ...

, he had a career high in 25 goals, 37 assists and 62 points. The recent

2006–07 NHL season The 2006–07 NHL season was the 90th season of operation (89th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim officially shortened their name to the Anaheim Ducks prior to the season. The 2007 Stanley Cup pla ...

he was 5 for 7 in shootouts and second in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

with four shootout deciding goals. He was out for 16 games because of an injured right knee. In the Calgary Flames All-Star games, he showed his ability to strike hard with a slap shot speed of 105.3 being the second hardest shooter in the NHL. On 4 March 2009, Kotalík was traded by the Sabres to the

in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Kotalík finished the season in Edmonton before being signed as a free agent by the

on 9 July 2009 to a three-year, $9 million contract. Due to his lack of goal scoring, which he was expected to bring and being a healthy scratch for numerous games, he was traded on 1 February 2010 to the

along with Chris Higgins in exchange for

Olli Jokinen Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for the Ne ...

and Brandon Prust. Placed on waivers in the off-season by the Calgary Flames, Kotalík cleared waivers on 29 June 2010. At the time, he had two years and $6 million remaining on his contract. On 27 January 2011, he was placed back on waivers by the Flames and subsequently assigned to the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

. On 25 June, along with

Robyn Regehr Robyn Regehr (born April 19, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was a first-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, selected 19th overall at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, but was traded to the Calgary Flames prior ...

and a second round 2012 draft pick, Kotalík was traded back to the Sabres for

Paul Byron James Paul Byron (born April 27, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played a total of 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 179th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in t ...

and Chris Butler. On 24 September 2011, Kotalík was placed on waivers by the Buffalo Sabres in a salary cap move. After initially reporting to the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

, Kotalík instead returned to his hometown in the Czech Republic to play for HC Mountfield České Budějovice.

International play

Kotalík played his first game for the national team in 2000, and has played 21 times for the Czech national team including the

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

and the 2008 and 2009

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.Stats at hokej.cz

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotalik, Ales 1978 births Abbotsford Heat players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Calgary Flames players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey right wingers Edmonton Oilers players HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players Ice hockey people from the South Bohemian Region Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics KLH Vajgar Jindřichův Hradec players Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Motor České Budějovice players New York Rangers players Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Olympic medalists in ice hockey Sportspeople from Jindřichův Hradec Rochester Americans players Living people 21st-century Czech sportsmen