Jan Jeník (born 15 September 2000) is a Czech 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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators (colloquially known as the B-Sens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belleville, Ontario. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ottawa Senators. The Senators pl ...

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 ...

(AHL) as a prospect to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

of 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). He was selected 65th overall in the 2018 NHL entry draft by the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

Playing career

Jeník split his first season in the Czech Republic with HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the

1st Czech Republic Hockey League The Maxa liga is the second-highest level of professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic, after the Czech Extraliga, Extraliga. It began in 1993 and is run and administered by Czech Ice Hockey Association. Until 2015, the league was known as t ...

and

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Bílí Tygři Liberec (English: ''Liberec White Tigers'') are a professional ice hockey club based in Liberec, Czech Republic. The team competes in the Czech Extraliga, the highest level of play in professional Czech ice hockey. History The firs ...

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

. He did the same in his final year in Czechia. Jeník was selected by the Flint Firebirds of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) in the first round, sixth overall of the 2018 CHL import draft. His rights were traded to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL on 7 January 2019 for a pair of draft picks. In his first season with Hamilton he scored 13 goals and 30 points in 27 games. Jeník was drafted by the

of the

(NHL) in the third round, 65th overall in the 2018 NHL entry draft. On 29 March 2019, Jeník was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Coyotes. Following his second season in the OHL with the Bulldogs, and with the 2020–21 North American season delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Jeník was loaned by the Coyotes to Finnish second-tier club, Imatran Ketterä of the

Mestis Mestis (from , meaning 'Championship series', stylized as MEST1S) is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division ...

, until the commencement of NHL training camp on 28 October 2020. He returned to North America and was assigned to Arizona's

(AHL) affiliate, the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

for the 2020–21 season. He was recalled by Arizona for the final two games of the season in May 2021 and made his NHL debut versus the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

on 7 May 2021. He scored his first NHL goal in the game against Josef Kořenář. Jeník scored in his second game too, also against the Sharks, becoming the second Coyotes player to score in his first two games. He began the 2021–22 season with Tucson. Jeník spent 13 games with the Coyotes that season. He once again returned to Tucson for the 2022–23 season, spending the majority of the season in the AHL, appearing in only two games with the Coyotes. A

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

following the season, he signed a one-year, two-way contract with Arizona on 20 September 2023. Jeník attended the Coyotes 2023 training camp was but was placed on waivers. After going unclaimed, he was assigned to Tucson. He was recalled in October 2023 but did not appear in any games before being sent back to the Roadrunners. He was recalled again in November after Barrett Hayton was injured. He made his season debut for the Coyotes in 6–5 loss to 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 (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

before being returned to Tucson on 26 November. Shortly after the end of the 2023–24 regular season, the Coyotes' franchise was suspended and team assets were subsequently transferred to the expansion Utah Hockey Club; as a result, Jeník became a member of the Utah team. On 3 July 2024, he was traded by Utah to the

for winger Egor Sokolov. He cleared waivers and was assigned to Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the

, to start the 2024–25 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenik, Jan 2000 births Living people Arizona Coyotes draft picks Arizona Coyotes players Belleville Senators players HC Benátky nad Jizerou players HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players Czech ice hockey centres Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Imatran Ketterä players Ice hockey people from Nymburk Ottawa Senators players Tucson Roadrunners players 21st-century Czech sportsmen