Jiří Smejkal (born 5 November 1996) 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 ...

forward for

HC Dynamo Pardubice HC Dynamo Pardubice is a professional ice hockey club that plays in the Czech Extraliga. Its home venue is Enteria arena (Pardubice), Enteria arena located in Pardubice. The club was originally named LTC Pardubice, acquiring its current name at ...

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 has previously played 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 ...

for 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 ...

and in several European leagues.

Playing career

Smejkal started his career in the youth setup at ČEZ Motor České Budějovice. He was picked by Medveščak Zagreb of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL) in the 2013 KHL draft. In 2014, he headed over the Atlantic to hone his skills in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

(WHL), joining the

Moose Jaw Warriors The Moose Jaw Warriors are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, hosting games at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. The t ...

. In his first year with the Warriors, Smejkal made 72 WHL appearances, tallying 12 goals and 20 assists. He also started the 2015–16 season playing for the team but was traded to fellow WHL side

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kamloops, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference and plays its home games at the Sandman Centre. The Blaze ...

in January 2016. On 15 July 2016, Smejkal signed with Medveščak Zagreb of the KHL. He left for Sparta Praha on 31 January 2017. On 27 December, Smejkal was loaned to

Piráti Chomutov Piráti Chomutov is a Czech ice hockey team from Chomutov, Czech Republic. Established as ČSK Chomutov in 1945, the team has played in Chomutov through numerous team name changes and elevations/relegations in the Czechoslovak and Czech hockey l ...

for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. After the conclusion of Smejkal's contract with Sparta Praha, he moved to Finland and signed one-year contracts with

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at ''Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, wh ...

in May 2020, and then with

Lahti Pelicans The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga, Finland. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi ...

in July 2021. Smejkal spent the 2022–23 season with

IK Oskarshamn Ishockeyklubben Oskarshamn, commonly known as IK Oskarshamn, is an ice hockey club from Oskarshamn in Sweden. The team plays in the second-highest league, the HockeyAllsvenskan. The 2019–20 season was the team's first season in the top-tier l ...

of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL). He placed third in team scoring with 23 goals and 43 points in 49 games. As an undrafted free agent, Smejkal signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the

of the

(NHL) on 4 May 2023. The signing came in response to the Senators' stated goal of bolstering its scoring and organizational depth ahead of a 2023–24 season in which they hoped to make the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...

for the first time since 2017. Described as a "prototypical power forward", it was hoped that Smejkal's combination of size and skill would help the team achieve that goal. Smejkal was assigned to Ottawa's

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) affiliate, 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 ...

, to start the 2023–24 season. On 9 December, Smejkal made his NHL debut in a 5–1 win over the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. He played in two games with Ottawa before being returned to Belleville. He was recalled again, along with Angus Crookshank, on 16 December after injuries to Mathieu Joseph and Rourke Chartier. On 22 December, Smejkal collected his first NHL point, assisting on Jacob Bernard-Docker's goal in a 6–4 loss to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. He played in seven games before being sent back to Belleville on 7 January 2024. He was recalled again on 7 March. However, his stay in the NHL was short, being returned to the AHL after Parker Kelly returned from suspension on 13 March. Smejkal finished his AHL season on 4 April, recording nine goals and 22 points in 46 games with Belleville. He was recalled that day due to an injury to Crookshank and remained with Ottawa until the end of the season. In the final game of the season on 16 April, Smejkal recorded his first NHL goal against

Linus Ullmark Linus Ullmark (; born 31 July 1993) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round, 163rd overall, of the 2012 NHL entry draf ...

in 3–1 win over the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

. On 13 June 2024, Smejkal signed a five-year contract with

of the

International play

Smejkal has represented Czech national teams on several occasions, including the

2014 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2014 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 16th IIHF World U18 Championship, and was hosted by Lappeenranta and Imatra, Finland. The tournament began on 17 April 2014, with the gold medal game played on 27 April 2014. Top Division Officials ...

, where they won silver, and the

2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship was the 40th Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It was hosted in Helsinki, Finland. It began on December 26, 2015, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2016. This marked the sixth time ...

. He played for the senior team at the

2021 IIHF World Championship The 2021 IIHF World Championship () took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin ...

2022 IIHF World Championship The 2022 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Finland from 13 to 29 May 2022, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. The host cities of the World Championships were Tampere and Helsinki, ...

, where they won bronze medals, and

2023 IIHF World Championship The 2023 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. The tournament was held from 12 to 28 May 2023, organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Canada men's national ice hockey team, Canada won ...

. Smejkal also represented the Czech national team at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smejkal, Jiri 1996 births Living people Belleville Senators players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech ice hockey left wingers Ice hockey people from České Budějovice Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics IK Oskarshamn players HC Sparta Praha players Kamloops Blazers players KHL Medveščak Zagreb players Lahti Pelicans players Moose Jaw Warriors players Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Ottawa Senators players Piráti Chomutov players Tappara players Undrafted National Hockey League players 21st-century Czech sportsmen