Petr Průcha (born September 14, 1982) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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 ...

forward who 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 ...

(NHL) for the

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 the

Phoenix 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

Průcha led the Czech Republic Junior League in points during the 2001–02 season (33 assists and 56 points in 25 games). He was drafted by the

in the eighth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 240th overall. He played 47 games in the 2004–05 season for HC Moeller Pardubice in 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 ...

, scoring seven goals with 17 points. In the 2005–06 season, he joined the Rangers as a rookie, and under the tutelage of

Jaromír Jágr Jaromír Jágr (; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger and owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh ...

, he scored 30 goals and 47 points in 68 games. His 16 powerplay goals on the season broke Camille Henry's record for the single-season rookie power play goal mark for the Rangers. On July 5, 2007, Průcha re-signed with the Rangers to a two-year, $3.2 million contract. On March 4, 2009, Průcha was traded to the

, along with Dimitri Kalinin and

Nigel Dawes Nigel Alexander Dawes (born February 9, 1985) is a Kazakh Canadian former professional ice-hockey winger. He played 212 games in 5 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Atlanta T ...

, in exchange for defenceman Derek Morris. On June 19, 2009, he signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension with the Coyotes, worth $1.1 million annually. After playing unproductively for some time, the Coyotes assigned Průcha to the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

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), their top minor league affiliate. Unwilling to play for a minor league team, Průcha soon left for 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) to play for

SKA Saint Petersburg Hockey Club SKA (), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey Le ...

. After two seasons with Saint Petersburg, Průcha sat out the following season before opting to retire due to injury.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prucha, Petr 1982 births Living people Czech ice hockey right wingers Hartford Wolf Pack players HC Dynamo Pardubice players New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Chrudim Ice hockey people from the Pardubice Region Phoenix Coyotes players San Antonio Rampage players SKA Saint Petersburg players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia 21st-century Czech sportsmen