Roman Červenka (born 10 December 1985) 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 ...

player for the

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 ...

(ELH). He formerly played for

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 ...

and Slavia Praha of the

Avangard Omsk Hockey Club Avangard (, Vanguard), also known as Avangard Omsk, is a professional ice hockey club based in Omsk, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Franchise history Early years of Omsk hock ...

, Lev Praha and

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 ...

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). He was the leading goal scorer in the KHL in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and was named to the All-Star team in 2011–12 before moving to North America after signing a contract with 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)'s

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 ...

. He played 39 games in the NHL during the 2012–13 season before returning to Europe. Internationally, Červenka has played with the Czech Republic national team on several occasions, winning a bronze medal at the 2005 World Junior Championships, gold and bronze at the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and 2011 World Championships, respectively. Additionally, he also represented his country at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

. He has served as the team's captain at the World Championships each year since 2022.

Playing career

Červenka began playing with Slavia Praha's junior teams, playing for the under-18 team in 2000–01 and 2001–02, and the under-20 team in 2002–03 and 2003–04. During the 2003–04 season, he also made his

debut, playing 15 games with the top-level team. After playing for various junior-level and 1 Liga teams during the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Červenka rejoined Slavia Praha in 2006–07. In 2008–09, he scored 59 points (28 goals and 31 assists) in 51 games. Červenka has represented the Czech Republic with the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

on multiple occasions. He earned a bronze medal at the 2005 World Junior Championships. He also played at the

2009 IIHF World Championship The 2009 IIHF World Championship took place from 24 April to 10 May 2009 in Switzerland. The games were played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern and Schluefweg in Kloten. The PostFinance Arena in Bern was renovated and accommodates an atten ...

and was selected to play for the

. At the time of the Olympic team selection, Červenka led the Extraliga with 55 points in 35 games. Roman Cervenka 2011

On 25 May 2010, Červenka signed a two-year contract with Russian club

of the

(KHL). He earned a place on the left wing of the first line alongside his countryman

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 ...

and established himself as a prolific KHL scoring forward. In his first season in the league, Červenka was selected to play in the Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game, collecting more fan votes than any other skater in the league. Having scored 31 times in the 2010–11 season, Červenka earned the Top Goalscorer award from the KHL. On 2 May 2012, Červenka signed a one-year contract with a base salary of $975,000 and a maximum of $3.775 million with the

of the

(NHL). His debut with the team was delayed by the

2012–13 NHL lockout 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...

, during which he returned to play for Slavia Praha. He appeared in 9 games for the team, scoring 13 points. He left the team due to injury, then returned to action with Lev Praha of the KHL, but suffered another injury after only five games. He was further sidelined by a

blood clot A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...

issue that left him out of the Flames' lineup to start the

2012–13 NHL season The 2012–13 NHL season was the 96th season of operation (95th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on January 19, 2013, and ended on April 28, 2013, with the playoffs to follow until June. The Chicago B ...

. Červenka missed the first three games of the season before making his NHL debut on 26 January 2013 in a 4–3 victory over the

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 ...

. He scored his first NHL point (an assist) in the following game, against 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 ...

. Červenka's year with the Flames was disappointing largely due to missing training camp, subpar conditioning, struggling with the English language and coaches finding his defensive zone play to be a liability. On 16 May 2013, Červenka returned to the KHL after signing a three-year contract with

. He left after two years and then spent the 2015–16 season with

of the Czech Extraliga; he scored 23 goals and provided 38 assists in 49 games during the regular season, ranking first in league scoring. In March 2016, he signed with

HC Fribourg-Gottéron HC Fribourg-Gottéron is a professional ice hockey team based in Fribourg, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). The team was the sixth most attended team in Switzerland for the 2015–16 season wit ...

of the Swiss

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL). After two seasons in Fribourg, on 23 May 2018, Červenka joined

ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the ...

on a one-year contract. On 20 June 2019, Červenka signed a one-year contract with his third Swiss club,

SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers The SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland, and are members of the National League. History The Lakers were founded in 1945 and were known as SC Rapperswil-Jona until 2005, when the club change ...

, to remain in the NL. Červenka played for five years for the Lakers, serving as captain for the 2022-23 season, before returning to the ELH by signing a two-year deal with

Personal life

Červenka is Orthodox Christian, after Jaromír Jágr took him to churches in

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

where he would be baptized. His younger brother Marek (born 1992) is a professional football player.

International play

Červenka has had a decorated career with the Czech Republic national team. He first represented the country at the

2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2005 WJC'') was held between December 25, 2004, and January 4, 2005, at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and at the Ralph Engelstad Arena (Minnesota), Ralph Engelstad Arena ...

, where he won bronze. Since then, he has represented Czechia in multiple international tournaments, including the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

and the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. In additional to this, he has served as captain for the team on multiple occasions. He first served as captain at the

2008 IIHF World Championships The 2008 IIHF World Championship was played between May 2 and May 18, 2008 in the Canadian cities of Halifax (Nova Scotia) and Quebec City (Quebec). The two venues were the Halifax Metro Centre and the Colisée Pepsi. The tournament was wo ...

. He also served as captain 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 ...

, and has been the captain of the team at the World Championships since 2022. On May 17, 2025, during the 2025 World Championships, Červenka became the fifth player to play in 100 games for either the Czech Republic or

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

at the World Championships, scoring a

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 Wick ...

in a victory against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. Červenka won gold with the Czech national team at the 2010 World Championships, and bronze the year later in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. As captain, he helped lead the team to the bronze at the 2022 World Championships, and gold in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, with the latter being in his home country. Following the 2024 World Championship, where he finished tied for fourth in the tournament in scoring with 11 points, and tied for second with eight assists, Červenka was named a Media All Star for the tournament, and was also named the 2024 IIHF Male Player of the Year.https://www.iihf.com/en/news/61782/cervenka_edges_josi_for_player_of_the_year Červenka is the Czech Republic's all-time leading scorer at the

, and also holds the record for scoring the most points for the team in the tournament, when he scored 18 points at the 2022 World Championship.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cervenka, Roman 1985 births Living people Avangard Omsk players BK Havlíčkův Brod players Calgary Flames players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Czech ice hockey centres HC Fribourg-Gottéron players HC Lev Praha players HC Slavia Praha players HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi players HC Kometa Brno players Ice hockey people from Prague Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Piráti Chomutov players SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players SKA Saint Petersburg players Stadion Hradec Králové players Undrafted National Hockey League players ZSC Lions players Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) 21st-century Czech sportsmen