Tomáš Kundrátek (born December 26, 1989) 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 ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

currently playing with

HC Oceláři Třinec HC Oceláři Třinec (''Třinec Steelers'') is a Czech ice hockey team from Třinec who play in the Czech Extraliga, the top tier of Czech ice hockey. Their home arena is the Werk Arena. The team's main sponsors are the local Třinec Iron and S ...

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 ...

(ELH). 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

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

Playing career

Whilst playing as a youth and professionally with

in his native Czech Republic, He was selected 90th overall by 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 ...

in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL entry draft was the 46th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL entry draft ...

, where he was the top-ranked Czech skater. Kundratek signed his first professional contract with the New York Rangers on August 25, 2008. The following season, intending to adapt to the North American style, Kundrátek joined the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

of 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 ...

. He skated in 70 games as a rookie for the Rangers AHL affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, during the

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 ...

season, registering two goals and ten assists for 12 points, along with 42 penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating. He also skated in all six of the Whale's playoff games versus the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

in the first round of the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

playoffs, earning two assists and two penalty minutes. He was traded by the Rangers to the

in exchange for Francois Bouchard on November 8, 2011. During the 2011–12 season, Kundratek was recalled from AHL affiliate, the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

, to Washington on January 10, 2012, and made his NHL debut the following night in a 1-0 win over the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. He played for five games before returning to Hershey to continue playing with the Bears on January 20, 2012. He didn't record any points while playing with the Capitals, but he did have two shots on goal, three hits, four blocked shots and 2 PIM. In the lockout shortened

2012–13 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 ...

season, having secured an opening night roster spot with the Capitals, he then scored his first NHL goal against 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 March 5, 2013. On June 19, 2015, Kundratek left the Capitals organization and signed a one-year contract with Latvian Kontinental Hockey League club, Dinamo Riga.

Personal life

In 2014, Kundrátek married Alannah Dzerdz from

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. They have two sons together, Hudson and Jagger.

International play

Kundrátek represented Czechia at the

2024 IIHF World Championship The 2024 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Czechia from 10 to 26 May 2024. It was held in Prague and Ostrava, and organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was the most attended Hockey Championship in history with a total atte ...

and won a gold medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kundratek, Tomas 1989 births Connecticut Whale (AHL) players Czech ice hockey defencemen HC Davos players Dinamo Riga players HC Kometa Brno players HC Kunlun Red Star players HC Oceláři Třinec players HC Slovan Bratislava players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Living people Medicine Hat Tigers players New York Rangers draft picks Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic Ice hockey people from Přerov Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players Washington Capitals players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Expatriate ice hockey players in China Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Latvia Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Czech expatriate sportspeople in China 21st-century Czech sportsmen