Vladimír Růžička (; born 6 June 1963, nickname "Rosie") is a Czech
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 ...
coach and former professional player. Růžička was twice named the top player in the
Czechoslovak Elite League, and was on the gold medal team in the
Ice Hockey World Championship in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
and
1998 Olympic Games. He also played 233 games 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). Since 2008, Růžička has been the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
of both
HC Slavia Praha and the
Czech national ice hockey team.
Playing career
Růžička started his career with Czechoslovak side
Litvínov, making his first appearance at the age of 16 and scoring after just 10 seconds in his first game, against
Dukla Jihlava.
Růžička was selected by the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
73rd overall in the
1982 NHL Entry Draft. Despite this, he was barred from leaving Czechoslovakia by the Communist authorities.
He continued to play internationally for Czechoslovakia before finally making his
NHL
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 ...
debut in 1989.
Růžička had a short career in the NHL, playing a total of five seasons for the
Edmonton Oilers,
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 ...
and
Ottawa Senators. His best season statistically came in 1991–92 when he recorded 75 points (39 goals, 36 assists) with Boston, and led the team in scoring.
He has a
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
ring and is on the 1990 Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup team picture. However, Růžička only played 25 regular season games and did not appear in the playoffs that season. Thus, his name was not engraved on the Stanley Cup. Růžička finished his NHL career with 233 games, scoring 82 goals and 85 assists.
Růžička played 200 games for his national team, scoring 112 goals in the process.
In 1985, he won a gold medal with Czechoslovakia at the
1985 World Ice Hockey Championships.
He captained the gold medal-winning Czech Republic team at the
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
, going on to retire from the international team after the tournament.
Awards
* 1985: World championship All-star team
* 1986:
Golden Hockey Stick
* 1988:
Golden Hockey Stick
Coaching career
After retiring as a player in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
he started working as a coach in
HC Slavia Praha and in 2002–03 and 2007–08 seasons his team won the
Czech Extraliga. Between 2002 and 2004 he was also an assistant
coach of the
Czech national ice hockey team. Shortly after he left the team, the head coach
Ivan Hlinka died and Růžička took over the position, leading the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
team to the
Vienna World Championship gold medal in
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
. Růžička has
coached the
Czech national ice hockey team to two gold medals.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzicka, Vladimir
1963 births
Living people
Boston Bruins players
Czech ice hockey coaches
Czech ice hockey centres
Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team coaches
Czechoslovak ice hockey centres
Edmonton Oilers players
EV Zug players
HC Litvínov players
HK Dukla Trenčín players
HC Slavia Praha players
Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic
Olympic ice hockey players for Czechoslovakia
Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Ottawa Senators players
Ice hockey people from Most (city)
Stanley Cup champions
Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Czechoslovak expatriate ice hockey people
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland