Libor Hájek (born 4 February 1998) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
| Libor Hájek | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_by_Sandro_Halank=25E2=2580=2593159.jpg) Hájek in 2024 | |||
| Born |
4 February 1998 Smrček, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| ELH team Former teams |
HC Dynamo Pardubice HC Kometa Brno New York Rangers | ||
| National team |
 Czech Republic | ||
| NHL draft |
37th overall, 2016 Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Playing career
editHájek made his Czech Extraliga (ELH) debut playing 17 games with HC Kometa Brno during the 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season.[1] In opting to continue his development in the CHL, Hájek was selected second overall in the 2015 CHL Import Draft by the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL.[2]
At the completion of his second season with the Blades, Hájek was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on 21 March 2017.[3] He immediately joined the primary affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL on an amateur try-out to play out the remainder of the 2016–17 season.
On 26 February 2018, Hájek was traded to the New York Rangers, along with Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, and two draft picks, for Ryan McDonagh and J. T. Miller.[4] Hájek recorded his first career NHL assist off a goal by Mika Zibanejad during the 2019–20 season opener against the Winnipeg Jets on 3 October.[5]
On 13 November 2020, Hájek was loaned to HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH).[6]
On 7 September 2021, the Rangers re-signed Hájek to a one-year contract.[7] On 12 July 2022, he was signed to a one-year contract extension.[8] He spent most of the 2022–23 season with the Rangers but was assigned to Hartford on 10 February 2023.[9]
Hájek left the Rangers organization after five seasons and was later signed as a free agent to a professional tryout deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on 30 August 2023.[10] After attending training camp, he was re-assigned to continue his trial with AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was later signed to a one-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre to open the 2023–24 season on 17 October 2023.[11]
Hájek was scoreless through 11 regular season appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before he was mutually released from his contract in order to return to his native Czech Republic and sign a long term five-year contract with HC Dynamo Pardubice of the ELH on 15 December 2023.[12]
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Czech Republic
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2024 Czech Republic | |
Hájek represented Czechia at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won a gold medal.[13]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U18 | 43 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U18 | 32 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U20 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U20 | 44 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 62 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 69 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 65 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 33 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Regina Pats | WHL | 25 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2018–19 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 58 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | New York Rangers | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | New York Rangers | NHL | 44 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | New York Rangers | NHL | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 24 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2022–23 | New York Rangers | NHL | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | HC Dynamo Pardubice | ELH | 20 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| NHL totals | 110 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| ELH totals | 47 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Czech Republic | U17 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Czech Republic | IH18 | 
|
5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | U18 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | IH18 | 6th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | U18 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2018 | Czech Republic | WJC | 4th | 7 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | |
| 2021 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Czechia | WC | 
|
10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 31 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 28 | ||||
| Senior totals | 18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "HC Kometa Brno 2014–15 statistics". eliteprospects.com. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "2015 CHL import draft". Canadian Hockey League. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ "Lightning sign Libor Hajek to entry-level contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ "Rangers Acquire Namestnikov, Hajek, Howden, 2018 1st Rd. Pick & 2019 Pick". NHL.com. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ @NYRStatsInfo (3 October 2019). "Libor Hajek recorded his first career NHL assist by tallying an assist on Zibanejad's goal. #NYR" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Zajíček, Roman (13 November 2020). "Libor Hájek se vrací do extraligy. Obránce z NHL pomůže domovské Kometě". hc-kometa.cz. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Rangers Agree to Terms with Libor Hajek". NHL.com. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Rangers Agree to Terms with Libor Hajek". NHL.com. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Rangers Assign Libor Hajek to Wolf Pack". Hartford Wolf Pack. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Penguins sign two defenseman to PTO's". The Hockey News. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Penguins sign defenseman Libor Hajek". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Dynamo secure defenseman Libor Hajek" (in Czech). HC Dynamo Pardubice. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Czechs strike gold on home ice". IIHF.com. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database