Miroslav Dvořák (ice hockey)

Miroslav Dvořák (October 11, 1951 – June 12, 2008), nicknamed "Cookie", was a Czechoslovak professional ice hockey defenseman who played three seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers. He is also well known as a famous player of Czech Extraliga (Czechoslovak) team HC České Budějovice, where he spent most of his active career.

Miroslav Dvořák
Born (1951-10-11)October 11, 1951
Hluboká nad Vltavou, Czechoslovakia
Died June 12, 2008(2008-06-12) (aged 56)
České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for NHL
Philadelphia Flyers
CFIHL
HC České Budějovice
National team  Czechoslovakia
NHL Draft 46th overall, 1982
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1972–1989
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Czechoslovakia
Olympic Games
1976 InnsbruckTeam
World Championships
1976 Vienna Team
1977 Katowice Team
1974 Helsinki Team
1975 Munich/Düsseldorf Team
1978 Prague Team
1979 Moscow Team
1982 Helsinki Team
1983 Germany Team

Playing career

In 1967 he started professional ice hockey career playing for HC České Budějovice Junior team and from 1970 became a member of 'senior team'. In the same year Dvořák was named the best defender of World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Sweden. During his military service he moved to the army team Dukla Jihlava where he spent 2 seasons. He also played for Czechoslovak national ice hockey team and won 8 medals overall in the Ice Hockey World Championships in years 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983 and represented Czechoslovakia on 1976 and 1981 Canada Cups and on 1980 Winter Olympics as well.[1] He was drafted by Philadelphia Flyers in the 3rd round in 1982 and played 3 seasons in North America, playing in the NHL for Philadelphia. He had to wait until his thirties to play NHL, as playing overseas under the age of 30 was strictly prohibited because of sports rules during communism era in Czechoslovakia. He left professional ice hockey after the 88-89 season and went back to Czechoslovakia to play for HC České Budějovice.

Death

Dvořák died in the Czech Republic after a long battle with throat cancer at the age of 56 on June 12, 2008. His family played composer Antonín Dvořák's "New World Symphony" at the funeral.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1970–71 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 36 2 — — — — —
1971–72 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 20 1 1 2 24 — — — — —
1972–73 ASD Dukla Jihlava TCH 4 7 11 — — — — —
1973–74 ASD Dukla Jihlava TCH 14 7 21 — — — — —
1974–75 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 10 18 28 — — — — —
1975–76 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 31 9 2 11 18 — — — — —
1976–77 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 4 14 18 — — — — —
1977–78 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 43 10 16 26 48 — — — — —
1978–79 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 42 3 19 22 14 — — — — —
1979–80 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 44 7 17 24 27 — — — — —
1980–81 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 44 8 27 35 38 — — — — —
1981–82 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 38 6 20 26 24 — — — — —
1982–83 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 4 33 37 20 3 0 1 1 0
1983–84 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 66 4 27 31 27 2 0 0 0 2
1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 47 3 14 17 4 13 0 1 1 4
1985–86 ESG Kassel FRG II 45 13 48 61 36 17 8 23 31 30
1986–87 ESG Kassel FRG II 34 4 40 44 32 18 4 14 18 12
1987–88 EHC Essen-West FRG II 36 10 36 46 16 — — — — —
1988–89 TJ Motor České Budějovice TCH 39 0 10 10 16 — — — — —
TCH totals 301 44 112 156 219 — — — — —
NHL totals 193 11 74 85 51 18 0 2 2 6
  • TCH totals do not include statistics from the 1970–71, 1972–73 to 1974–75, and 1976–77 seasons.

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1970 Czechoslovakia EJC
1974 Czechoslovakia WC 4 0 3 3 4
1975 Czechoslovakia WC 10 2 4 6 2
1976 Czechoslovakia OG 6 1 4 5 2
1976 Czechoslovakia WC 7 0 0 0 4
1976 Czechoslovakia CC 7 0 1 1 4
1977 Czechoslovakia WC 9 0 1 1 8
1978 Czechoslovakia WC 10 0 2 2 4
1979 Czechoslovakia WC 8 0 0 0 0
1980 Czechoslovakia OG 5 0 1 1 0
1981 Czechoslovakia WC 8 1 2 3 4
1981 Czechoslovakia CC 6 0 3 3 2
1982 Czechoslovakia WC 10 0 5 5 4
1983 Czechoslovakia WC 10 0 3 3 14
Senior totals 110 4 29 33 52

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Miroslav Dvořák". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
  2. Video on YouTube
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