- Marek Zidlicky
-
Marek Zidlicky 
Born February 3, 1977
Most, CzechoslovakiaHeight 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) Position Defence Shoots Right NHL team
Former teamsMinnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Helsingin IFK (SM-liiga)
HC Kladno (CZE)National team 
Czech RepublicNHL Draft 176th overall, 2001
New York RangersPlaying career 1994–present Marek Zidlicky (Czech spelling: Marek Židlický; Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarɛk ˈʒɪdlɪtskiː]; born February 3, 1977) is a Czech professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Contents
Playing career
Marek Zidlicky was selected 176th overall, in the sixth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft on June 24, 2001. He was selected as the sixth choice of the New York Rangers.
Zidlicky had a very strong 2000–01 season with HIFK of the Finnish SM-liiga, ranking third on his team in assists (25) and tied for second on his team in points (37). He also led the league in points by a defenceman. This was enough for the Rangers to draft him in the NHL entry draft that next summer.
However, Zidlicky and the Rangers could never agree to contract terms. The major sticking point was that Zidlicky wanted a one-way contract which would pay him the same amount of money regardless of whether he was playing in the NHL or the American Hockey League (AHL). He wanted this contract because he was worried about the depth of the Rangers and did not want to spend too much time in the minor leagues. However, the Rangers would not agree to such a deal and only offered a two-way contract, one that would pay him at a lower rate if he played in the AHL. Because of these contract differences, Zidlicky opted to stay in Finland and continue playing for HIFK.
Zidlicky had two more very strong years for HIFK leading the team in points in 2001–02 with 40 points. The next season he tied for the team lead in points with 47.
Realizing that Zidlicky would not come to the United States to play without a one-way contract and unwilling to give him one, the Rangers traded him, along with Rem Murray and Tomáš Klouček, for Mike Dunham on December 12, 2002 to the Nashville Predators.
Zidlicky joined the Predators in Nashville for the 2003–04 NHL season, which proved to be a very successful season for Zidlicky. He recorded his first NHL point in his NHL debut on October 10, 2003 in a 3–1 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He scored his first NHL goal the next day in the second period of a 3–1 loss to the Dallas Stars. He became the first Predator to play all 82 games in his first season in the league (he was not considered a rookie because of his age).
Unfortunately for Zidlicky and Predators fans, he was injured when he was checked in the opening minutes of the first ever Nashville Predators playoff game against the Detroit Red Wings. He suffered a concussion and was unable to return for any more games in the playoff series.
During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Zidlicky returned to play for HIFK in Helsinki, Finland.
Zidlicky was selected to the bronze medal winning 2006 Czech Republic Olympic hockey squad.
On May 8, 2006, it was announced that the Predators and Zidlicky had agreed on terms for a new contract. The length of the contract will be for four years worth $13.5 million.
On July 1, 2008, Zidlicky was traded to the Minnesota Wild for Ryan Jones and a second round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Records
- Nashville Predators franchise record for assists in a game (5).
- Nashville Predators franchise record for power play points in a season (35).
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1994–95 HC Kladno Czech 41 3 3 6 0 — — — — — 1995–96 HC Kladno Czech 37 4 5 9 74 7 1 1 2 8 1996–97 HC Kladno Czech 49 5 16 21 60 2 0 0 0 0 1997–98 HC Kladno Czech 51 2 13 15 121 — — — — — 1998–99 HC Kladno Czech 50 10 12 22 94 — — — — — 1999–00 HIFK SM-l 47 4 16 20 66 9 3 2 5 24 2000–01 HIFK SM-l 51 12 25 37 146 5 0 1 1 6 2001–02 HIFK SM-l 56 11 29 40 107 — — — — — 2002–03 HIFK SM-l 54 10 37 47 79 4 0 0 0 4 2003–04 Nashville Predators NHL 82 14 39 53 82 1 0 0 0 0 2004–05 HIFK SM-l 49 11 20 31 91 5 0 3 3 14 2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 67 12 37 49 82 2 0 1 1 2 2006–07 Nashville Predators NHL 79 4 26 30 72 5 0 2 2 4 2007–08 Nashville Predators NHL 79 5 38 43 63 6 0 3 3 8 2008–09 Minnesota Wild NHL 76 12 30 42 76 — — — — — 2009–10 Minnesota Wild NHL 78 6 37 43 67 — — — — — 2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 46 7 17 24 30 — — — — — NHL totals 507 60 224 284 472 14 0 6 6 14 International play
Medal record Competitor for Czech RepublicWinter Olympics Games Bronze 2006 Turin Ice hockey World Championships Gold 2005 Vienna Ice hockey Bronze 2011 Bratislava Ice hockey Played for the Czech Republic in:
- 2005 World Championships (Gold medal)
- 2007 World Championships
- 2006 Czech Republic Olympic hockey team (Bronze medal)
- 2008 World Championships
- 2009 World Championships
- 2010 Czech Republic Olympic hockey team
- 2011 World Championships (Bronze medal)
International statistics
Information in this section may be incomplete.
Year Event GP G A Pts PIM 2005 WC 9 1 3 4 – 2006 Oly 8 3 2 5 14 2007 WC 7 1 5 6 – 2008 WC 7 1 1 2 – 2009 WC 7 0 1 1 6 2010 Oly 5 0 4 4 2 Senior int'l totals 43 6 16 22 22 External links
Categories:- 1977 births
- Czech ice hockey players
- HC Kladno players
- HIFK players
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- Minnesota Wild players
- Nashville Predators players
- New York Rangers draft picks
- Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic
- Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic
- People from Most
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
