Richard Zedník

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size=250px
team=Florida Panthers
former_teams = New York Islanders
Washington Capitals
Montreal Canadiens
league = NHL
position = Right Wing
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 196
nationality = SVK
birth_date = Birth date and age|1976|1|6|mf=y
birth_place = Banská Bystrica, CS
draft = 249th overall
draft_year = 1994
draft_team = Washington Capitals
career_start = 1996

Richard Zedník (born January 6, 1976) is a Slovak professional hockey player who plays right wing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. He was drafted in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, in the tenth round, two-hundred forty-ninth overall, after playing junior hockey for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League.

Career

Zednik scored 35 goals in his rookie year with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League during the 1994–95 season. In his second year with the major junior team, he scored 44 goals which earned him Second Team All-Star honours.

On October 31, 2000, a local Washington, DC radio station DC101 had a promotion in which they offered fans a free ticket and Zednik jersey if they dyed their hair blond as Zednik had in the offseason. Over two hundred people showed up as "Zed Heads" and Zednik scored his first career hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings. [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores100/100305/100305323.htm] .

On April 26, 2002, during a playoff game in Montreal against the Boston Bruins, Zednik was elbowed in the face by Bruin defender Kyle McLaren. Zednik, who had scored both goals for Montreal in the 5–2 loss, suffered a fractured cheekbone, broken nose, and a concussion. The injuries forced Zednik to miss the remainder of the playoffs.

Transactions

Richard Zednik was traded by the Washington Capitals on March 13, 2001, along with Jan Bulis and a first round draft pick (Alexander Perezhogin), to Montreal in exchange for Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus, and a second round draft pick (later traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning).

After playing the next 3 years in Montreal, Zednik was traded back to the Capitals on July 12, 2006 for a third round draft-pick.

On February 26, 2007, Zednik was traded by Washington to the New York Islanders for a 2nd round draft pick.

While being an unrestricted free agent, "Zed" signed a 2-year contract with the Florida Panthers on July 1, 2007.

Neck injury

On February 10 2008, in a game between the Florida Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres, teammate Olli Jokinen's skate blade accidentally cut the external carotid artery of Zednik's neck. Both players were skating towards a corner: Jokinen was skating down the wing for a body check and Zednik was skating behind the net. Jokinen collided with Sabres forward Clarke MacArthur, knocking Jokinen off balance. Jokinen then fell forward with his feet flying up. His right skate blade struck Zednik's exposed neck, and Zednik immediately skated to the Florida bench, leaving a significant trail of blood on the ice. He was immediately attended to by Florida trainer Dave Zenobi (along with all medical personnel in the arena) who took him to the locker room for treatment until emergency medical personnel arrived at HSBC Arena. Zednik underwent surgery that night starting at 9:00, his status being published as stable after leaving the arena.cite news | title = Panthers' Zednik takes skate cut to neck | url = http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=229379&hubname= | publisher = TSN | date = 2008-02-10 | accessdate = 2008-02-11] The game was delayed for more than 20 minutes as the zamboni was needed to help clean the blood from the ice. Zenobi and assistant general manager Randy Sexton remained with Zednik; the Panthers arranged for his wife Jessica Welch to be flown in from their South Florida home to be with him in Buffalo. NHL Vice President Colin Campbell, who was in attendance to see his son Gregory play for the Panthers, made the decision to finish the game after it was confirmed that Zednik was stable and after conversing with officials. The announcement over the public address speakers at HSBC Arena that Zednik was in stable condition and en-route to a Buffalo hospital sparked a standing ovation for Zednik and all the medical staff involved.

On February 11, ESPN and Rogers Sportsnet reported that Zednik was "stable and talking" in the Intensive Care Unit of Buffalo General Hospital, following emergency surgery to repair his carotid artery, which was slashed in the incident. Zednik lost five units of blood, but according to doctors, his life was not in jeopardy. It should be noted that the artery was not severed and doctors note that if the artery had been severed, it would have recessed into the neck, requiring more extensive surgery to repair.cite news | title = Life-saving surgery needed | url = http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/02/11/zednik_cut/ | publisher = Rogers Sportsnet | date = 2008-02-11 | accessdate = 2008-02-11] cite news | title = Zednik stable after carotid artery severed in Panthers-Sabers game | url = http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3240651 | publisher = ESPN | date = 2008-02-11 | accessdate = 2008-02-11]

On February 12, the CBC reported that Zednik was upgraded to good condition and could be discharged from the hospital as early as the weekend, though doctors stressed that he would most likely be sidelined for the remainder of the 2007–08 NHL season.cite news | title = Richard Zednik's condition upgraded to good | url = http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/02/12/zednik-practice-doctors.html | publisher = CBC | date = 2008-02-12 | accessdate = 2008-02-12] This prognosis proved accurate, as Zednik was released on February 16th but missed the rest of the season.cite news | url=http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/hockey/florida-panthers/story/679809.html | title=Florida Panthers' Richard Zednik back on ice after 7 months | work=Miami Herald | author=Richards, George | date=2008-09-10 | accessdate=2008-09-11]

The incident was similar to an accident in Buffalo on March 22 1989, when Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk had his internal carotid artery accidentally severed by an opponent's skate blade.

After watching video of the incident, Zednik said that "once is enough". Although neck guards are not mandatory in the NHL, he intends to wear one when he plays again.cite news | title = Zednik feared he might die from throat slash | url = http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080221/zednik_media_080221/20080221?hub=TopStories | publisher = CTV | date = 2008-02-21 | accessdate = 2008-02-21]

Zednik received a lot of support for his injury by fans and fellow hockey players alike. The Panthers' website received more than 20,000 get-well messages. Zednik also took a call from the president of his native Slovakia, Ivan Gašparovič.cite news | title = Zednik:Injury 'felt like being stabbed!' | url = http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=230215&hubname=nhl | publisher = TSN | date = 2008-02-21 | accessdate = 2008-02-21]

He has returned to Florida to play in the 2008-2009 season.

Personal life

Zednik is married to French Canadian actress Jessica Welch. They have a daughter named Ella born on December 6, 2003.

Career statistics

International play

Played for Slovakia in:

*2006 Winter Olympic Games
*World Championships - 2001, 2003 (bronze medal), 2005
*World Cup of Hockey - 1996, 2004
*Team Slovakia - 45 caps / 10 goals

ee also

*Slovaks in the NHL

References

External links

*nhlprofile|8460735
*hockeydb|21494
* [http://www.nhlpa.com/WebStats/PlayerBiography.asp?ID=6104 Richard Zednik at NHLPA]
*Legendsofhockey|10764