Jaroslav Halák

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size = 235px
team = Montreal Canadiens
league = NHL
position = Goaltender
catches = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 180
nickname = Jaro
nationality = SVK
birth_date = birth date and age|1985|05|13|mf=y
birth_place = Bratislava, CS
draft= 271st overall
draft_year= 2003
draft_team= Montreal Canadiens
career_start = 2005

Jaroslav Halák (born May 13, 1985 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia) is a professional ice hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. He uses a mix of butterfly style and stand-up style.

Playing career

Halak was the 271st overall pick by the Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Halak was called up to the main roster on February 15, 2007, after an injury to goaltender Cristobal Huet.

Halak played his first NHL game on February 18, 2007. He stopped 31 shots in a 3–2 win over the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to his call-up, Halák had the lowest goals against average in the American Hockey League (2.00) for the Hamilton Bulldogs. He is the fourth Slovak born netminder to play in the NHL, joining Ján Lašák, Rastislav Staňa and Peter Budaj.

On March 202007, Halak made thirty saves to give the Montreal Canadiens a 1–0 victory over the Boston Bruins for his first NHL shutout. He recorded a second shutout, also against the Bruins on April 2nd, 2007. Halak's great play helped Montreal fight for a playoffs spot until the final day of the regular season. Halak played for Team Slovakia in the 2007 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. [http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/11728/la_id/1/ss_id/21255/game_id/919.htm]

Halak had been assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs for the majority of the 2007–08 season. However, since the trade of Cristobal Huet, Halak took over full-time as the Canadiens backup. He started his first playoff game on April 30, 2008 against the Philadelphia Flyers (a 4-2 loss) after sub-par performances from starter Carey Price, who once again took over the following game.

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoff career

ee also

*Slovaks in the NHL

External links

*TSN-NHL-profile|3768
*hockeydb|72667