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| 1982 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Vladimir Ruzicka
Selected in
fourth round
No. 73 overall by Toronto Maple Leafs
Born
June 6, 1963
 | Position:
Center
Height: 6-3 Weight: 210
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Litvinov (Czechoslovakia)
Birthplace:
Most, Czechoslovakia
Hometown: Most, Czech Republic |
 |
 |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1978-79 |
Litvinov | Czech. Jr. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1979-80 |
Litvinov | Czech. Jr. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | |
Litvinov | Czech. |
9 | 1 |
1 | 2 |
0 | | 1980-81 |
Litvinov | Czech. |
41 | 12 |
13 | 25 |
10 | | 1981-82 |
Litvinov | Czech. |
44 | 27 |
22 | 49 |
50 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Jr. Championships:
1981 (fourth place), 1982 (silver medal)
European Junior Championships:
1979 (gold), 1981 (silver)
World Junior Championships All-Star First Team: 1982
European
Junior Championships All-Star First Team: 1981
World Junior Championships Goals Leader: 1982 (8 goals, tie)
Miscellaneous: Not selected in 1981 NHL draft despite being
eligible. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: January 17, 1990 (Winnipeg at
Edmonton)
Numbers: 29 (Edmonton); 38
(Boston); 38 (Ottawa)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired January 4, 2000 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1990-1994 |
Edmonton, Boston, Ott. |
233 | 82 |
85 | 167 |
129 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | | 1992-1993 |
Boston | 30 |
4 | 14 |
18 | 2 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Boston Dufresne Trophy (Home Games MVP): 1991-92
Boston Seventh Player Award (Unsung Hero): 1991-92
Boston
Gallery Gods Trophy: 1991-92
Boston Goals Leader: 1991-92 (39 goals)
1989-90: Played 25 regular-season games for Edmonton team that went
on to win Stanley Cup, but did not appear in any postseason games and was
ineligible to have his name engraved on Cup.
Miscellaneous: Drew bench minor penalty in first
game for coming onto ice at end of second period to congratulate Edmonton
goalie Bill Ranford on his performance. The practice was common in Europe,
but Ruzicka did not know that it was not allowed under NHL rules and he
could only do such a thing at the end of a game, not end of a period.
... Played on line with Esa Tikkanen and Jari Kurri for Edmonton in 1989-90.
... Was Edmonton's Three-Stars leader for March/April 1990. ... Held out of
1990 playoffs by Edmonton, which considered him a defensive liability. ... Became expendable for Edmonton at start of 1990-91 season because Oilers had too many centers on roster. As a result Edmonton traded Ruzicka
to Boston for Greg Hawgood on Oct. 22, 1990. ... Became first Czech to play for Boston Bruins when he appeared in Oct. 25, 1990, game vs.
Vancouver. ... Missed remainder of 1990-91 regular season with tendinitis in
left ankle, resulting from an injury suffered in Boston's Dec. 28, 1990,
game at Winnipeg and then re-aggravated during Boston's Dec. 29, 1990 game
at Minnesota. The injury required surgery on Feb. 12, 1991, and Ruzicka did
not return to action until Game 2 of Boston's first-round playoff series vs.
Hartford on April 5, 1991. ... Missed part of 1992-93 season with strained
groin, suffered during Boston's Nov. 30, 1992, game at Quebec. He
did not return until Boston's Jan. 5, 1993, game at Pittsburgh.
... Missed parts of 1992-93 season with ankle injury, suffered in March
1993, and with groin injury, suffered in April 1993. ... Released by Boston in July 1993
and signed a
one-year, $425,000 contract with Ottawa as unrestricted free agent on Aug. 12, 1993.
... Played left wing for Ottawa in 1993-94. ... Missed part of 1993-94
season with hip injury, suffered in Ottawa's Oct. 16, 1993, game at
Tampa Bay, and with back injury, suffered during Ottawa's Dec. 27, 1993,
game vs. Boston. He did not return from the back injury until Ottawa's Jan.
25, 1994, game at Pittsburgh.
Coming to North America: Ruzicka made a big splash during
the 1989-90 NHL season when he signed a four-year contract with Edmonton on Dec. 21, 1989.
His entry into the NHL had only become possible after Czechoslovakian hockey
authorities agreed to release him on Jan. 9, 1990 -- reflecting the
fact that years of totalitarian communist rule were coming to an end. At the time, Ruzicka was
only 26 years old and considered the best player in all of Czechoslovakia.
Edmonton general manager Glen Sather had paved the way for the release by
visiting Prague in 1989-90 to negotiate a deal to bring Ruzicka to North
America. Sather had hoped to get Ruzicka for the entire 1989-90 season, but
at the last minute, a Czech official had vetoed the deal. That same Czech
official later changed his mind in December, enabling Ruzicka to leave
Czechoslovakia in the middle of the season -- the first time a player of his
quality had ever been allowed to leave in midseason. Ruzicka finally joined
Edmonton on Jan. 10, 1990, and practiced with team for first time on Jan.
14, 1990.
Ruzicka Leaves the NHL: Although he showed flashes of brilliance during his five NHL seasons, Ruzicka was
burdened by the reputation of being an unmotivated, lazy player who rarely
played to his potential. Things finally came to a head for the talented
Czech star at Ottawa's practice on Feb. 9, 1994. Senators coach Rick Bowness
had been complaining about Ruzicka's lack of effort all season, and during
the Feb. 9 practice, he became convinced that Ruzicka was simply going
through the motions in his drills. Bowness threw Ruzicka out of the practice
after 20 minutes, screaming four-letter words and smashing his stick
on the ice as he did so. After the tirade, it was clear Ruzicka and Bowness
could no longer coexist, even though Bowness insisted the practice wasn't
the final straw and allowed Ruzicka to play in the next game against Tampa
Bay. But the damage was done. Ruzicka had already talked about leaving the
Senators to finish the season in Europe. After the Tampa Bay game, Ruzicka
criticized Bowness to reporters, saying he could no longer communicate with
his coach and referring to the whole situation as "crap." He also said
Bowness didn't give him enough playing time. Ironically, Ruzicka had only
come to Ottawa as a free agent because of his desire to play for Bowness,
who had been his coach in Boston when Ruzicka had the best season of his
career. Ruzicka said Bowness was a completely different person from the
coach he remembered. The ugly situation came to a close on Feb. 17, when
Ruzicka cleared waivers and left to play in Switzerland. The Swiss club team
Zug took Ruzicka off Ottawa' hands by agreeing to pick up the balance of his
guaranteed contract upon his release. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Litvinov, Trencin (Czechoslovakia); Zug (Switz.); Prague Slavia (Czech Republic)
Olympics: 1984 (silver medal),
1988 (sixth place), 1998 (Czech Rep.) (gold medal), 2002 (Czech Rep.)(seventh place) (as assistant
coach)
Canada Cup: 1984 (fifth place), 1987 (fourth
place)
World Championships: 1983
(silver), 1985 (gold), 1986 (fifth), 1987 (bronze), 1989 (bronze), 2003
(fourth) (Czech Rep.) (assistant coach)
World Junior Championships: 1983
(silver medal)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Czech Republic Championship: 2003
(Prague Slavia) (as coach)
World Championships All-Star First Team: 1985
World Junior Championships All-Star First Team: 1983
Czechoslovakia Player of Year: 1985-86 (Litvinov), 1987-88 (Trencin)
Czechoslovakia All-Star First Team: 1987-88, 1988-89 (Trencin)
Czechoslovakia Captain: 1989-90
Czech Republic Olympic Captain: 1998
Litvinov Captain:
1989-90
Prague Slavia Captain: 1995-96 season until January 2000
Prague Slavia Records: Most points in one season (65 in 1995-96)
Czechoslovakia Points Leader: 1983-84 (Litvinov) (54 points), 1985-86
(Litvinov) (73 points), 1988-89
(Trencin) (84 points)
Czechoslovakia Goals Leader: 1983-84 (Litvinov) (31), 1985-86 (Litvinov)
(41), 1987-88 (Trencin)
(38), 1988-89 (Trencin) (46)
Czech Republic Points Leader:
1995-96 (Prague Slavia) (65 points)
Czech Republic Assists Leader:
1995-96 (Prage Slavia) (44 assists)
World Junior Championships Points Leader: 1983 (20 points)
World Junior Championships Goals Leader: 1983 (12 goals)
World
Junior Championships Assists Leader: 1983 (8 assists)
Coaching Career:
Named Prague Slavia (Czech Republic) head coach in March 2000 and remained
in position through 2003-04 season. ... Named Czech Republic national team
head coach on Aug. 17, 2004, following the death of former coach Ivan Hlinka
in an automobile accident.
Management Career: Named Prague Slavia
(Czech Rep.) general manager in March 2000 and held position through 2003-04 season.
Miscellaneous: Set World Junior
Championships single-tournament records (since broken) for points (20) and
goals (12) in 1983. ... Set World Junior Championships records (since
broken) for career points (35) and goals (25). ... Was captain of
Czechoslovakian national team when he entered NHL. ... Joined Zug for 1994
Switzerland playoffs.
Personal: Nicknamed "Rosie." |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
Toronto traded Ruzicka to Edmonton in exchange for future considerations
(1990 fourth-round pick -- Greg Walters) in June 1989. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '82 | | Total Selected: |
252 | | Forwards: |
152 | | Defense: |
82 | | Goaltenders: |
18 | | Major Junior: |
129 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
27/4 | | College Players: |
20 | | High School: |
37 |
| Canadian: |
152 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
62 | | U.S.-Born: |
62 |
| European: |
35 |
| Reached NHL: |
109 |
| Stanley Cup: |
18 | | Hall of Fame: |
0 |
| All-Star Game: |
14 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
4 |
| Olympians: |
37 |
| Picks Traded: |
50 |
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