Jiří Bicek
Jiří Bicek | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 3, 1978 Košice, Slovakia |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey forward (retired) |
| Years active | 1994–2018 |
| Known for | First Slovak to win the Stanley Cup (2003) |
Jiří Bicek (born December 3, 1978) is a retired Slovak professional ice hockey forward. His tenure in the National Hockey League (NHL) was with the New Jersey Devils from 2000 until 2004, during which he secured the Stanley Cup in 2003, becoming the first Slovak to achieve this honor. Following his NHL career, Bicek continued playing professionally across various European leagues, including those in Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
On the international stage, Bicek represented Slovakia in multiple competitions, notably at the 1997 and 2009 World Championships.
North America
Selected 131st overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Bicek spent seven seasons competing professionally in North America. Over 62 NHL regular-season contests, he tallied 6 goals and assisted on 7 others for a total of 13 points, also participating in 7 playoff matches. His contribution to the Devils' Stanley Cup victory in 2003 marked a historic achievement for Slovak hockey players.
European leagues
In September 2004, amid the NHL lockout, Bicek returned to Slovakia to join HC Košice. The subsequent season (2005–06) saw him competing with Sweden’s Leksands IF, where he recorded 16 goals and 12 assists despite the club's relegation. He continued playing in Sweden's premier division with Brynäs IF starting July 2006. November 2007 brought a trial contract with Finland’s KalPa; he played 35 games there and amassed 27 points before transferring to JYP Jyväskylä in August 2008.
Toward the end of 2008, Bicek signed a short-term deal with Swiss team EHC Biel. During the 2009–10 campaign, he suited up for Södertälje SK in Sweden. Early in the following season (2010–11), he had a brief stint with Slovakia’s HC Prešov Penguins before moving to Czech Extraliga side HC Kladno in November 2010.
By December 2012, Bicek switched teams within the Extraliga to Energie Karlovy Vary, making an immediate impact by contributing two assists in his first game. He wrapped up his professional playing career back at Košice, retiring in February 2018 after limited game time that season.
International play
Bicek represented Slovakia at two editions of the Ice Hockey World Championships, making his debut at the 1997 tournament held in Finland and later competing at the 2009 IIHF World Championship hosted by Switzerland.
Regular season and playoffs
2001–022002–032003–042005–06 Elitserien season2006–07 Elitserien season2008–09 SM-liiga season2009–10 Elitserien season2010–11 Czech Extraliga season| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1994–95 | HC Košice U20 | SVK U20 | 42 | 38 | 36 | 74 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Košice U20 | SVK U20 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Košice | SVK | 30 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | HC Košice | SVK | 44 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 50 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 79 | 15 | 45 | 60 | 102 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 80 | 7 | 36 | 43 | 51 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 73 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL |62 | 15 | 19 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2002–03 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |44 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| AHL |24 | 4 | 10 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2003–04 NHL season | New Jersey Devils | NHL |12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| AHL |55 | 12 | 18 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2004–05 Slovak Extraliga season | HC Košice | SVK |54 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 | ||||||
| Leksands IF | SWE |50 | 16 | 12 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2006–07 Slovak Extraliga season | HC Košice | SVK |14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Brynäs IF | SWE |35 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 39 | ||||||
| 2007–08 SM-liiga season | KalPa | FIN |35 | 13 | 14 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| JYP Jyväskylä | FIN |33 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 16 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2008–09 Nationalliga A season | EHC Biel | NLA |15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Södertälje SK | SWE |44 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 22 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2010–11 Slovak 2. Liga season | HC Prešov Penguins | SVK-2 |2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| HC Kladno | CZE |35 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 24 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
SVK totals !345!!97!!126!!223!!169 !76!!17!!28!!45!!16 |- bgcolor="#eaeaea" |
NHL totals !62!!6!!7!!13!!29 !7!!0!!0!!0!!0 | |||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Competition | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Slovakia | EJC-B | 5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1996 | Slovakia | EJC | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | |
| 1996 | Slovakia | WJC | 6 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1997 | Slovakia | WJC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1997 | Slovakia | WC | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2009 | Slovakia | WC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior career totals | 22 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 26 | |||
| Senior career totals | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |||
Awards
- Stanley Cup Champion (2003) — Title awarded by the National Hockey League
Personal life
Bicek is married into the family of Slovak ice hockey figure Vincent Lukáč.
References
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1978 births
- Living people
- Albany River Rats players
- Brynäs IF players
- EHC Biel players
- HC Karlovy Vary players
- Rytíři Kladno players
- HC Košice players
- HC Prešov players
- JYP Jyväskylä players
- KalPa players
- Leksands IF players
- New Jersey Devils draft picks
- New Jersey Devils players
- Ice hockey people from Košice
- SaiPa players
- Slovak ice hockey right wingers
- Södertälje SK players
- Stanley Cup champions
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in Finland
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Slovak expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic