Martin Škoula
Martin Škoula | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 28, 1979 Litoměřice, Czech Republic |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenceman (retired) |
| Years active | 1997–2015 |
| Known for | Stanley Cup champion with Colorado Avalanche (2001) |
Martin Škoula (born October 28, 1979) is a retired Czech professional ice hockey defenseman who enjoyed an extensive career in the NHL, playing for teams including the Colorado Avalanche, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New Jersey Devils. He secured the Stanley Cup championship with Colorado in 2001.
Playing career
Škoula was chosen 17th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Prior to moving to North America in 1997, he spent two seasons competing in the Czech Republic. Upon arrival, he joined the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where his physical presence and offensive capabilities quickly gained attention. After a short period playing for the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League (AHL), Škoula advanced to join the Avalanche roster.
In 2001, he contributed to Colorado’s Stanley Cup victory and later represented the Czech Republic at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
On February 21, 2004, Škoula was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Following a stint of 20 games with Anaheim, he entered unrestricted free agency and spent the NHL lockout season of 2004 playing for HC Litvínov in the Czech Extraliga.
Škoula signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars on August 3, 2005. However, during that season, he was traded to the Minnesota Wild alongside Shawn Belle in exchange for Willie Mitchell and a second-round draft choice.
On September 29, 2009, Škoula agreed to a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After participating in 33 games, he was traded on March 3, 2010, along with prospect Luca Caputi to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for Alexei Ponikarovsky. Later that same day, Toronto traded him to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.
After completing eleven seasons in the NHL, Škoula returned to European hockey on June 23, 2010, signing a one-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He extended his contract by two additional years but was released after only nine games into the 2012–13 campaign and subsequently transferred to HC Lev Praha.
Following his tenure of 21 games with Lev Praha, Škoula went unclaimed on the unprotected player list and joined his hometown team HC Stadion Litoměřice in December 2012.
On April 21, 2013, Škoula signed a one-year contract with KHL club HC Slovan Bratislava. Throughout the 2013–14 season, he appeared in all 54 games and recorded 13 points from his defensive position; however, Bratislava did not qualify for the postseason.
With a desire to be closer to his hometown of Litoměřice, Škoula returned to compete in the Czech Extraliga on May 27, 2014, signing a one-year contract with HC Bílí Tygři Liberec. He participated in ten games during which he scored two goals and tallied seven points before announcing his retirement from professional hockey.
Regular season and playoffs
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" [Truncated for brevity]International
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Litvínov, s.r.o. | CZE U18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Litvínov, s.r.o. | CZE U20 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Litvínov, s.r.o. | ELH | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | HC Litvínov, s.r.o. | CZE U20 | 38 | 2 | 9 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
|
HC Chemopetrol, a.s. |
ELH |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | |||
|
66 |
8 |
36 |
44 |
36 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
4 | |||||
|
Barrie Colts |
OHL |
67 |
13 |
46 |
59 |
46 |
12 |
3 |
10 |
13 |
13 | |||
|
80 |
3 |
13 |
16 |
20 |
17 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 | |||||
|
Colorado Avalanche |
NHL |
82 |
8 |
17 |
25 |
38 |
23 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
8 | |||
|
Colorado Avalanche |
NHL |
82 |
10 |
21 |
31 |
42 |
21 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
2 | |||
|
Colorado Avalanche |
NHL |
81 |
4 |
21 |
25 |
68 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 | |||
|
Colorado Avalanche |
NHL |
58 |
2 |
14 |
16 |
30 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | |||
|
2003–04 |
NHL |
21 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | |||
|
HC Chemopetrol, a.s. |
ELH |
47 |
4 |
15 |
19 |
101 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 | |||
|
NHL |
61 |
4 |
11 |
15 |
36 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | ||||
|
2005–06 |
NHL |
17 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
10 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | |||
|
Minnesota Wild |
NHL |
81 |
0 |
15 |
15 |
36 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 | |||
| 2007–08 NHL season | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 80 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 NHL season | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 81 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
|
NHL |
33 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— | ||||
| 2009–10 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 KHL season | Avangard Omsk | Kontinental Hockey League | 52 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 KHL season | Avangard Omsk | KHL | 52 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 4 | ||
|
Avangard Omsk |
KHL |
9 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| |||||||
| Year | National Team | Tournament | Placement | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Penalty Minutes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Czech Republic | EJC | 5th place | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Czech Republic | Olympic Games | 7th place | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Czech Republic | World Championship | 5th place | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Czech Republic | World Cup of Hockey | Bronze medal (3rd) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Czech Republic | World Championship | Silver medal (2nd) | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Czech Republic | World Championship | Bronze medal (3rd) | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Career totals (Senior level) | 31 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Honour | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario Hockey League (OHL) | ||
| Second All-Star Team selection | 1999 | |
| Plus/Minus Trophy recipient | 1999 | |
| CHL All-Rookie Team inclusion | 1999 | |
| National Hockey League (NHL) | ||
| Stanley Cup Champion (with Colorado Avalanche) | 2001 | |
| Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) | ||
| Participated in All-Star Game | 2011 | |
Transactions
- June 27, 1998 – Selected by Colorado Avalanche in NHL Draft
- February 21, 2004 – Traded to Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Kurt Sauer and a draft pick
- August 3, 2005 – Signed contract with Dallas Stars
- March 9, 2006 – Traded to Minnesota Wild along with Shawn Belle for Willie Mitchell and a draft selection
- September 29, 2009 – Agreed to one-year contract with Pittsburgh Penguins
- March 3, 2010 – Traded to Toronto Maple Leafs together with Luca Caputi for Alexei Ponikarovsky
- March 3, 2010 – Subsequently traded to New Jersey Devils for a fifth-round draft choice
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1979 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Litoměřice
- Avangard Omsk players
- Barrie Colts players
- HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players
- Colorado Avalanche draft picks
- Colorado Avalanche players
- Czech ice hockey defencemen
- Dallas Stars players
- Hershey Bears players
- HC Lev Praha players
- HC Litvínov players
- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
- Minnesota Wild players
- NHL first-round draft picks
- New Jersey Devils players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- HC Slovan Bratislava players
- Stanley Cup champions
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Olympic ice hockey players for the Czech Republic
- Ice hockey people from the Ústí nad Labem Region
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia
- 21st-century Czech sportsmen