Richard Šmehlík

Richard Šmehlík
Born (1970-01-23) 23 January 1970 (age 54)
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 222 lb (101 kg; 15 st 12 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Buffalo Sabres
Atlanta Thrashers
New Jersey Devils
National team  Czech Republic
NHL draft 97th overall, 1990
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 1988–2003
Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Gold medal – first place 1998 Nagano Ice Hockey
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Albertville Team

Richard Šmehlík (born 23 January 1970) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the fifth round, 97th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

Šmehlík joined the Sabres for the 1992–93 season, and played there for nine seasons. He left via free agency for the Atlanta Thrashers before the 2002–03 season.

At the trade deadline of the 2002–03 season, Šmehlík was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a draft pick. Šmehlík would go on to win the Stanley Cup that season with the Devils. He retired following the season.

In his NHL career, Šmehlík appeared in 644 games, tallying 49 goals and adding 146 assists. He also appeared in 88 playoff games, scoring 1 goal and recording 14 assists.

Awards

Trivia

  • The draft pick the Sabres used to select Šmehlík was acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for Lindy Ruff. Ruff would later become the Sabres' head coach, and Šmehlík would play under him for five seasons.
  • Richard and his wife, Martina, have two daughters: Adela and Jessica.
  • Šmehlík appears on the cover of the Czech version of the NHL 2000 video game.
  • During the 1999 Stanley Cup finals he was described as "like a human hovercraft... hard to get around!"

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 TJ Vítkovice CSSR Jr — — — — — — — — — —
1987–88 TJ Vítkovice CSSR-2 — — — — — — — — — —
1988–89 TJ Vítkovice CSSR 28 2 3 5 12 — — — — —
1989–90 TJ Vítkovice CSSR 44 4 3 7 — 7 1 1 2 —
1990–91 ASD Dukla Jihlava CSSR 51 4 2 6 22 7 0 1 1 0
1991–92 TJ Vítkovice CSSR 35 8 5 13 — — — — — —
1992–93 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 4 27 31 59 8 0 4 4 2
1993–94 Buffalo Sabres NHL 84 14 27 41 69 7 0 2 2 10
1994–95 HC Vítkovice CZE 13 5 2 7 12 — — — — —
1994–95 Buffalo Sabres NHL 39 4 7 11 46 5 0 0 0 2
1996–97 Buffalo Sabres NHL 62 11 19 30 43 12 0 2 2 4
1997–98 Buffalo Sabres NHL 72 3 17 20 62 15 0 2 2 6
1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL 72 3 11 14 44 21 0 3 3 10
1999–00 Buffalo Sabres NHL 64 2 9 11 50 5 1 0 1 0
2000–01 Buffalo Sabres NHL 56 3 12 15 4 10 0 1 1 4
2001–02 Buffalo Sabres NHL 60 3 6 9 22 — — — — —
2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 43 2 9 11 16 — — — — —
2002–03 New Jersey Devils NHL 12 0 2 2 0 5 0 0 0 2
CSSR totals 158 18 13 31 — 14 1 2 3 —
NHL totals 644 49 146 195 415 88 1 14 15 40

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1988 Czechoslovakia EJC 5 1 1 2 4
1990 Czechoslovakia WJC 7 0 1 1 4
1991 Czechoslovakia CC 5 0 1 1 2
1991 Czechoslovakia WC 8 1 2 3 8
1992 Czechoslovakia OG 6 0 1 1 2
1992 Czechoslovakia WC 8 0 0 0 4
1998 Czech Republic OG 6 0 1 1 4
2002 Czech Republic OG 4 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 12 1 2 3 8
Senior totals 37 1 5 6 24