Ivan Hlinka (January 26, 1950 – August 16, 2004) was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey history. A big centre, his playing style was comparable to Phil Esposito, often scoring with shots from the slot. He played most of his career with HC Litvínov and spent two seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks. Internationally, Hlinka played for the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2002. After retiring as a player, he turned to c
Ivan Hlinka (January 26, 1950 – August 16, 2004) was a Czech professional ice hockey player and coach. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in Czech ice hockey history. A big centre, his playing style was comparable to Phil Esposito, often scoring with shots from the slot. He played most of his career with HC Litvínov and spent two seasons in the National Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks. Internationally, Hlinka played for the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2002. After retiring as a player, he turned to coaching, leading the Czech national team to gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and spending two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. His legacy includes the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament for national under-18 hockey teams, and the Ivan Hlinka Stadion.
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa adăugat o fotografie
ieri
R.I.P Ivan
Playing career Hlinka began to play ice hockey at a young age. When he was six years old, he was playing HC Litvínov's youth team. He played in Czechoslovak league for the first time when he was 16. At age 20, he became a captain of Litvínov's men's team and played in the Czechoslovak national team for the first time. He played 256 games as a member of the Czechoslovak national team and scored 132 goals in international games. He also played in 544 games in the Czechoslovak league and scored 347 times. Hlinka was named the Golden Hockey Stick winner as the country's top player in 1978. Hlinka helped the Czechoslovak team to win world titles in 1972, 1976, and 1977. As a member of the Czechoslovak team, he won an Olympic bronze medal in 1972 and a silver medal in 1976. Hlinka played in the inaugural Canada Cup tournament in 1976, the international tournament in which the best available players competed for their countries (most notably, players from the National Hockey League). Canada defeated Czechoslovakia in the best-of-three final two games to nothing, with scores of 6–0 and 5–4. The following year, he was named the national team's…
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Coaching career After his return to Czechoslovakia, Hlinka began to coach in "his" HC Litvínov. Later, he coached temporarily in Freiburg, Germany. Hlinka also became very famous for his trick in the 1986–87 season. Litvínov was in last place in the standings of the Czechoslovak league. Hlinka, already 37 years old, began to play again. Litvínov immediately improved its game and went unbeaten in Hlinka's first eight games (six wins and two ties). Altogether, he played 19 games and scored 23 points. In the 1990s, Hlinka was head coach of Czechoslovak and later Czech national teams. His teams won bronze medals at the Albertville Olympics and the World Championships in 1992 and 1993. He left the national team after an unsuccessful World Championship in 1994. Hlinka returned in 1997 and his team won the bronze medal at the World Championship again. Hlinka became a national hero when his team won the gold medal at the Nagano Olympics; the first time that the NHL agreed to release its players for the Games. The triumph was celebrated by the whole nation. The dominance of the Czech hockey team in the world was confirmed in May 1999 when Hlinka's team won the World…
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Coaching record
World Championships: 1 gold (1999), 4 bronzes (1992, 1993, 1997, 1998).
Olympics: gold (1998), bronze (1992).
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Death
Hlinka was supposed to be once again head coach of the Czech national team in the 2004–05 season. However, he died on August 16, 2004, at age 54 when his car collided head-on with a Daewoo Avia truck driving the wrong way on the E48 highway 200 yards from the town of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. He had gone to Karlovy Vary to ensure that Jaromír Jágr would participate in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. The truck suddenly appeared in Hlinka's lane.
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Czechoslovak player of the year (1977–78)
All-star centre at the 1978 IIHF World Championship
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Medal of Merit (1999)
Inducted to the IIHF Hall of Fame (2002)
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Czech Ice Hockey Legend (2004)
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament for national U18 ice hockey teams named after him
Ivan Hlinka Stadion, arena of HC Litvínov is named after him
0 comentarii5 vizualizări0 reacții
Ivan Hlinkaa lăsat un gând
ieri
Ivan Hlinka at Olympics.com
Ivan Hlinka at Olympijskytym.cz (in Czech)Ivan Hlinka at Olympic.cz (in Czech) (archived)
