Christian Dvorak

Christian Dvorak (born February 2, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 58th overall, by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Junior

Dvorak started his playing career with the Chicago Mission U16 and U18 teams. After his impressive seasons in Chicago, he was chosen sixth overall in the United States Hockey League (USHL) Futures Draft, as well as in the eighth round of the 2012 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection draft. He played the 2012–13 season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL, but decided the following year to move to Canada to join the London Knights of the OHL.

Following the 2013–14 season, he was selected in the second round of the annual NHL entry draft by the Arizona Coyotes, who also previously drafted his former Knights teammate Max Domi the year prior.

His rise to stardom began in the 2014–15 season, where he was second on the team with a staggering 109 points, only behind linemate Mitch Marner. On April 18, 2015, Dvorak signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a three-year, entry-level deal with the Arizona Coyotes. He was assigned on an amateur tryout (ATO) to make his professional debut with American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates.

Dvorak was named co-captain of the Knights at the beginning of the 2015–16 season, sharing the honor with Marner. Throughout the season, Dvorak played on the top line alongside the foregoing as well as Matthew Tkachuk. Leading the team with 121 points, surpassing his previous best, he helped London capture the 2016 Memorial Cup at the ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta to end his major junior career.

Professional

Arizona Coyotes (2016–2021)

On November 3, 2016, Dvorak scored his first NHL goal on goaltender Pekka Rinne to help clinch a win over the Nashville Predators. He also chipped in an assist on a goal scored by Anthony Duclair to tie the game, marking the first multi-point effort of Dvorak's NHL career.

On October 30, 2017, Dvorak scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season to help the Coyotes defeat the Philadelphia Flyers and avoid setting a new NHL record with a 12th-straight loss to start the season. In August 2018, he signed a six-year contract extension with the team.

Initially sidelined to begin the 2018–19 season due to a pectoral muscle injury, it was subsequently announced that Dvorak required surgery to repair same. Months later, after a brief conditioning stint with the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners, he made his season debut with Arizona on February 26, 2019. The following season, Dvorak would set career highs in both goals (18) as well as points (38).

Montreal Canadiens (2021–present)

On September 4, 2021, Dvorak was traded by the Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick. With the decision made by the Canadiens not to match an offer sheet tendered to 2018 third overall selection Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the team suddenly had a void to fill at the center position. Already subject to trade rumors for an extended period, Dvorak was seen as an ideal candidate to fill the positional in need. Dvorak made his debut for the Canadiens on September 27, 2021 in a pre-season game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he scored a goal and added three assists. The regular season began with major challenges for both Dvorak and the Canadiens, who experienced a historically bad season that led to much of the management brass being relieved of their duties. Dvorak was injured in January and missed two months of play, but saw his output improve on his return under new head coach Martin St. Louis. Collectively, he finished the season with a total of 11 goals and 22 assists in 56 games played.

After beginning the 2022–23 season with no points through his first seven games, team head coach Martin St. Louis spoke on Dvorak's line, remarking "they have to continue doing what they're doing. All the statistics we have on their game, all the chances they produce, the way they defend, they're very good, they just haven't gotten the results." Two days later, on October 29, Dvorak scored his first career hat-trick in a 7–4 victory over the St. Louis Blues, notching two goals within minutes of the third period and adding an empty netter at the end of the game. Thereafter, he skated in his 400th career NHL game on January 12, 2023, and registered his 200th career NHL point exactly one month later, before sustaining a season-ending knee injury during a 4–3 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in early March.

On January 4, 2024, it was announced that Dvorak would miss the remainder of the 2023–24 season for yet another torn pectoral muscle, marking his second consecutive season-ending surgery after appearing in only 30 games during the course of the campaign. At the time of his injury, his faceoff percentage of 57.77% ranked eleventh across the entire NHL.

During the course of the 2024–25 season, Dvorak played in his 500th career NHL game on January 23, 2025 versus the Detroit Red Wings and would record his 100th career NHL goal on March 15 in a game against the Florida Panthers.

International play

Dvorak made his international debut as part of the United States national junior team for the 2016 World Junior Championships, winning a bronze medal. Collectively, he recorded eight points across seven tournament games.

In May 2017, Dvorak was named to the United States national senior team for the annual IIHF World Championships where his team ultimately finished in fifth place following a loss to Finland in the quarterfinals.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dvorak, Christian
1996 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey centers
American people of Czech descent
Arizona Coyotes draft picks
Arizona Coyotes players
Chicago Steel players
Ice hockey players from Illinois
London Knights players
Montreal Canadiens players
Portland Pirates players
Tucson Roadrunners players
21st-century American sportsmen