Jan Kovář (born 20 March 1990) is

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

forward who currently serves as captain of

EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. It is a member of the National League and plays its home games at the Bossard Arena. History EV Zug won its first championship in the 1997–98 season, and the second one in ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL). He is the younger brother of Jakub Kovář.

Playing career

He made his professional debut with HC Plzeň in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The le ...

during the 2008–09 season. Before moving to Russia for the 2013–14 KHL season in signing for

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They ...

and claiming the

Gagarin Cup The Gagarin Cup (russian: Кубок Гагарина, Kubok Gagarina) is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was ...

. Playing within the Czech national team he advanced to the semi finals before being knocked out. In the bronze medal playoff, he scored against Canada, but the team could not win. As an undrafted free agent after five seasons in the KHL with Magnitogorsk, Kovář signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the New York Islanders, his first team in the NHL on 9 July 2018. On 10 October, after failing to make the team following training camp he was placed on unconditional waivers by the Islanders with the intent of terminating his contract due to facing limited opportunities to continue his adaptation to the North American style if he reported to the AHL with affiliate,

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

. With the intention to continue his career in North America, Kovář secured a professional try-out contract with the Providence Bruins of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) on 18 October. On 5 December, Kovář signed a one-month contract HC Plzeň of the

(ELH). After playing out the season in the ELH, Kovář left in the off-season, securing a one-year contract with Swiss club EV Zug of the NL on 18 June 2019. His contract included an NHL out-clause through 25 June.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1990 births Living people Czech ice hockey forwards HC Plzeň players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Metallurg Magnitogorsk players Olympic ice hockey players of the Czech Republic Sportspeople from Písek Piráti Chomutov players Providence Bruins players HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi players {{CzechRepublic-icehockey-player-stub