David Volek (born 18 June 1966) is a Czech former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. Volek was born in the former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, where he played in 1983–84 for TJ Slavia PS Karlovy Vary. He later moved to

HC Sparta Praha Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech professional ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak champio ...

and became a member of the Czechoslovakian national ice hockey team for the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

. In 1988 he gained permission from the Czech authorities to visit his parents in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and used this permission to defect to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He joined the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, having been selected by them in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1988–89. Volek is best remembered for scoring an overtime goal that eliminated the favoured and two-time defending

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champion

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

from the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs. The goal came at 5:16 of overtime in the seventh (and deciding) game of the second round of the playoffs.

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Hockey Night in Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

'' announcer

Chris Cuthbert Chris Cuthbert (born September 20, 1957) is a Canadian sportscaster. He currently serves as the lead play-by-play commentator with CBC Sports/Sportsnet for ''Hockey Night in Canada'', and calls most national and regional games for the Toronto Ma ...

called Volek's play in a dramatic fashion: The next year, a

herniated disc A disc herniation or spinal disc herniation is an injury to the intervertebral disc between two vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, ...

forced Volek to retire from the NHL. Volek finished his NHL career, which was spent exclusively with the Islanders, with 95 goals and 154 assists for 249 points. He underwent back surgery the following year in an attempt to return to the game, but after five games with HC Sparta Praha, he was forced to retire for good. Volek has been the assistant coach of HC Sparta Praha since 2005. Between his retirement from playing in 1996 and 2005 he was a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Volek, David 1966 births Living people Buffalo Sabres scouts Calgary Flames scouts Czech ice hockey coaches Czech ice hockey forwards Czechoslovak ice hockey forwards HC Sparta Praha players Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Olympic ice hockey players for Czechoslovakia Ice hockey people from Prague Vancouver Canucks scouts Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in the United States Czechoslovak defectors Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czechoslovak expatriate sportspeople in Canada Czechoslovak expatriate ice hockey people