Libor Hájek (born 4 February 1998) is a Czech 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

who is currently playing for

HC Dynamo Pardubice HC Dynamo Pardubice is a professional ice hockey club that plays in the Czech Extraliga. Its home venue is Enteria arena (Pardubice), Enteria arena located in Pardubice. The club was originally named LTC Pardubice, acquiring its current name at ...

in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

(ELH). He was selected by the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

, in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Hájek made his

(ELH) debut playing 17 games with

HC Kometa Brno HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 14 Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League ...

during the

2014–15 Czech Extraliga season The 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season is the 22nd season of the Czech Extraliga since its creation after the breakup of Czechoslovakia and the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League in 1993. HC Verva Litvínov won their first championship after ...

. In opting to continue his development in the CHL, Hájek was selected second overall in the 2015

CHL Import Draft The CHL Import Draft is an annual event in which every team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) may select the rights to eligible import players. An import is classified as a player who does not have residency status in either Canada or the Un ...

by the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1964, the Blades were a charter team of the then-Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966, and are the only club that has played ev ...

of the WHL. At the completion of his second season with the Blades, Hájek was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the

on 21 March 2017. He immediately joined the primary affiliate, the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

of the AHL on an amateur try-out to play out the remainder of the 2016–17 season. On 26 February 2018, Hájek was traded to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, along with Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, and two draft picks, for

Ryan McDonagh Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadie ...

and J. T. Miller. Hájek recorded his first career NHL assist off a goal by Mika Zibanejad during the 2019–20 season opener against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

on 3 October. On 13 November 2020, Hájek was loaned to HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). On 7 September 2021, the Rangers re-signed Hájek to a one-year contract. On 12 July 2022, he was signed to a one-year contract extension. He spent most of the 2022–23 season with the Rangers but was assigned to Hartford on 10 February 2023. Hájek left the Rangers organization after five seasons and was later signed as a free agent to a professional tryout deal with the

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 ...

on 30 August 2023. After attending training camp, he was re-assigned to continue his trial with AHL affiliate, the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...

. He was later signed to a one-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre to open the 2023–24 season on 17 October 2023. Hájek was scoreless through 11 regular season appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before he was mutually released from his contract in order to return to his native Czech Republic and sign a long term five-year contract with HC Dynamo Pardubice of the ELH on 15 December 2023.

International play

Hájek represented Czechia at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and won a gold medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hajek, Libor 1998 births Living people Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey defencemen HC Dynamo Pardubice players Hartford Wolf Pack players HC Kometa Brno players Ice hockey people from the Vysočina Region New York Rangers players People from Žďár nad Sázavou District Regina Pats players Saskatoon Blades players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players 21st-century Czech sportsmen