Libor Hájek
Libor Hájek (born 4 February 1998) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
| Libor Hájek | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
4 February 1998 Smrček, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
New York Rangers Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) HC Kometa Brno | ||
| National team |
 Czech Republic | ||
| NHL Draft |
37th overall, 2016 Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Playing career
Hájek made his Czech Extraliga (ELH) debut playing 17 games with HC Kometa Brno during the 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season.[1] In opting to continue his development in the CHL, Hájek was selected second overall in the 2015 CHL Import Draft by the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL.[2]
At the completion of his second season with the Blades, Hájek was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 21, 2017.[3] He immediately joined primary affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch 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, along with Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, and two draft picks, for Ryan McDonagh and J. T. Miller.[4] Hájek recorded his first career NHL assist off a goal by Mika Zibanejad during the 2019–20 season opener against the Winnipeg Jets on 3 October.[5]
On 13 November 2020, Hájek was loaned to HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH).[6]
On 7 September 2021, the Rangers re-signed Hájek to a one-year contract.[7] On 12 July 2022, he was signed to a one-year contract extension.[8] He spent most of the 2022–23 season with the Rangers but was assigned to Hartford on 10 February 2023.[9]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U18 | 43 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U18 | 32 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U20 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Kometa Brno | CZE U20 | 44 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 62 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 69 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 65 | 4 | 22 | 26 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 33 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Regina Pats | WHL | 25 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2018–19 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 58 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | New York Rangers | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | New York Rangers | NHL | 44 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | New York Rangers | NHL | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 24 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 31 | |||||||
| 2022–23 | New York Rangers | NHL | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 110 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Czech Republic | U17 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Czech Republic | IH18 |  |
5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Czech Republic | IH18 | 6th | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | WJC18 | 7th | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2018 | Czech Republic | WJC | 4th | 7 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | |
| 2021 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 31 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 28 | ||||
| Senior totals | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
References
- "HC Kometa Brno 2014–15 statistics". eliteprospects.com. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- "2015 CHL import draft". Canadian Hockey League. 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- "Lightning sign Libor Hajek to entry-level contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- "Rangers Acquire Namestnikov, Hajek, Howden, 2018 1st Rd. Pick & 2019 Pick". NHL.com. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- @NYRStatsInfo (3 October 2019). "Libor Hajek recorded his first career NHL assist by tallying an assist on Zibanejad's goal. #NYR" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Zajíček, Roman (13 November 2020). "Libor Hájek se vrací do extraligy. Obránce z NHL pomůže domovské Kometě". hc-kometa.cz. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- "Rangers Agree to Terms with Libor Hajek". NHL.com. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- "Rangers Agree to Terms with Libor Hajek". NHL.com. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- "Rangers Assign Libor Hajek to Wolf Pack". Hartford Wolf Pack. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database