Jiří Smejkal
Jiří Smejkal (born 5 November 1996) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) under contract of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. He has previously played in several European leagues.
| Jiří Smejkal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
5 November 1996 České Budějovice, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Center/Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Ottawa Senators Belleville Senators (AHL) Medveščak Zagreb HC Sparta Praha Tappara Lahti Pelicans IK Oskarshamn | ||
| National team |
 Czech Republic | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Playing career
Smejkal started his career in the youth setup at HC Ceske Budejovice. He was picked by Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2013 KHL draft.[1] In 2014, he headed over the Atlantic to hone his skills in the Western Hockey League (WHL), joining the Moose Jaw Warriors.[2] In his first year with the Warriors, Smejkal made 72 WHL appearances, tallying 12 goals and 20 assists. He also started the 2015–16 campaign playing for the team but was traded to fellow WHL side Kamloops Blazers in January 2016.[3]
On 15 July 2016, Smejkal signed with Medveščak Zagreb of the KHL.[4] He left for HC Sparta Praha on 31 January 2017.[5]
Smejkal spent the 2022–23 season with the IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League. He placed third in team scoring with 23 goals and 43 points in 49 games.[6]
As an undrafted free agent, Smejkal signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 4 May 2023.[7] The signing came in response to the Senators' stated goal of bolstering its scoring and organizational depth ahead of a 2023–24 season in which they hoped to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017. Described as a "prototypical power forward", it was hoped that Smejkal's combination of size and skill would help the team achieve that goal.[8] In four pre-season games with Ottawa, Smejkal recorded a goal and three assists.[9] Smejkal was assigned to Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to start the 2023–24 season.[6]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Czech Republic | ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2022 Finland | |
Smejkal has represented his country on several occasions, including the under-18 World Championships in 2014, where the Czech Republic won silver,[10] and the under-20 World Championships in 2016.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | HC Mountfield | CZE U18 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Mountfield | CZE U18 | 36 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 63 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | ||
| 2012–13 | HC Mountfield | CZE U20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | ČEZ Motor České Budějovice | CZE U18 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | ČEZ Motor České Budějovice | CZE U20 | 28 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 72 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Moose Jaw Warriors | WHL | 28 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 30 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | KHL Medveščak Zagreb | KHL | 26 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | HC Sparta Praha | ELH | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | HC Sparta Praha | ELH | 26 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Piráti Chomutov | ELH | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | HC Sparta Praha | ELH | 47 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | HC Sparta Praha | ELH | 47 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Tappara | Liiga | 48 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | ||
| 2021–22 | Pelicans | Liiga | 44 | 25 | 20 | 45 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | ||
| 2022–23 | IK Oskarshamn | SHL | 49 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| ELH totals | 146 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 111 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Czech Republic | WJC18 |  |
6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Czech Republic | WJC | 5th | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Czech Republic | WC | 7th | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Czech Republic | OG | 9th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Czech Republic | WC |  |
10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Czech Republic | WC | 8th | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 11 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Senior totals | 30 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | ||||
References
- "Jít v šestnácti letech do KHL není reálné, ví Smejkal". 4 June 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- "Smejkal Enjoying New Surroundings – Moose Jaw Warriors". mjwarriors.ca. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- "Blazers Acquire Smejkal from Warriors | CFJC Today". cfjctoday.com. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- "Krejcik strenghtens [sic] D, Smejkal joins Bears' attack". www.medvescak.com. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- "HC Sparta Praha » Další posilou je talentovaný útočník Smejkal". www.hcsparta.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 16 February 2017.
- "Belleville Senators issue preseason roster update". Belleville Senators. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- "Senators sign forward Jiri Smejkal to one-year, entry-level contract". Ottawa Senators. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- Reimer, Dayton. "Senators Get More Competitive with Jiri Smejkal". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- "Making the Ottawa Senators? : Jiri Smejkal". YouTube. Coming in Hot with Wallace, York and Ryan. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- "Back for the attack". 2016 World Junior Championship. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database