Czeching out? - 7-14-09
Slow summer days prompt posts like this.
A very astute poster at LetsGoPens.com pointed out the potential end of a fairly successful streak for the Penguins. Should the Penguins utlimately not retain the services of Petr Sykora (above) or sign any one else from his homeland, the team would be without a player of Czech descent on its roster for the first time in 19 years.
Every season since the Cup-winning 1990-91 campaign, the Penguins have employed someone who at one time maintained a Czech or Czechoslovakian zip code (or whatever numbering system they use to sort mail there).
It might seem like a trivial matter (which it probably is) but considering this franchise doubled as the Czech Republic's national team at times in the late 1990s, it's kind of sobering to see the numbers decline to this point.
A look at all the Czechs who have played for the Penguins since 1990-91:
| Season (No. of players) |
Players | Games Played |
Goals- Assists- Points |
| 1990-91 (2) |
Jiri Hrdina Jaromir Jagr |
37 80 |
6-14-20 27-30-57 |
| 1991-92 (2) |
Jiri Hrdina Jaromr Jagr |
56 70 |
3-13-16 32-37-69 |
| 1992-93 (2) | Jaromir Jagr Martin Straka |
81 42 |
34-60-94 3-13-16 |
| 1993-94 (2) | Jaromir Jagr Martin Straka |
80 84 |
32-68-99 30-34-64 |
| 1994-95 (2) | Jaromir Jagr Martin Straka |
48 31 |
32-38-70 4-12-16 |
| 1995-96 (2) | Jaromir Jagr Petr Nedved |
82 80 |
62-87-149 45-54-99 |
| 1996-97 (4) |
Josef Beranek Petr Klima Jaromir Jagr Petr Nedved |
8 9 63 74 |
3-1-4 1-3-4 47-48-95 33-38-71 |
| 1997-98 (4) | Jaromir Jagr Robert Lang Jiri Slegr Martin Straka |
77 51 73 75 |
35-67-102 9-13-22 5-12-17 19-23-42 |
| 1998-99 (6) |
Jan Hrdina Jaromir Jagr Robert Lang Pavel Skrbek Jiri Slegr Martin Straka |
82 81 72 4 63 80 |
13-29-42 44-83-127 21-23-44 0-0-0 3-20-23 35-48-83 |
| 1999-2000 (7) |
Josef Beranek Jan Hrdina Jaromir Jagr Robert Lang Michal Rozsival Jiri Slegr Martin Straka |
13 70 63 78 75 74 71 |
4-4-8 13-33-46 42-54-96 23-42-65 4-17-21 11-20-31 20-39-59 |
| 2000-01 (11) |
Josef Beranek Jan Hrdina Jaromir Jagr Milan Kraft Frantisek Kucera Robert Lang Josef Melichar Michael Rozsival Roman Simicek Jiri Slegr Martin Straka |
70 78 81 42 7 82 18 30 29 42 82 |
9-14-23 15-28-43 52-69-121 7-7-14 0-2-2 32-48-80 0-2-2 1-4-5 3-6-9 5-10-15 27-68-95 |
| 2001-02 (6) |
Jan Hrdina Milan Kraft Robert Lang Josef Melichar Michal Rozsival Martin Straka |
79 68 62 60 79 13 |
24-33-57 8-8-16 18-32-50 0-3-3 9-20-29 5-4-9 |
| 2002-03 (7) |
Jan Hrdina Milan Kraft Josef Melichar Michal Rozsival Michael Sivek Martin Straka Vladimir Vujtek |
57 31 8 53 38 60 5 |
14-25-39 7-5-12 0-0-0 4-6-10 3-3-6 18-28-46 0-1-1 |
| 2003-04 (3) |
Milan Kraft Josef Melichar Martin Straka |
66 82 22 |
19-21-40 3-5-8 4-8-12 |
| 2005-06 (1) |
Josef Melichar | 70 | 1-11-12 |
| 2006-07 (1) | Josef Melichar | 72 | 3-12-15 |
| 2007-08 (1) | Petr Sykora | 81 | 28-35-63 |
| 2008-09 (1) | Petr Sykora | 81 | 25-21-46 |
(Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)