Vladimír Růžička (born June 6, 1963 in Most, Czechoslovakia), was a former Czechoslovak and Czech ice hockey player. He was twice named the top player in the Czechoslovak Elite League, and was on the gold medal team in the Ice Hockey World Championship in 1985 and 1998 Olympic Games.

Playing career

After retiring as a player in 2000 he started working as a coach in HC Slavia Praha and in 2002–03 and 2007–08 seasons his team won the Czech Extraliga. Between 2002–2004 he was also an assistant coach of the Czech national ice hockey team. Shortly after he left the team, the head coach Ivan Hlinka died and he took the position after him, leading the Czech Republic team to the Vienna World Championship gold medal in 2005.

Růžička also had a short career in the NHL, being selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 73rd overall 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He played five seasons for the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. His best season statistically came in 1991–92 when he recorded 75 points (39 goals, 36 assists) with Boston. He has a Stanley Cup ring and is on the 1990 Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup team picture. However, Růžička only played 25 regular season games and did not appear in the playoffs that season. Thus, his name was not engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Career statistics

                                           --- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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1988-89 Dukla Trencin Czech 45 46 38 84 42 -- -- -- -- --
1989-90 Edmonton Oilers NHL 25 11 6 17 10 -- -- -- -- --
1990-91 Boston Bruins NHL 29 8 8 16 19 17 2 11 13 0
1991-92 Boston Bruins NHL 77 39 36 75 48 13 2 3 5 2
1992-93 Boston Bruins NHL 60 19 22 41 38 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 Ottawa Senators NHL 42 5 13 18 14 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 Zug Swiss -- -- -- -- -- 6 2 5 7 14
1994-95 Slavia Praha HC Czech 44 29 24 53 0 -- -- -- -- --
1995-96 Slavia Praha HC Czech 37 21 47 68 46 5 2 1 3 26
1996-97 Slavia Praha HC Czech 44 22 32 54 78 -- -- -- -- --
1997-98 Slavia Praha HC Czech 49 20 40 60 60 -- -- -- -- --
1998-99 Slavia Praha HC Czech 50 25 31 56 67 -- -- -- -- --
1999-00 Slavia Praha HC Czech 21 5 8 13 16 -- -- -- -- --
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        NHL Totals                        233   82   85  167  129  30   4  14  18   2

See also

• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players

External links