By: Liz Rizzo | Follow me on Twitter @pastagrl88
For the fifth consecutive year, Boston Bruins right-winger David Pastrnak took home the honor of being named Czech Player of the Year. With the win, Pastrnak surpassed fellow legendary countryman Jaromir Jagr, who himself won the award for a record four straight years.
Every year the Golden Hockey Stick (Zlatá hokejka) is given to the top Czech hockey player. Jagr has won the award a record 12 times while legendary goaltender Dominik Hašek won it five times. Vladimír Martinec nabbed the title four times and Milan Nový three times. Ondřej Palát, who won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning came in second while fellow Bruins’ David Krejčí came in third.
The voting poll results for the Golden Hockey Stick (an award which started in 1969) are announced by Český hokej and BPA sport marketing. Czech hockey coaches from national, youth, and local clubs teams, along with journalists dedicated to ice hockey voted for the best players. In the three rounds of voting, Pastrnak received top honors in all of them, nearly beating Palát with a 20-point lead. The first round took place in March 2021, the second round was in June 2021 and the deadline for the top ten was shortly after the Stanley Cup Final. The results were announced and televised this past Friday the 13th, on ČT sport. The event was moderated by Czech sports commentator Michal Dusík and the General Manager of the Czech national team Petr Nedvěd (who also played professionally in the NHL).
Pastrnak is tied for second with Hasek for wins (five). The Havirov native ended this past season with 48 points in 48 games with 20 goals and 28 assists. During the post-season playoff run, the 25-year-old notched 15 points with seven goals and eight assists in 11 games.
Here is the full list of players that were voted for this year’s award:
| Location | Name | Club | Points |
| 1st place | David Pastrnak | Boston Bruins | 492 |
| 2nd place | Ondřej Palát | Tampa Bay Lightning | 472 |
| 3rd place | David Krejčí | Boston Bruins | 338 |
| 4th place | Martin Nečas | Carolina Hurricanes | 300 |
| 5th place | Dominik Kubalík | Chicago Blackhawks | 255 |
| 6th place | Dmitry Yashkin | Dynamo Moscow | 246 |
| 7th place | Jakub Voráček | Philadelphia Flyers | 239 |
| 8th place | Filip Hronek | Detroit Red Wings | 231 |
| 9th place | Jakub Vrána | Washington Capitals / Detroit Red Wings | 151 |
| 10th place | Vítek Vaněček | Washington Capitals | 136 |
Next in order:
11. Jan Kovář (EV Zug) 168 (51/117),
12. Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks) 160 (43/117),
13. Simon Hrubec (Avangard Omsk) 138 (0/138),
14. Matěj Stránský (HC Oceláři Třinec) 90 (59/31),
15. Pavel Zacha (New Jersey Devils) 77 (67/10),
16. Milan Gulas (HC Skoda Plzen) 44 (36/8),
17. Tomas Hyka (Traktor Chelyabinsk) 42 (42/0),
18. Jan Rutta (Tampa Bay Lightning) 41 (8/33),
19. Jakub Kovář (Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg) 32 (23/9),
20. Roman Červenka (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers) 26 (26/0),
21. Jakub Flek (HC Karlovy Vary) 24 (0/24),
22. Radko Gudas (Philadelphia Flyers) 23 (12/11),
23. Martin Růžička (HC Oceláři Třinec) 22 (18/4),
24. Filip Zadina (Detroit Red Wings) 19 (7/12),
25. Michal Repik (HC Sparta Praha) 17 (15/2),
26. Petr Mrázek (Carolina Hurricanes) 14 (8/6),
27. – 29. Radan Lenc (White Tigers Liberec) 12 (11/1), Michael Špaček (HC Oceláři Třinec) 12 (0/12) and Jakub Zbořil (Boston Bruins) 12 (10/2),
30. David Stastny (BK Mlada Boleslav) 10 (7/3),
31. David Rittich (Calgary Flames / Toronto Maple Leafs) 8 (2/6),
32. – 33. Michal Birner (White Tigers Liberec) 7 (7/0) and Roman Will (Traktor Chelyabinsk) 7 (2/5),
34. – 35. Dominik Lakatoš (HC Vítkovice Ridera) 6 (3/3) and Petr Vrána (HC Oceláři Třinec) 6 (1/5),
36. – 38. Lukáš Dostál (Ilves Tampere / San Diego Gulls) 5 (5/0), Viktor Hübl (HC Verva Litvínov) 5 (4/1) and Tomáš Zohorna (Amur Khabarovsk / HC Dynamo Pardubice) 5 (4 / 1),
39. Daniel Vladar (HC Dynamo Pardubice / Providence Bruins) 4 (4/0),
40. – 43. Oscar Flynn (BK Mladá Boleslav) 2 (2/0), Jiří Sekáč (Avangard Omsk) 2 (2/0), David Sklenička (Helsinki Jokerit) 2 (0/2) and Vladimír Sobotka (HC Sparta) Prague) 2 (2/0),
44. – 45. Dominik Furch (Dinamo Minsk) 1 (1/0) and Filip Chytil (New York Rangers) 1 (0/1)
Please enjoy this video of a packed TD Garden a year after having empty arenas:
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