On Thursday, the Czech Ice Hockey Association named Jiří Šlégr, a former defenseman in the NHL and for the Czech national team – as the new GM of the national team. He replaces Petr Nedvěd, who stepped down for family reasons shortly after the team won the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship.
“The role of the general manager is, among other things, to bond the whole team together, which was shown during the last World Championship,” said 53-year-old Šlégr. “I would definitely like to build on that and help create a team that repeats that success.”
Šlégr played professionally from the late 1980s until 2015, starting and finishing with his local Litvínov club. He also played 11 NHL seasons for the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. He also played professionally in Sweden, Russia and Switzerland.
Internationally, he represented Czechoslovakia at two IIHF World Junior Championships, one World Championship and the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. He then represented Czechia at four World Championships and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
As an Olympic champion in 1998, a Stanley Cup champion with Detroit in 2002 and a World champion in 2010, he is a member of the presigious Triple Gold Club.
“As a hockey player, Jiří Šlégr has reached the absolute maximum, he speaks perfect English, he is a fair person and he has a great perspective when it comes to hockey,” said association president Alois Hadamczik. “I expect and believe that he will use his vast experience and do his best so that we can once again create a team of the best players.”
“As a player, I always represented the Czech Republic with pride and humility, and I will approach my new assignment in the same way,” said Šlégr.
In his last season as a player in 2014-15, Šlégr was also an assistant coach for Litvínov. He eventually became head coach, GM and chairman of the club before leaving in 2020.
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