Entertainment

Richard Zedník (Born January 6, 1976) is a Slovak professional hockey player who plays right wing for the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers. He was drafted in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, in the tenth round, two-hundred forty-ninth overall, after playing junior hockey for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League.

Playing career

On October 31st, 2000, a local Washington, DC radio station DC101 had a promotion in which they offered fans a free ticket and Zednik jersey if they dyed their hair blond as Zednik had in the offseason. Over two hundred people showed up as “Zed Heads” and Zednik scored his first career hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings. [1].

On April 26, 2002, during a playoff game in Montreal against the Boston Bruins, Zednik was elbowed in the face by Bruin defender Kyle McLaren. Zednik, who had scored both goals for Montreal in the 5-2 loss, suffered a fractured cheekbone, broken nose, and a concussion. The injuries forced Zednik to miss the remainder of the playoffs.

Neck injury

On February 10, 2008, in a game between the Florida Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres, teammate Olli Jokinen’s skate blade cut the side of Zednik’s neck. Both players were skating towards a corner: Jokinen was skating down the wing for a body check and Zednik was skating behind the net. Jokinen completed his check and fell forward with his feet flying up. His skate struck Zednik’s neck, and Zednik immediately skated to the Florida bench, leaving a significant trail of blood on the ice.(TSN video) He was immediately attended to by Florida trainer Dave Zenobi and sent to hospital. Zednik underwent surgery that night, and is currently listed as stable.[1] The game was delayed for more than 15 minutes as the zamboni was needed to help clean the blood from the ice. Zenobi and assistant general manager Randy Sexton are remaining with Zednik; the Panthers have arranged for his wife Jessica Welch to be flown in.[1]

Transactions

Richard Zednik was traded by the Washington Capitals on March 13, 2001, along with Jan Bulis and a first round draft pick (Alexander Perezhogin), to Montreal in exchange for Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus, and a second round draft pick (later traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning).

After playing the next 3 years in Montreal, Zednik was traded back to the Capitals on July 12th, 2006 for a third round draft-pick.

On February 26, 2007, Zednik was traded by Washington to the New York Islanders for a 2nd round draft pick.

While being an unrestricted free agent, “Zed” signed a 2-year contract with the Florida Panthers on July 1st , 2007.

Personal life

Zednik is married to Canadian actress Jessica Welch. They have a daughter name Ella born on December 6, 2003.

Career statistics
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994-95 Portland WHL 65 35 51 86 89 9 5 5 10 20
1995-96 Portland WHL 61 44 37 81 154 7 8 4 12 23
1995-96 Portland AHL 1 1 1 2 0 21 4 5 9 26
1995-96 Washington NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — –
1996-97 Portland AHL 56 15 20 35 70 5 1 0 1 6
1996-97 Washington NHL 11 2 1 3 4 — — — — –
1997-98 Washington NHL 65 17 9 26 28 17 7 3 10 16
1998-99 Washington NHL 49 9 8 17 50 — — — — –
1999-00 Washington NHL 69 19 16 35 54 5 0 0 0 0
2000-01 Washington NHL 62 16 19 35 61 — — — — –
2000-01 Montreal NHL 12 3 6 9 10 — — — — –
2001-02 Montreal NHL 82 22 22 44 59 4 4 4 8 6
2002-03 Montreal NHL 80 31 19 50 79 — — — — –
2003-04 Montreal NHL 81 26 24 50 63 11 3 3 6 2
2004-05 Zvolen Slovakia 36 15 19 34 56 17 9 10 19 12
2005-06 Montreal NHL 67 16 14 30 48 6 2 0 2 4
2006-07 Washington NHL 32 6 12 18 16 — — — — –
2006-07 New York Islanders NHL 10 1 2 3 2 5 0 0 0 8
NHL Totals 621 168 152 320 474 48 16 10 26 41

International play

Played for Slovakia in:

* 2006 Winter Olympic Games
* World Championships - 2001, 2003 (bronze medal), 2005
* World Cup of Hockey - 1996, 2004
* Team Slovakia - 45 caps / 10 goals