Every Czech player ever drafted by the Calgary Flames

When we think about European hockey powers, the first handful of nations that usually come to mind are Russia, Sweden and Finland. But the Czech Republic – also known as Czechia – emerged pretty quickly in the 1980s as one of the more underrated sources of high-end hockey talent. After all, it’s the country that produced Jaromir Jagr – they have some excellent players.

Over the course of their history, the Calgary Flames have made some forays into drafting Czech players. A couple of their early selections from that nation turned out really well. Other were less distinguished. And the Flames have not selected a player from Czechia in awhile – their last one was in 2002.

Here’s a rundown of the 14 Czech players the Flames have drafted.

In the early 1980s, several teams started rolling the dice on Czech players in the late rounds on the off chance they might come to North America – a similar phenomenon happened with Russians. In the 11th round of the 1983 draft, the Flames gambled on defenceman Jaroslav Benak. He never left Europe.

The following year, in the 1984 draft, the Flames opted to devote four of their 12 picks to Czechs:

• In the fourth round, they selected winger Petr Rosol. He never left Europe.
• In the eighth round, they selected centre Jiri Hrdina. After a few more seasons in Czechia, he joined the Flames in the spring of 1988 (as a 30-year-old) and began a pretty impressive run. He played two full seasons with the Flames, 1988-89 and 1989-90, before being traded to Pittsburgh early in the 1990-91 campaign in exchange for Jim Kyte. He was part of the Flames’ 1989 Stanley Cup team, though he was limited to just four playoff games.
• In the 10th round, they selected centre Peter Rucka. He never left Europe.
• In the 12th round, they selected defenceman Rudolf Suchanek. He never left Europe.

The Flames delved back into Czechia in 1986, taking defenceman Antonin Stavjana in the 12th round. (All-time great name, by the way.) He never left Europe.

In 1989, right after winning the Stanley Cup, the Flames made another Czech draft choice. This time, they selected centre Robert Reichel in the fourth round. Reichel ended up coming over in 1990-91 and had a pretty good run with the Flames. He played parts of six seasons with Calgary before being traded to the New York Islanders prior to the 1997 trade deadline.

In 1990, the Flames drafted defenceman Leo Gudas in the 12th round. Yes, that’s Radko Gudas’ dad. Yes, he never came over from Europe.

In 1992, the Flames selected defenceman Pavel Rajnoha in the seventh round. He never left Europe.

In 1994, the Flames nabbed WHL import forward Ladislav Kohn in the seventh round. At the time, he was playing with the Swift Current Broncos. He ended up sticking around North America for awhile, playing in the Flames system for three seasons, impressing with the Saint John Flames and playing nine games for the NHL club. He was traded to Toronto during the 1998 off-season for David Cooper.

In 1996, the Flames chose centre Josef Straka in the fifth round. He never left Europe.

In 1998, the Flames selected forward Radek Duda in the seventh round. He came over the following year and spent a pair of seasons in the WHL with Regina and Lethbridge. He posted 106 points for the Hurricanes in 1999-2000, finishing third in the league in scoring. But he opted to return home to Europe, where he played the remainder of his career.

In 2002, the Flames selected forward David Hajek in the eighth round. He had spent a season in North America, split between the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires and the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, and had already returned to Europe. He never migrated back after being selected, spending the rest of his playing career in Europe.

In 2002, the Flames selected winger Jiri Cetkovsky in the fifth round. He joined the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen for the 2002-03 as an import, but he returned to Europe after a single season and didn’t return.

Which Czech draft choice was the best that the Flames made?