Jaroslav Jiřík was a Czech former professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 right winger

Winger (ice hockey)

Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...

. He became the first player that an Eastern Bloc

Eastern bloc

The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...

 country released to play in the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 when he appeared in three games with the St. Louis Blues

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...

 in the 1969–70 season.

Jiřík played seventeen seasons in the Czechoslovak Extraliga

Czechoslovak Extraliga

The Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League was the elite ice hockey league in Czechoslovakia from 1930 until 1993, when the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Slovak Extraliga and Czech Extraliga formed from the split.-See also:...

, scoring 300 goals in 450 games. Jiřík was named an all-star at the 1965 World Ice Hockey Championships

1965 World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1965 Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Tampere, Finland, 3rd March - 15th March. Eight teams took part, each playing each other once. The Soviets were world champions, winning all of their games.-First round:-Second round:...

, and he was a member of the Czechoslovak national team that won the bronze medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics

At the 1964 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck....

 and the silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics

Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics

At the 1968 Winter Olympics held in Grenoble, France, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship...

. He scored 83 goals in 134 international games for Czechoslovakia.

Jiřík was first noticed by St. Louis Blues

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...

 assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher

Cliff Fletcher

George Clifford Fletcher is a National Hockey League executive and is a former general manager of the Atlanta Flames/Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Phoenix Coyotes . He is currently a Senior Advisor to the Toronto Maple Leafs...

 in 1969. Fletcher actually signed three Czechoslovak players: Jiřík, Jan Havel, and Josef Horešovský

Josef Horešovský

Josef Horešovský is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the Czechoslovak Extraliga. He played for HC Jihlava and HC Sparta Praha. He won a bronze medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics....

, all of whom were given permission to transfer to North America by the Czechoslovak government. However, the government changed its mind about Havel and Horesovský, because they were still in their twenties. Jiřík, 30 at the time, was the only player allowed to go.

Jiřík spent most of the 1969–70 season with St. Louis's minor-league affiliate, the Kansas City Blues

Kansas City Blues (ice hockey)

The Kansas City Blues were a minor-league hockey team based in Kansas City, Missouri that played in the Central Hockey League from 1967 to 1972, and again in the 1976-77 season, mainly as an affiliate of the in-state St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. On February 21, 1971, Michel Plasse...

 of the Central Hockey League. He played well in Kansas City, scoring 35 points in 53 games. St. Louis called him up late in the season, and he played three games with the club, going scoreless. He was invited to remain with the organization for the 1970–71 season; however, Jiřík decided to return to Czechoslovakia instead.

On 11 July 2011, Jiřík, an experienced pilot, died in a plane crash near Medlánky Airfield at the notrthern suburb of Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...	Team	League		GP	G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...	A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...	Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one...	PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957–58	HC Kladno HC Kladno Rytíři Kladno is a Czech professional ice hockey team based in the city of Kladno. They are currently a member of the Czech Extraliga, the top flight level of ice hockey in the Czech Republic....	CZE
1958–59	HC Kladno	CZE		22	16
1959–60	HC Kladno	CZE
1960–61	HC Kladno	CZE
1961–62	Rudá hvězda Brno	CZE		32	28
1962–63	ZKL Brno	CZE		32	23
1963–64	ZKL Brno	CZE
1964–65	ZKL Brno	CZE		32	23
1965–66	ZKL Brno	CZE
1966–67	ZKL Brno	CZE
1967–68	ZKL Brno	CZE		32	25	12	37
1968–69	ZKL Brno	CZE		36	36	7	43
1969–70	Kansas City Blues Kansas City Blues (ice hockey) The Kansas City Blues were a minor-league hockey team based in Kansas City, Missouri that played in the Central Hockey League from 1967 to 1972, and again in the 1976-77 season, mainly as an affiliate of the in-state St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. On February 21, 1971, Michel Plasse...	CHL		53	19	16	35	11		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade...	NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	ZKL Brno	CZE		36	26	12	28
1971–72	ZKL Brno	CZE
1972–73	ZKL Brno	CZE
1973–74	ZKL Brno	CZE			8	7	15
1974–75	ZKL Brno	CZE
NHL totals				3	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0

International

Year	Team	Comp		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1959	Czechoslovakia	WC Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...		8	6	2	8
1960 Ice hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics At the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California, United States, one ice hockey event was held: men's Ice Hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at Blyth Arena.Canada, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and...	Czechoslovakia	Oly 1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...		5	1	3	4	2
1963	Czechoslovakia	WC		7	4	3	7	9
1964 Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics At the 1964 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck....	Czechoslovakia	Oly 1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...		7	3	1	4	6
1965	Czechoslovakia	WC		7	8	4	12	5
1966	Czechoslovakia	WC		7	4	1	5	2
1967	Czechoslovakia	WC		6	5	3	8	2
1968 Ice hockey at the 1968 Winter Olympics At the 1968 Winter Olympics held in Grenoble, France, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship...	Czechoslovakia	Oly 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1968 in Grenoble, France and opened on 6 February. Thirty-seven countries participated...		4	3	3	6	0
1969	Czechoslovakia	WC		5	2	3	5	0

Note: Statistics are incomplete. Jiřík scored 300 goals in 450 Czechoslovak league games, and 83 goals in 134 international games.