David Krejčí

Playing career

David Krejčí was the Boston Bruins' first pick in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft (63rd overall). He was drafted out of Czech junior leagues, having played for HC Kladno. Following his selection, he moved to North America to play major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Gatineau Olympiques for two seasons.

2006–2008

Krejčí turned pro in 2006–07, playing for the Bruins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins. He played in his first NHL game on January 30, 2007, in a 7–1 loss against the Buffalo Sabres, but suffered a concussion from Buffalo's Adam Mair during his third shift. He recorded just 2:07 minutes of ice time. Krejčí played increasingly with Boston the following season, appearing in 56 NHL games to go with 25 games in Providence. On February 19, 2008, Krejčí was involved in a shootout tie-breaker round, in a Bruins road game against the Carolina Hurricanes, and scored to help the Bruins take the shootout 2–1. Krejčí's shootout tally would not, however, register as his first NHL goal, as shootout goals do not count towards a player's statistical totals. Krejčí scored his first official NHL goal a week later, on February 26, against Martin Gerber of the Ottawa Senators, as the second Bruins goal in a 4–0 home-ice shutout. He finished his rookie NHL season with six goals and 27 points.

2008–2010

In 2008–09, Krejčí scored his first NHL hat-trick on December 18, 2008, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He registered his first two goals against starter Vesa Toskala and his third against Curtis Joseph in an 8–5 Bruins win. About the midpoint of that season, NESN's play-by-play TV announcer Jack Edwards for televised Bruins games gave Krejčí the nickname "The Matrix", due to his ability to slow down the pace of a game through his skating style and abilities on the ice. Before a game on April 2, 2009, Krejčí was named the winner of the Boston Bruins' 2009 Seventh Player Award. The award is given annually to the player who "goes beyond the call of duty and exceeds all expectations" throughout the course of the season. During the game, Krejčí assisted on a goal by Milan Lucic, the 2008 winner of the Seventh Player Award, in a 2–1 home ice victory over the Ottawa Senators. He completed his second NHL season with 73 points in 82 games to go with a league-high +37 plus-minus rating.

In 2008–09, Krejčí had a career-high 73 points in the regular season. On June 2, 2009, he signed a multi-year contract extension with the Bruins, reportedly a three-year deal averaging $3.75 million a year.

At the beginning of November 2009, Krejčí was noticeably ill, and this was confirmed on November 5, 2009, with a diagnosis of infection with the H1N1 virus, which sidelined Krejčí for a period of time.

On May 5, 2010, during the Stanley Cup playoffs, Krejčí dislocated his wrist less than five minutes into a game when he was leveled at the Bruins' blue line by Philadelphia Flyers' centre Mike Richards. Surgery was needed and was performed following the game at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, and Krejčí missed the remainder of the playoffs.

2011–present

On May 25, 2011, Krejčí recorded his second NHL career hat-trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the playoffs. He was the first Bruin to record a playoff hat trick since Cam Neely, two decades prior. On June 15, Krejčí and the Bruins won the team's first Stanley Cup in 39 years, beating the Vancouver Canucks 4–0 in Game 7. Krejčí finished the 2011 playoffs with an NHL-leading 12 goals, 23 points and four game-winning goals.

On March 1, 2012, Krejčí got his third career hat-trick versus the New Jersey Devils. He scored goals in the first, third and overtime period in a 4–3 win. In the fourth game of the 2013 opening round playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Krejčí scored a hat-trick, including the game-winning goal in overtime.

On October 1, 2013, Krejčí was named alternate captain of the Bruins. On October 25, 2013, Krejcí scored a game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds left against the San Jose Sharks and goaltender Antti Niemi.

On September 3, 2014, Krejčí signed a six-year extension with the Bruins. During a road game on February 20, 2015 against the St. Louis Blues, Krejčí suffered a partial tear of his MCL in his left knee, forcing him off the ice for 4-6 weeks for a recovery.

International play

After the Bruins' 2007–08 season ended, Krejčí was named to the Czech national team on April 26, 2008, for the 2008 IIHF World Championships. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, playing center on a line with wingers Tomáš Fleischmann and Martin Erat to open the Games.

Regular season and playoffs

_{Bolded numbers indicate season/playoff leader}

Awards