Branislav Mezei

Branislav Mezei (born October 8, 1980) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player. Mezei is a defenceman currently with HK Nitra of the Slovak Extraliga. Mezei has previous played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. Mezei also played for Barys Astana and HC Plzen of the KHL, and Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga. Mezei was a first-round pick of the Islanders in the 1999 NHL entry draft, tenth overall.

Playing career Mezei moved to Canada to play junior hockey with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. Mezei played three seasons with the Bulls from 1997 until 2000. After his second season, he was drafted tenth-overall by the New York Islanders. He joined the Islanders organization in 2000. Mezei played two seasons in the Islanders organization, including 66 games with the Islanders. He recorded his first NHL assist against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 23, 2000, and he scored his first NHL goal on March 31, 2001, against the Boston Bruins. In July 2002, he was traded to the Florida Panthers. He was a member of the Panthers from 2002 until 2008, playing a further 178 games primarily in a defensive role. He tallied 5 goals and 19 assists in his NHL career.

During the 2004–05 lockout, Mezei played for Trinec Ocelari HC and HK Dukla Trenčín. In 2008, Mezei moved to Europe to play with Barys Astana of the KHL. He has since played for Espoo Blues, HC Plzen, HC Pardubice and Lev Poprad.

On August 31, 2014, Mezei remained in the KHL, signing with his fourth club, the Croatian based KHL Medveščak Zagreb on a one-year deal. After just 8 games with the Croatian club, Mezei was released mutually from his contract in order to return to his native Slovakia with HK Nitra on October 24, 2014.

International play He has also played with the Slovak national ice hockey team in Ice Hockey World Championships in 2001, 2004 and 2008.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1995–96 AC/HC Nitra SVK U20 455101586 ————— 1996–97 AC/HC Nitra SVK U20 5272229114 ————— 1997–98 Belleville Bulls OHL 5335858 80228 1998–99 Belleville Bulls OHL 605182390 1804429 1999–2000 Belleville Bulls OHL 587212899 603310 2000–01 New York Islanders NHL 4214553 ————— 2000–01 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 2003328 ————— 2001–02 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 591910137 2001148 2001–02 New York Islanders NHL 2402212 ————— 2002–03 Florida Panthers NHL 1120210 ————— 2002–03 San Antonio Rampage AHL 10000 30000 2003–04 Florida Panthers NHL 4507780 ————— 2004–05 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 4112368 ————— 2004–05 HK Dukla Trenčín SVK 1011216 1212338 2005–06 Florida Panthers NHL 1601137 ————— 2006–07 Florida Panthers NHL 4503355 ————— 2007–08 Florida Panthers NHL 5722464 ————— 2008–09 Barys Astana KHL 565510151 30116 2009–10 HC Plzeň 1929 ELH 1900061 ————— 2009–10 Espoo Blues SM-l 38044120 31234 2010–11 HC Eaton Pardubice ELH 516915118 901116 2011–12 HC Lev Poprad KHL 5331114117 ————— 2012–13 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg KHL 518132189 ————— 2013–14 HC Vityaz KHL 47448108 ————— 2014–15 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 800014 ————— 2014–15 HK Nitra SVK 404101465 1202227 2015–16 HK Nitra SVK 43471154 1621337 2016–17 HK Nitra SVK 565253083 1334737 2017–18 HK Nitra SVK 5152328112 8371014 2018–19 HK Nitra SVK 571121377 1813426 2019–20 HK Nitra SVK 55391268 ————— NHL totals 24051924311 ————— KHL totals 215 20 33 53 479 3 0 1 1 6 SVK totals 312 23 87 110 475 79 10 19 29 179

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1999 Slovakia WJC 6 0 0 0 8 2000 Slovakia WJC 9th 7 1 0 1 6 2001 Slovakia WC 7th 6 0 0 0 2 2004 Slovakia WCH 7th 2 0 0 0 0 2004 Slovakia WC 4th 9 0 0 0 6 2008 Slovakia WC 13th 5 0 0 0 8 2013 Slovakia WC 8th 7 0 4 4 6 Junior totals 13 1 0 1 14 Senior totals 29 0 4 4 22