David Výborný

David Výborný (born January 22, 1975) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player who last played for BK Mladá Boleslav of the Czech Extraliga. He played for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Internationally, he played for the Czech Republic men's national team and won five World Championships, and a bronze medal in ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2025.

Playing career

Early career Výborný first rose to prominence playing with Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga in 1992. He scored 20 goals and 44 points in 52 games, all as a teenager. The Edmonton Oilers picked Výborný up in the second round of the 1993 NHL entry draft, and he proved that he was not a fluke by scoring 46 points for Sparta in the next season.

Výborný came over to North America for the 1994–95 season and played for the Cape Breton Oilers of the American Hockey League (AHL). He again performed quite well, scoring 61 points in 76 games, third most on his team and fifth most among AHL rookies. However, he headed back to Europe after only one season in the AHL. Upon his return to Sparta, he scored at a rigorous pace. He scored 42 points in 40 games and helped Sparta into the playoffs, where he again scored more than a point per game. Výborný spent one more season in Prague and continued to improve with 49 points in 47 games; he added 14 more in the playoffs.

Výborný was a star in the Czech Republic, but he went to Sweden for the 1997–98 season. He played for Modo and led the team in scoring. Again, after just one season abroad, Výborný went back to Sparta Prague. In the 1998–99 season, Výborný cemented his place as one of the stars of the Czech hockey scene. He scored 70 points in 52 games and won the Extraliga's scoring title by 18 points. In the next season, he continued to rack up points and finished second in the league's scoring race. He also won a championship with Sparta. Finally, it seemed as if Výborný had nothing left to prove in the Czech Republic.

NHL career On June 8, 2000, Výborný was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets to add some scoring punch in their first season. He debuted in the NHL on October 7, and scored a goal in his very first NHL game. His production for Columbus was much less than it had been in Prague. In the end, he scored 13 goals and 19 assists, for a total of 32 points in 79 games. He was also ranked 10th among rookies for goals and points and was the first rookie ever to score on multiple penalty shots in one season.

Výborný's performance (31 points) was very similar in his second season. As the Blue Jackets improved, though, so did Výborný. In the 2002–03 NHL season, he scored 46 points and led his team with a +12 plus/minus, which set a record for the Blue Jackets. Výborný improved still more for the 2003–04 NHL season, and he scored 22 goals and 31 assists, for a total of 53 points. He led Columbus in assists and came in second to Rick Nash in goals and points. In addition to his offensive talent, Výborný has proved to be quite durable, as he currently holds the Blue Jackets record for the most consecutive games, with 161. He tied for fourth in the NHL in shorthanded goals with four, another record for the Blue Jackets.

Výborný played for Sparta Prague during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.

Back to Europe On April 25, 2008, it was announced that Výborný was returning to Sparta Prague for the 2008–09 season. With his departure, Rostislav Klesla became the only remaining player from the Blue Jackets' inaugural season. In 2011, Výborný signed with BK Mlada Boleslav. He helped the club win back-to-back championships in the Czech second-division in 2013 and 2014 and earn promotion to the top Czech division in 2014. After suffering a torn ACL, he announced his retirement on March 15, 2016.

Awards and achievements Played in the Czech Ice Hockey Extraliga All-Star game in 1999 and 2000 Appeared on the cover of the Czech edition of the NHL 2K7 video game.

Records NHL record for most penalty shot goals in a season by a rookie

International play Výborný won five World Championships with the Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team and a bronze medal in ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics. At the 2006 IIHF World Championship, when capturing silver, he was named to the all-tournament team. At the 1997 and 1998 World Championships, he won bronze. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2025.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1990–91 Sparta Praha CSSR 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1991–92 Sparta Praha CSSR 31 6 11 17 — — — — — — 1992–93 Sparta Praha CSSR 52 20 24 44 — — — — — — 1993–94 Sparta Praha CZE 43 10 18 28 0 8 4 4 8 0 1994–95 Cape Breton Oilers AHL 76 23 38 61 30 — — — — — 1995–96 Sparta Praha CZE 40 12 31 43 23 11 6 6 12 10 1996–97 Sparta Praha CZE 43 19 28 47 12 10 7 7 14 6 1997–98 Modo Hockey SEL 45 16 21 37 34 9 0 2 2 2 1998–99 Sparta Praha CZE 49 23 44 67 22 8 1 3 4 0 1999–00 Sparta Praha CZE 50 25 38 63 30 9 3 8 11 4 2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 79 13 19 32 22 — — — — — 2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 75 13 18 31 6 — — — — — 2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 79 20 26 46 16 — — — — — 2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 82 22 31 53 40 — — — — — 2004–05 Sparta Praha CZE 51 12 34 46 10 5 2 5 7 4 2005–06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 80 22 43 65 50 — — — — — 2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 82 16 48 64 60 — — — — — 2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 66 7 19 26 34 — — — — — 2008–09 Sparta Praha CZE 52 15 28 43 14 11 8 4 12 4 2009–10 Sparta Praha CZE 51 8 32 40 49 7 1 2 3 4 2010–11 Sparta Praha CZE 49 8 9 17 24 — — — — — 2011–12 BK Mladá Boleslav CZE 41 8 22 30 22 — — — — — 2012–13 BK Mladá Boleslav CZE-2 50 17 37 54 30 22 8 21 29 31 2013–14 BK Mladá Boleslav CZE-2 40 13 42 55 24 16 4 9 13 6 2014–15 BK Mladá Boleslav CZE 49 11 28 39 32 9 3 5 8 4 2015–16 BK Mladá Boleslav CZE 42 8 17 25 20 1 0 0 0 0 CSSR totals 86 26 35 61 — — — — — — CZE totals 551 155 326 481 258 79 35 44 79 36 NHL totals 543 113 204 317 228 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1992 Czechoslovakia EJC 6 6 8 14 0 1993 Czechoslovakia EJC 6 7 5 12 0 1993 Czechoslovakia WJC 7 6 9 15 12 1994 Czech Republic WJC 7 2 5 7 6 1996 Czech Republic WC 8 2 2 4 2 1997 Czech Republic WC 9 2 1 3 2 1998 Czech Republic WC 9 2 4 6 0 1999 Czech Republic WC 10 4 4 8 6 2000 Czech Republic WC 9 4 6 10 6 2001 Czech Republic WC 9 2 0 2 4 2002 Czech Republic WC 7 1 3 4 16 2003 Czech Republic WC 9 4 1 5 8 2004 Czech Republic WCH 5 0 0 0 2 2005 Czech Republic WC 9 1 3 4 8 2006 Czech Republic OG 8 1 3 4 0 2006 Czech Republic WC 9 3 6 9 2 2007 Czech Republic WC 7 1 5 6 2 Junior totals 26 21 27 48 18 Senior totals 115 28 39 67 58