Jiří Sekáč

Jiří Sekáč (born 10 June 1992) is a Czech professional ice hockey player for HC Lugano of the National League (NL). Originally undrafted by teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), Sekáč has previously played for the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Arizona Coyotes.

Playing career As a youth, Sekáč played in the 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Chomutov.

Sekáč later played with HC Lev Praha in the Kontinental Hockey League and HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga. On 1 July 2014 Sekáč signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens worth $1,850,000. In his first North American season in 2014–15 he scored his first NHL goal on 16 October 2014 against Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.

On 13 January 2015 Sekáč was invited to the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition as a replacement for Los Angeles Kings' forward Tanner Pearson. Known for his skating speed, he was drafted by Team Foligno, along with Canadiens' teammate Carey Price, and participated in the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater race, beating Aaron Ekblad with a time of 13.683s, making him the 6th fastest of the event.

After 50 games with the Canadiens on 24 February 2015 he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Devante Smith-Pelly.

In the following 2015–16 season, Sekáč was unable to secure a regular forward role and appeared in 22 games for 3 points with the Ducks before he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Ryan Garbutt on 21 January 2016. Sekáč was used sparingly in 6 games with the Blackhawks registering one assist before being placed on waivers and claimed by the Arizona Coyotes on 27 February 2016. Sekac closed out the season with the Coyotes, appearing 11 games for two assists.

On 6 June 2016 Sekáč headed back to Europe and signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan in a return to the Kontinental Hockey League.

On 1 May 2019, after three productive seasons with Ak Bars, Sekáč was traded to reigning champions HC CSKA Moscow in exchange for Igor Ozhiganov's KHL rights. He registered 25 points in 45 regular season games, before ending his season through injury.

A free agent from CSKA, Sekáč continued his career in the KHL, agreeing to a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk on 16 July 2020.

On 28 July 2021, Sekáč joined Lausanne HC of the National League (NL) on a three-year deal through the end of the 2023–24 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08 HC GEUS OKNA Kladno CZE U18 45 6 9 15 8 — — — — — 2008–09 HC GEUS OKNA Kladno CZE U18 46 38 49 87 48 5 3 3 6 6 2009–10 Peterborough Petes OHL 8 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2009–10 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 38 2 9 11 35 — — — — — 2010–11 Youngstown Phantoms USHL 58 18 27 45 27 — — — — — 2011–12 Tatranskí Vlci MHL 6 8 2 10 22 — — — — — 2011–12 HC Lev Poprad KHL 36 2 8 10 4 — — — — — 2012–13 HC Sparta Praha ELH 21 4 6 10 8 — — — — — 2012–13 HC Lev Praha KHL 26 0 1 1 8 3 0 0 0 0 2013–14 HC Lev Praha KHL 47 11 17 28 18 21 1 7 8 24 2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 7 9 16 18 — — — — — 2014–15 Anaheim Ducks NHL 19 2 5 7 4 7 0 0 0 2 2015–16 Anaheim Ducks NHL 22 1 2 3 4 — — — — — 2015–16 San Diego Gulls AHL 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 6 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2015–16 Arizona Coyotes NHL 11 0 2 2 10 — — — — — 2016–17 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 47 13 14 27 41 15 6 4 10 2 2017–18 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 50 16 26 42 16 15 4 9 13 2 2018–19 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 60 23 24 47 16 4 1 0 1 2 2019–20 CSKA Moscow KHL 45 12 13 25 12 — — — — — 2020–21 Avangard Omsk KHL 34 10 11 21 22 6 2 0 2 0 2021–22 Lausanne HC NL 50 19 27 46 24 8 4 2 6 6 2022–23 Lausanne HC NL 43 15 17 32 24 — — — — — 2023–24 Lausanne HC NL 43 8 17 25 70 19 6 5 11 41 KHL totals 345 87 114 201 137 64 14 20 34 30 NHL totals 108 10 19 29 38 7 0 0 0 2

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2009 Czech Republic IH18 5th 1 2010 Czech Republic WJC18 6th 6 4 0 4 2 2012 Czech Republic WJC 5th 6 0 3 3 2 2014 Czech Republic WC 4th 10 2 0 2 4 2018 Czech Republic OG 4th 5 0 1 1 2 2021 Czech Republic WC 7th 5 0 2 2 2 Junior totals 12 4 3 7 4 Senior totals 20 2 3 5 8

Awards and honours Award Year RefKHL Gagarin Cup champion 2018, 2021