Tomáš Jurčo

Tomáš Jurčo (born 28 December 1992) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger who is currently playing for HC Košice of the Slovak Extraliga (Slovak). He began playing hockey with Košice before moving to North America in 2009 to play for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He spent three seasons with Saint John, helping them win the Memorial Cup as major junior champions of Canada in 2011. Jurčo was drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Junior At the 2009 CHL Import Draft, Jurčo was selected fourth overall by the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He joined the team that year and was nominated for the 2009–10 QMJHL Rookie of the Year award. His skill set involves a unique set of hands and a good sense of vision on the ice, and he was compared to his favourite player and fellow countryman, Marián Hossa. Jurčo's videos demonstrating his skills are popular among hockey fans on YouTube. Jurčo was a key contributor in the Sea Dogs' Memorial Cup championship title in 2011, where Saint John defeated the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 3–1 in the Final.

On 25 June 2011, the Detroit Red Wings drafted Jurčo in the second round, 35th overall, as the team's first pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft.

Professional On 7 August 2012, Jurčo signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Red Wings. He was then assigned to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the 2012–13 season. He recorded 14 goals and 14 assists in 74 games in his first professional season. Jurčo was among the team's leading scorers during the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs, recording eight goals and six assists to help lead the Griffins to the Calder Cup championship over the Syracuse Crunch.

Jurčo began the 2013–14 season with the Griffins before being called up to the Detroit Red Wings. At the time of his first call-up, Jurčo led the Griffins in goals (11), assists (16), points (27) and power play goals (5). On 15 December 2013, Jurčo made his NHL debut for the Red Wings in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Two nights later, on 17 December, he scored his first career NHL goal against Jonas Hiller of the Anaheim Ducks.

On 24 July 2015, Jurčo signed a two-year contract extension with the Red Wings. On 17 November 2015, Jurčo was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning assignment. Before being assigned to Grand Rapids, Jurčo appeared in four games for the Red Wings that season, recording one assist. On 20 November, Jurčo tied a franchise record with three power play goals, becoming just the third Griffin to accomplish the feat. Jurčo was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending 22 November. He posted a league-best seven points for the week, three goals, and four assists, and helped lead the Griffins to three consecutive wins, tallying assists on all three game-winning goals. On 28 November, Jurčo was recalled by the Red Wings from his conditioning assignment. In five games for the Griffins, Jurčo recorded five goals and four assists and helped lead the Griffins in winning all five games he appeared in.

On 24 February 2017, Jurčo was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft. During his career with the Red Wings, he recorded 15 goals and 24 assists in 159 games. He closed out the regular season with the Blackhawks in scoring just 1 goal in 13 games and was a healthy scratch through Chicago's first-round defeat to the Nashville Predators. As a restricted free agent, on 26 June 2017, Jurčo was re-signed to a one-year contract extension with the Blackhawks.

At the conclusion of his contract with the Blackhawks, Jurčo remained a free agent over the summer and into the 2018–19 season. At the mid-point of the season, Jurčo belatedly signed a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, affiliate to the Florida Panthers on 3 January 2019. Jurčo posted 10 points in 14 games with the Thunderbirds before he was dealt to the Charlotte Checkers in exchange for future considerations, correlating in the Florida Panthers acquisition of Cliff Pu, on 25 February 2019. Jurčo made an immediate impact with the league-leading Checkers, contributing with 17 points in 19 regular season games. He helped Charlotte capture the Calder Cup with 18 points in 18 games, marking his second AHL championship.

On 1 July 2019, Jurčo was signed by former Red Wings general manager Ken Holland as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on a one-year $750,000 contract. He began the 2019–20 season, on the Oilers opening night roster, registering two assists through 12 games before he was re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Suffering an injury, Jurčo was limited to just eight games with the Condors before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a free agent from the Oilers, Jurčo signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on 10 October 2020.

On 3 November 2021, Jurčo belatedly signed a one-year contract with Barys Nur-Sultan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In his lone season with Barys in 2021–22, Jurčo was immediately inserted into the line-up and registered 11 points through 17 regular season games.

Leading into the following 2022–23 season, Jurčo again remained un-signed until opting to continue in the KHL by joining Chinese club, Kunlun Red Star on 24 November 2022.

After tenures with HC Davos and Avangard Omsk, Jurčo rejoined Kunlun Red Star on a one-year contract for the 2024–25 season on 26 July 2024.

On 2 July 2026, Jurčo opted to return to hometown club, HC Košice of the Slovak Extraliga, agreeing to a one-year contract.

International play

Jurčo represented Slovakia at the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, scoring one point in six games. He again represented Slovakia at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he was the leading scorer on the team, recording one goal and seven assists in five games.

Jurčo was selected to play for the senior Slovakia team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he finished the tournament with one goal in four games.

Jurčo represented Slovakia at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded one assist in five games. Jurčo represented Slovakia at the 2016 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded two goals and three assists in seven games.

Personal life Jurčo is the younger brother of Petra Jurčová, a veteran of the Slovak women's ice hockey team.

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 Košice SVK U18 57 28 24 52 30 — — — — — 2008–09 HC Košice SVK U18 5 8 5 13 2 — — — — — 2008–09 HC Košice SVK U20 48 19 30 49 20 3 5 0 5 0 2009–10 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 64 26 25 51 24 21 7 10 17 8 2010–11 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 60 31 25 56 17 19 6 12 18 8 2011–12 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 48 30 38 68 37 16 13 16 29 12 2012–13 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 74 14 14 28 22 24 8 6 14 21 2013–14 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 32 13 19 32 14 8 5 2 7 11 2013–14 Detroit Red Wings NHL 36 8 7 15 14 3 0 0 0 0 2014–15 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 3 15 18 14 7 1 1 2 2 2015–16 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 5 5 4 9 4 — — — — — 2015–16 Detroit Red Wings NHL 44 4 2 6 16 — — — — — 2016–17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 1 1 2 6 — — — — — 2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2017–18 Rockford IceHogs AHL 36 13 12 25 38 — — — — — 2017–18 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 29 6 4 10 12 — — — — — 2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 14 4 6 10 8 — — — — — 2018–19 Charlotte Checkers AHL 19 8 9 17 14 18 7 11 18 18 2019–20 Edmonton Oilers NHL 12 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 2019–20 Bakersfield Condors AHL 8 4 3 7 10 — — — — — 2020–21 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 22 4 7 11 21 4 1 1 2 2 2020–21 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 8 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Barys Nur–Sultan KHL 17 3 8 11 30 5 2 0 2 4 2022–23 Kunlun Red Star KHL 32 10 15 25 16 — — — — — 2023–24 HC Davos NL 17 6 3 9 6 — — — — — 2023–24 Avangard Omsk KHL 21 8 8 16 2 12 3 2 5 8 2024–25 Kunlun Red Star KHL 55 9 20 29 20 — — — — — 2025–26 Lada Togliatti KHL 32 7 6 13 14 — — — — — NHL totals 221 22 31 53 64 10 1 1 2 2 KHL totals 157 37 57 94 82 17 5 2 7 12

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2009 Slovakia WJC18 7th 6 2 3 5 2 2011 Slovakia WJC 8th 6 1 0 1 0 2012 Slovakia WJC 6th 5 1 7 8 4 2014 Slovakia OG 11th 4 1 0 1 2 2015 Slovakia WC 9th 5 0 1 1 0 2016 Slovakia WC 9th 7 2 3 5 0 2018 Slovakia WC 9th 7 4 1 5 8 2021 Slovakia OGQ Q 3 0 1 1 6 2022 Slovakia OG 7 1 1 2 2 Junior totals 17 4 10 14 6 Senior totals 33 8 7 15 18

Awards and honours Award Year CHL CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2011 Memorial Cup (Saint John Sea Dogs) 2011 AHL Calder Cup (Grand Rapids Griffins) 2013 Calder Cup (Charlotte Checkers) 2019