Václav Nedomanský

Václav Nedomanský (born 14 March 1944) is a Czech former ice hockey forward. He played a total of 22 seasons in three major professional leagues in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, World Hockey Association (WHA), and the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for Slovan Bratislava, Toronto Toros, Birmingham Bulls, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and the St. Louis Blues.

He played for the Slovan Bratislava in Czechoslovakia's major pro league in 1962 and recorded seven 30-goal seasons in 12 years and was considered a folklore hero. In 1974, Nedomanský was the first Czechoslovak hockey player to defect to North America for professional hockey, playing with the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association. In the 1975–76 WHA season, he scored 56 goals in 81 games and won the Paul Deneau Trophy for his gentlemanly conduct.

He departed the team early in the 1977–78 season to join the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He recorded consecutive 30-goal seasons from 1978 to 1980 before playing his final professional season in the season with the Rangers and Blues. He recorded over 300 goals in his native country and over 250 combined goals in the two North American leagues that he played in. Internationally, he played for the national team on eleven occasions, which saw them finish second and third in 1968 and 1972 for the Olympic Games while winning a Ice Hockey World Championship in 1972.

Nedomanský has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, starting with the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1997 before being inducted into both the Slovak and Czech Hockey Halls of Fame in 2002 and 2008, respectively; he was inducted into the IIHF All-Time Czech Team in 2020. In 2019, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the second Czech player to receive the honor.

Czechoslovakia playing career

Nedomanský was born in Hodonín in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in the present-day Czech Republic. He grew up in an apartment that his mother lived in for 60 years. In addition to playing hockey, he also played basketball, tennis, and football. Apparently, he also played briefly for Slovan Bratislava, once scoring a goal for the B team. He studied biology and the faculty of physical education for the country.

Nedomanský played for Slovan Bratislava of the Czechoslovak Extraliga for twelve seasons. In 1968, he was a member of the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team which won silver medals at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble and bronze medals in 1972 at the Winter Olympics in Sapporo. He also played for Czechoslovakia in nine IIHF World Championships and was named top forward at the 1974 World Championships. The 1972 team won the Ice Hockey World Championship over the Soviet Union for their first championship since 1949. At the time, any victory for the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, a satellite state in Soviet sphere was considered a great one for the nation. So impactful was the victory by the Czech team over the Soviets that tennis legend Martina Navratilova cited it as one of her catalysts for her defection in 1975. Government officials soon began to try and erase Nedomanský from the homeland's memory, which ranged from telling teammates that he died in a car accident to scrubbing his image from team photos. When he played in an exhibition game against the Soviet Wings years later, the Russian broadcast only referred to him by his number. He saw his father only once more in 1984, when he was granted a visa to travel to Canada, with the two Nedomanskýs spending two weeks together before his father died of a terminal illness. He was not able to return to his home country until 1991, shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain, whereupon he visited his mother at her apartment. Nedomanský played five seasons for Detroit, posting highs of 38 goals and 74 points.

In 1979, Nedomansky was looking to sign one final contract and the services of Alan Eagleson was meant to handle the matter for his benefit. Apparently, the contract negotiated for Nedomansky would be for several years and even garner a job for him after his playing career ended. However, news of the deal spread through NHL management that urged Detroit and Eagleson to cancel it because of the potential for players to ask for higher salaries. Nedomansky was subsequently offered a four-year contract without the job offer at the end (as hidden by Eagleson) and the right for the team to end the deal after two years. In 1984, he sued Eagleson but lost the case and had to pay court costs (years later, Eagleson would be convicted of fraud and embezzlement after abusing his power with the NHLPA for several years).

In his final season in the season, he played with the Blues and Rangers. He recorded 14 goals with 17 assists in 57 games.

After his playing career ended, Nedomanský coached in Germany and Austria for several years. He also served as a scout for the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and Vegas Golden Knights. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.

Prior to being a noted scout, David Conte first heard about Nedomansky from a Czechoslovak defector when he was working at a winery as a youth as the one that "everyone wanted to wear" his number 14 jersey. Conte eventually met Nedomansky in the late 1980s and again in the 1990s when the two were scouts (Conte for the New Jersey Devils, Nedomansky for Los Angeles) and later worked together for the expansion team Vegas Golden Knights. Conte, with the help of analytics staffers, helped to make a pitch for Nedomansky being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame that compared him to other European greats that resulted in his eventual induction. Conte reflected on Nedomansky being inducted in 2019:

This is an honor that represents so much more than a statistical summary. His defection gave hope to players behind the iron curtain. The migration of great European players enriched our game so much and gave way to the growth of the game globally. His character gave us all an example of dignity and class. He has been an inspiration and example to the world of hockey. This recognition reflects that.

Personally, I congratulate Vaclav. I feel richer for knowing him, and I know the Hall is richer for having him.

Personal life Nedomanský has been married twice and has had three children.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1960–61 SHK Hodonín CZE-2 — — — — — — — — — — 1961–62 SHK Hodonín CZE-2 — — — — — — — — — — 1962–63 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR — — — — — — — — — — 1963–64 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 31 20 7 27 — — — — — — 1964–65 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 32 31 10 41 — — — — — — 1965–66 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 36 39 14 53 — — — — — — 1966–67 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 36 40 20 60 22 — — — — — 1967–68 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 36 34 15 49 10 8 5 6 11 — 1968–69 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 36 27 20 47 — — — — — — 1969–70 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 36 29 13 42 23 — — — — — 1970–71 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 33 31 15 46 — 7 7 3 10 — 1971–72 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 35 35 21 56 — — — — — — 1972–73 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 34 22 17 39 — 11 4 4 8 — 1973–74 Slovan ChZJD Bratislava CSSR 44 46 28 74 — — — — — — 1974–75 Toronto Toros WHA 78 41 40 81 19 6 3 1 4 9 1975–76 Toronto Toros WHA 81 56 42 98 8 — — — — — 1976–77 Birmingham Bulls WHA 81 36 33 69 10 — — — — — 1977–78 Birmingham Bulls WHA 12 2 3 5 6 — — — — — 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 11 17 28 2 7 3 5 8 0 1978–79 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 38 35 73 19 — — — — — 1979–80 Detroit Red Wings NHL 79 35 39 74 13 — — — — — 1980–81 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 12 20 32 30 — — — — — 1981–82 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 12 28 40 22 — — — — — 1982–83 New York Rangers NHL 35 12 8 20 0 — — — — — 1982–83 St. Louis Blues NHL 22 2 9 11 2 — — — — — CSSR totals 388 354 180 534 — 26 16 13 29 — WHA totals 252 135 118 253 43 6 3 1 4 9 NHL totals 421 122 156 278 88 7 3 5 8 0

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1965 Czechoslovakia WC 7 4 2 6 2 1966 Czechoslovakia WC 7 5 2 7 8 1967 Czechoslovakia WC 7 1 2 3 14 1968 Czechoslovakia OLY 7 5 2 7 4 1969 Czechoslovakia WC 10 9 2 11 10 1970 Czechoslovakia WC 10 10 7 17 11 1971 Czechoslovakia WC 10 10 7 17 — 1972 Czechoslovakia OLY 6 8 3 11 0 1972 Czechoslovakia WC 9 9 6 15 0 1973 Czechoslovakia WC 10 9 3 12 2 1974 Czechoslovakia WC 10 10 3 13 4 Senior totals 93 80 39 119 55