Jaroslav Jiřík, Czech hockey player (St. Louis Blues), died from a plane crash he was , 71

Jaroslav Jiřík was a Czech former professional ice hockey right winger died from a plane crash he was , 71. He became the first player that an Eastern Bloc country released to play in the National Hockey League when he appeared in three games with the St. Louis Blues in the 1969–70 season.
Jiřík played seventeen seasons in the Czechoslovak Extraliga, scoring 300 goals in 450 games.^[3] Jiřík was named an all-star at the 1965 World Ice Hockey Championships,^[6] and he was a member of the Czechoslovak national team that won the bronze medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics.^[5][7] He scored 83 goals in 134 international games for Czechoslovakia.^[5]

(December 10, 1939 - July 11, 2011)

Jiřík was first noticed by St. Louis Blues assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher in 1969. Fletcher actually signed three Czechoslovak players: Jiřík, Jan Havel, and Josef Horešovský, all of whom were given permission to transfer to North America by the Czechoslovak government. However, the government changed its mind about Havel and Horesovský, because they were still in their twenties. Jiřík, 30 at the time, was the only player allowed to go.^[4]
Jiřík spent most of the 1969–70 season with St. Louis's minor-league affiliate, the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League.^[5] He played well in Kansas City, scoring 35 points in 53 games.^[1] St. Louis called him up late in the season, and he played three games with the club, going scoreless. He was invited to remain with the organization for the 1970–71 season; however, Jiřík decided to return to Czechoslovakia instead.^[4]
On 11 July, 2011, Jiřík, an experienced pilot, died in a plane crash near Medlánky Airfield at the notrthern suburb of Brno.^[5][2] Prior to his death Jaroslav Jirik was the last prominent Czech expartriate in the United states.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1957–58	HC Kladno	CZE
1958–59	HC Kladno	CZE		22	16
1959–60	HC Kladno	CZE
1960–61	HC Kladno	CZE
1961–62	Rudá hvězda Brno	CZE		32	28
1962–63	ZKL Brno	CZE		32	23
1963–64	ZKL Brno	CZE
1964–65	ZKL Brno	CZE		32	23
1965–66	ZKL Brno	CZE
1966–67	ZKL Brno	CZE
1967–68	ZKL Brno	CZE		32	25	12	37
1968–69	ZKL Brno	CZE		36	36	7	43
1969–70	Kansas City Blues	CHL		53	19	16	35	11		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	St. Louis Blues	NHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	ZKL Brno	CZE		36	26	12	28
1971–72	ZKL Brno	CZE
1972–73	ZKL Brno	CZE
1973–74	ZKL Brno	CZE			8	7	15
1974–75	ZKL Brno	CZE
NHL totals				3	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0

International

Year	Team	Comp		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1959	Czechoslovakia	WC		8	6	2	8
1960	Czechoslovakia	Oly		5	1	3	4	2
1963	Czechoslovakia	WC		7	4	3	7	9
1964	Czechoslovakia	Oly		7	3	1	4	6
1965	Czechoslovakia	WC		7	8	4	12	5
1966	Czechoslovakia	WC		7	4	1	5	2
1967	Czechoslovakia	WC		6	5	3	8	2
1968	Czechoslovakia	Oly		4	3	3	6	0
1969	Czechoslovakia	WC		5	2	3	5	0

Note: Statistics are incomplete. Jiřík scored 300 goals in 450 Czechoslovak league games, and 83 goals in 134 international games.

 

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