Jiří Dopita

Jiří Dopita
Born (1968-12-02) December 2, 1968
Šumperk, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for HC Olomouc (CSSR)
Berlin Polar Bears (DEL)
HC Vsetin (CZE)
Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Pardubice HC (CZE)
HC Znojemští Orli (CZE)
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 133rd overall, 1992
Boston Bruins
123rd overall, 1998
New York Islanders
Playing career 1990–2013
Medal record
Representing  Czech Republic
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
1996 Austria
2000 Russia
2001 Germany
1997 Finland
1998 Switzerland
Winter Olympics
1998 Nagano

Jiří Dopita (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈdopɪta], born December 2, 1968 in Šumperk, Czechoslovakia) is former Czech professional ice hockey player who has played in the Czech Elite League most of his career. He briefly played in the National Hockey League. Dopita has primarily played center throughout his career.

Playing career

Early in his career, Dopita attracted little notice as a professional prospect. At age 23, Dopita was selected in the sixth round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, but never came to North America while the Bruins owned his rights. However, starting in 1993, Dopita joined the German Bundesliga with the Berlin Polar Bears, averaging over a point per game in the Bundeliga and with Berlin's later entry in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Starting in the 1995–96 season, Dopita returned to his native Czech Republic and played with Vsetín HC of the Czech Extraliga. Dopita continued his scoring pace in the Czech Republic, averaging over a point per game every year in six seasons with Vsetín, compiling 315 career points, and being selected again in the NHL draft, this time in 1998 being selected in the 5th round at 123rd overall by the New York Islanders. However, once again, Dopita would not play with the Islanders. And at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, his right were traded to the Florida Panthers for a 5th round choice that year.

By the late 1990s, some, such as the Hockey News, considered Dopita the best player outside the NHL. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Czech team at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and was named Czech player of the year in 2001, the first non-NHLer to win the award since Roman Turek in 1994. When it became clear that Dopita still did not seem to have interest in coming to North America, his NHL rights were moved again at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2nd round selection that year, the Flyers made a concerted effort to bring Dopita to the NHL. The Flyers had convinced Dopita's former Vsetin HC teammate Roman Cechmanek to come to North America prior to the previous season and the 32-year-old Dopita agreed to join him in Philadelphia for the 2001–02 NHL season.

However, Dopita's time in the NHL was to be disappointing. He recorded respectable totals getting limited ice time with Philadelphia, but a knee injury limited him to 52 games. After the season, his rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers, where he was expected to be a top-two centre. However, Dopita had a terrible season, recording only six points in 21 games.

After only two years in the NHL, Dopita returned to the Czech Republic, this time with Pardubice HC. In his second year with Pardubice, at age 36, Dopita recorded less than a point per game in European competition for the first time since his time with Olomouc HC. For 2005–06, Dopita joined HC JME Znojemští Orli and has remained with the team for 2006–07 season too.

On 5 May 2006 Dopita became the majority shareholder of Olomouc HC.

Dopita is currently the head coach of HC Oceláři Třinec.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1989–90 Dukla Jihlava TCH 5 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
1990–91 DS Olomouc TCH 42 11 13 24 26 — — — — —
1991–92 DS Olomouc TCH 38 24 20 44 28 3 1 4 5 0
1992–93 HC Olomouc TCH 28 12 17 29 16 — — — — —
1992–93 EHC Eisbären Berlin 1.GBun 11 7 8 15 49 4 3 5 8 5
1993–94 EHC Eisbären Berlin 1.GBun 42 23 21 44 52 — — — — —
1993–94 HC Olomouc CZE — — — — — 12 4 7 11 —
1994–95 EHC Eisbären Berlin DEL 42 28 40 68 55 — — — — —
1995–96 HC Petra Vsetín CZE 38 19 20 39 20 13 9 11 20 10
1996–97 HC Petra Vsetín CZE 52 30 31 61 55 10 7 4 11 22
1997–98 HC Petra Vsetín CZE 52 21 34 55 64 10 12 6 18 4
1998–99 HC Slovnaft Vsetín CZE 50 19 32 51 43 12 1 6 7 —
1999–2000 HC Slovnaft Vsetín CZE 49 30 29 59 83 9 0 4 4 6
2000–01 HC Slovnaft Vsetín CZE 46 19 31 50 53 14 8 13 21 18
2001–02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 52 11 16 27 8 — — — — —
2002–03 Edmonton Oilers NHL 21 1 5 6 11 — — — — —
2002–03 HC Olomouc CZE-3 — — — — — — — — — —
2003–04 HC Moeller Pardubice CZE 47 20 28 48 44 7 1 9 10 4
2004–05 HC Moeller Pardubice CZE 44 4 23 27 12 16 2 3 5 18
2005–06 HC Znojemští Orli CZE 43 9 14 23 26 11 4 4 8 4
2006–07 HC Znojemští Orli CZE 48 14 14 28 62 10 2 2 4 26
2007–08 HC Znojemští Orli CZE 42 14 16 30 18 3 0 1 1 2
2008–09 HC Znojemští Orli CZE 40 10 21 31 8 — — — — —
2009–10 HC Kometa Brno CZE 51 20 21 41 — — — — —
2010–11 HC Kometa Brno CZE 26 3 4 7 0 — — — — —
2011–12 HC Olomouc CZE-2 32 8 14 22 22 14 1 5 6 12
2012–13 HC Olomouc CZE-2 7 1 3 4 2 4 0 1 1 4
TCH totals 113 48 52 100 70 3 1 4 5 0
CZE totals 649 241 325 566 512 127 50 70 120 114
NHL totals 73 12 21 33 19 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1994 Czech Republic WC 3 1 0 1 0
1995 Czech Republic WC 8 1 1 2 4
1996 Czech Republic WC 6 1 2 3 2
1996 Czech Republic WCH 2 1 0 1 2
1997 Czech Republic WC 9 3 1 4 2
1998 Czech Republic OLY 6 1 2 3 0
1998 Czech Republic WC 8 3 1 4 6
2000 Czech Republic WC 9 4 7 11 16
2001 Czech Republic WC 9 2 1 3 4
2002 Czech Republic OLY 4 2 2 4 2
2004 Czech Republic WC 7 1 2 3 2
2004 Czech Republic WCH 5 0 1 1 0
Senior totals 76 20 20 40 40
Awards
Preceded by
Jaromír Jágr		 Golden Hockey Stick
2001 		Succeeded by
Jaromír Jágr
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