Roman Čechmánek

Roman Čechmánek
Born	(1971-03-02) 2 March 1971 Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	211 lb (96 kg; 15 st 1 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	NHL Philadelphia Flyers Los Angeles Kings Czech Extraliga HC Vsetín HC Karlovy Vary HC Třinec Czechoslovak First League HC Zlín HC Jihlava HC Olomouc Deutsche Eishockey Liga Hamburg Freezers Elitserien Linköpings HC
National team	Czechoslovakia and Tschechische Republik
NHL draft	171st overall, 2000 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	1989–2009

Roman Čechmánek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈroman ˈtʃɛxmaːnɛk]; born March 2, 1971) is a former Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He played professionally in the United States, Czech Republic, and Germany. He was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia (now Zlín, Tschechische Republik).

Playing career

He played for HC Vsetín in the Czech Republic from 1994 to 2000, winning five domestic titles. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. In his first season with the Flyers, Čechmánek surprised many by capturing the starting job from Brian Boucher and being one of the best goaltenders in the league. In his first season he played in the NHL All-Star Game and finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy. He had a disappointing playoffs, however, including allowing five goals in an embarrassing 8–0 loss in the final game of the Flyers' first round series against the Buffalo Sabres.

The next season Čechmánek had another good year and played fairly well in the first round of the playoffs. However the Philadelphia offense failed, scoring a record low number of only two goals in five games against the Ottawa Senators. Čechmánek was publicly annoyed at his teammates' performance. The next year he had another superior season, sharing the William M. Jennings Trophy with Martin Brodeur and teammate Robert Esche. Despite some excellent games, he had an equal number of horrible ones. Čechmánek pitched two shutouts in a second round loss to Ottawa but many blamed him for the loss due to the number of soft goals he allowed in the other four games. At the end of the season he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a second round draft pick.

Playing behind a mediocre Kings team, Čechmánek had a disappointing season in 2003–04. After playing himself out of the NHL, he returned to the Czech Republic to play with his old team HC Vsetín during the cancelled 2004–05 NHL season. He split the 2005–06 hockey season between HC Karlovy Vary and the Hamburg Freezers. In the beginning of 2007, Čechmánek left Linköpings HC and was replaced by Rastislav Staňa. He then played for HC Třinec in the Czech Extraliga for three seasons. He retired following the 2008–09 season.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1988–89	TJ Gottwaldov	CZE		1	0	0	0	13	0	0	0.00	1.000
1989–90	TJ Zlín	CZE		2	0	0	0	89	5	0	3.37
1990–91	Dukla Jihlava	CZE		9				447	18	2	2.42	.909
1991–92	DS Olomouc	CZE		13				731	54	0	4.43
1991–92	AC ZPS Zlín	CZE		2	0	1	0	67	8	0	7.73
1992–93	Banik Hodonin	CZE-2
1993–94	VHK Vsetín	CZE-2		41							1.43
1994–95	VHK Vsetín	CE		41				2413	98	5	2.44
1995–96	VHK Vsetín	CE		36				2142	77	4	2.16
1996–97	VHK Vsetín	CE		48				2762	98	3	2.13	.930
1997–98	VHK Vsetín	CE		41				2306	76		1.98
1997–98	VHK Vsetín	EHL		5	3	2	-	307	12	1	2.34	.903
1998–99	VHK Vsetín	CE		45				2696	77	5	1.71
1998–99	VHK Vsetín	EHL		2	0	2	-	119	8	0	4.03
1999–00	VHK Vsetín	CE		37				2141	88	0	2.47	.924
2000–01	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		59	35	15	6	3431	115	10	2.01	.921
2000–01	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		3	1	1	0	160	3	0	1.12	.969
2001–02	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		46	24	13	6	2603	89	4	2.05	.921
2002–03	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		58	33	15	10	3350	102	6	1.83	.925
2003–04	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		49	18	21	6	2701	113	5	2.51	.906
2004–05	VHK Vsetín	CE		35	15	18	2	1974	88	3	2.67	.922
2005–06	HC Energie Karlovy Vary	CE		12	4	7	1	594	29	1	2.93	.915
2005–06	Hamburg Freezers	DEL		27				1535	66	3	2.58	.909
2006–07	Linköpings HC	SEL		26				1490	67	0	2.70
2006–07	HC Oceláři Třinec	CE		6	4	2	0	371	12	0	1.94	.948
2007–08	HC Oceláři Třinec	CE		18	4	14	0	977	53	0	3.25	.916
2008–09	HC Oceláři Třinec	CE		34							3.26	.916
NHL totals				212	110	64	28	12086	419	25	2.08	.919

Post season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1994–95	VHK Vsetín	CE		11			619	23	1	2.23
1995–96	VHK Vsetín	CE		13			783	17	2	1.30
1996–97	VHK Vsetín	CE		10			602	11	2	1.10
1997–98	VHK Vsetín	CE		10			600	16	1	1.60
1997–98	VHK Vsetín	EHL		4	2	2	240	10	1	2.50	.915
1998–99	VHK Vsetín	CE		12	8	4	747	23	1	1.85
1999–00	VHK Vsetín	CE		9	5	4	545	15	3	1.65	.944
2000–01	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		6	2	4	347	18	0	3.12	.891
2001–02	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		4	1	3	227	7	1	1.85	.936
2002–03	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		13	6	7	867	31	2	2.14	.909
2005–06	Hamburg Freezers	DEL		6			366	17	0	2.78	.910
2006–07	HC Oceláři Třinec	CE		9			569	20	0	2.11	.943
NHL totals				23	9	14	1440	56	3	2.33	.909

International play

Olympic medal record
Men’s Ice Hockey
	1998	Ice Hockey

His only Olympic appearance was for the Czech Republic in the 1998 Winter Olympics, serving as backup to star goaltender Dominik Hašek, although he did not play a single game. Čechmánek won a gold medal after the Czech team defeated Russia 1-0 in the gold medal deciding game. His other appearances were in the 2004 and 2007 IHWC, also with the Czech Republic team.

International statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV	SA	SV%
1998	CZE	Oly		DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2002	CZE	Oly		DNP	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2004	CZE	IHWC		1	1	0	--	60	1	0	1.00	17	18	.944
2007	CZE	IHWC		7	3	4	--	418	18	0	2.58	152	170	.894
Totals				8	4	4	--	478	19	0	2.38	169	188	.919

Transactions

• Selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round (third Flyers pick, 171st overall) of the NHL Entry Draft — 24 June 2000.
• Traded by Flyers to the Los Angeles Kings for a second-round selection in 2004 entry draft — 28 May 2003.
• Signed with Vsetínská Hokejová (Czech Extraliga) during NHL lockout on — 17 September 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by HC Energie Karlovy Vary (Czech Extraliga) — 16 August 2005.

Honours

• Played in National Hockey League All-Star Game — 2001.
• Named to National Hockey League All-Star Second Team — 2000–01.
• William M. Jennings Trophy (shared with Martin Brodeur and teammate Robert Esche) — 2002–03.

External links

• Roman Cechmanek profile at Eurohockey.com
• Roman Cechmanek career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Roman Cechmanek at Hockey-Reference.com
• Roman Cechmanek biography at Legends of Hockey (archived)
• Roman Cechmanek player profile at NHL.com