| Peter Stastny |
Article Index for Peter |
Website Links For Peter |
Information AboutPeter Stastny |
|
Peter Šťastný (born September 18 , 1956 in Bratislava , Slovakia ) is a Slovak Ice Hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1995 . During his time with the Quebec Nordiques, Stastny became a Canadian citizen. Since 2004 , he has also served as a Member Of The European Parliament for Slovakia . NHL CAREER After Wayne Gretzky , Peter Stastny was the most prolific scorer in the NHL in the 1980s. He started his career in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques in 1980 and was traded in 1989 to the New Jersey Devils . He retired as a member of the St. Louis Blues in 1995. When the startling news broke in 1980 that Czechoslovakia player of the year, Peter Šťastný, and his brother Anton , had defected to Canada to play with the Quebec Nordiques, it represented a watershed moment in professional hockey as one of the first major stars of Eastern bloc hockey to join the NHL. The following year, his brother Marian Stastny joined them to become the second trio of brothers to play in the same professional hockey team (the first being the Bentley brothers of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1940s). The trickle of Czech and Soviet hockey players rapidly became a flood following his footsteps. According to Peter, his defection "was the best decision I ever made. It has given my family the choices and options that people behind the Iron Curtain could only dream of. Then, to play pro hockey with my two brothers was like icing on the cake." On the ice, Peter proved to be both consistent and productive. He scored 450 goals and added 789 assists for a total of 1239 points in the regular season. After retiring as a player, he captained the Slovak national team in various international tournaments and still enjoys huge popularity among Slovaks. Peter is the father of World Championships, making the Stastnys the first hockey family known to have represented four different countries (Czechoslovakia, Canada, Slovakia, USA) in international play. Career statistics NHL Milestones and Records
Awards
INTERNATIONAL PLAY
POLITICAL CAREER Stastny also joined the political arena. In 2004 , he headed the European Elections candidate list of the main ruling-coalition party in Slovakia , the SDKU , and was elected as one of its three Members Of The European Parliament . SEE ALSO
BIBLIOGRAPHY '' 2003 NHL Official Guide & Record Book'' Publisher: Dan Diamond and Associates, Inc ISBN (Canada): 0-920445-79-9 ISBN (United States): 1-57243-500-3 Pages used: 167, 196, 200 |
|
|