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Petr Nedved (born on December 9 , 1971 ) is a Czechoslovak -born Canadian professional Ice Hockey Left Winger who plays for the National Hockey League 's Philadelphia Flyers after being traded to them in 2006 . BIOGRAPHY Nedved was born Petr Nedvěd in Liberec , Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic ) to Jaroslav and Sona Nedvěd. He left Czechoslovakia as a refugee on January 2 1989 at the age of 17 after playing in an international Midget Tournament at the Saddledome in Calgary . Nedved was the star of the tournament, with 17 goals and nine assists. He decided to defect to Canada because of the limited opportunities in Czechoslovakia under Communist rule, which was very strict regarding athletes leaving the country to pursue professional careers elsewhere. He did not tell his parents about the decision, and with $20 and the help of another Czech who defected, who Nedved refuses to identify even today, he declared his defection at a Calgary police station. In an interview in the '' Newark Star Ledger '', Nedved said that the "fear of Regret " was the overriding reason to defect. For ten months until the fall of Czechoslovakia in the Velvet Revolution , Nedved's parents were forced to make calls imploring Nedved to come home. He is a Canadian citizen, but makes his home in New York City . Nedved married supermodel Veronika Vařeková in 2004 . One reason for requesting the trade to Philadelphia is to be closer to his wife, who works primarily in New York City . PLAYING CAREER After defection, he played one season for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League . He was drafted 2nd overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft . He has previously played for the New York Rangers , Pittsburgh Penguins , St. Louis Blues , Vancouver Canucks , Edmonton Oilers , and Phoenix Coyotes . Outside of the NHL, Nedved played for Sparta Praha (1997-1998, 2004-2005) of the Czech hockey league, the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL , (1998-1999), and the aforementioned Thunderbirds of the WHL. AWARDS
RECORDS CAREER STATISTICS ''Stats as of April 16 , 2006 .'' INTERNATIONAL PLAY
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