Petr Nedved

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Image:Petrnevid2.jpg Petr Nedvěd (born December 9, 1971 in Liberec, Czechoslovakia to Jaroslav and Sona Nedvěd) is a Canadian professional ice hockey leftwinger who plays for the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers after being traded to them in 2006.

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Biography

Nedved left then-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 Veronica Varekova in 2004. One reason for requesting the trade to the Flyers is to be closer to his wife, who works primarily in New York City.

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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 and Edmonton Oilers, and Phoenix Coyotes.

Outside of the NHL, Nedved played for Sparta Praha (1997-1998, 2004-2005) of the Czech hockey league, Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL, (1998-1999), and the aformentioned Thunderbirds of the WHL.

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Awards

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Records

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Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1989-90 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 71 65 80 145 80 11 4 9 13 2
1990-91 Vancouver Canucks NHL 61 10 6 16 20 6 0 1 1 0
1991-92 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 15 22 37 36 10 1 4 5 16
1992-93 Vancouver Canucks NHL 84 38 33 71 96 12 2 3 5 2
1993-94 St. Louis Blues NHL 19 6 14 20 8 4 0 1 1 4
1994-95 New York Rangers NHL 46 11 12 23 26 10 3 2 5 6
1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 45 54 99 68 18 10 10 20 16
1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 74 33 38 71 66 5 1 2 3 12
1997-98 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 3 3 3 6 4 - - - - -
1997-98 HC Sparta Praha Czech Extraliga 5 2 3 5 8 6 0 2 2 52
1998-99 New York Rangers NHL 56 20 27 47 50 - - - - -
1998-99 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 13 8 10 18 32 - - - - -
1999-00 New York Rangers NHL 76 24 44 68 40 - - - - -
2000-01 New York Rangers NHL 79 32 46 78 54 - - - - -
2001-02 New York Rangers NHL 78 21 25 46 36 - - - - -
2002-03 New York Rangers NHL 78 27 31 58 64 - - - - -
2003-04 New York Rangers NHL 65 14 17 31 42 - - - - -
2003-04 Edmonton Oilers NHL 16 5 10 15 4 - - - - -
2004-05 HC Sparta Praha Czech Extraliga 46 22 13 35 44 5 2 3 5 10
2005-06 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 25 2 9 11 34 - - - - -
2005-06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 26 5 8 13 32 - - - - -
NHL Totals 940 308 396 704 676 65 17 23 40 56

Stats as of April 16, 2006.

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International play

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External links

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