Jiří Bicek

Did You Know?

• Bicek first played at the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1997 in Finland.
• He also represented Slovakia at the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.

Playing career

Jiří Bicek entered the NHL when the New Jersey Devils picked him 131st in the 1997 draft, and he spent seven seasons playing professionally in North America. Over 62 regular-season games with the Devils, he put up 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points, plus 7 playoff appearances. He lifted the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003, making him the first Slovak-born player to achieve that. When the 2004–05 NHL lockout hit, Bicek went back to Slovakia in September 2004 to suit up for HC Košice. The next season he headed to Sweden, joining Leksands IF, where he scored 16 goals and added 12 assists, though the team got relegated. He stuck around in the Elitserien, signing with Brynäs IF in July 2006. In November 2007 he tried out with Finnish club KalPa on a 10-game trial, eventually playing 35 games there and notching 13 goals and 14 assists. He moved to JYP in the SM-Liiga in August 2008. Late in December 2008, he inked a short-term deal with Swiss team EHC Biel. For the 2009–10 season, he was back in Sweden with Södertälje SK. Early in the 2010–11 campaign, he played two games for HC Prešov in Slovakia’s second division without a contract, then signed with HC Kladno in the Czech Extraliga in November 2010. In December 2012 he switched within the Extraliga to Energie Karlovy Vary, picking up two assists in his debut during a 4–1 win at Sparta. Bicek spent his final seasons with Košice, retiring in February 2018 after appearing in only 14 games for the club in the 2017–18 season.