Aleš Hemský

Lore & Background

Hemský began his professional career at age 16 with HC Moeller Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga. Seeking better scouting opportunities, he moved to North America in 2000 to play for the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL, where he led all rookies in scoring with 36 goals and 100 points in 2000–01 and won the Mike Bossy Trophy as the league's top pro prospect. He was drafted 13th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2001.

Hemský spent the 2004–05 NHL lockout playing for HC Moeller Pardubice, helping the club win its first Czech Extraliga title in 16 years and earning playoff MVP honors. He returned to the Oilers for the 2005–06 season, setting career highs with 19 goals, 58 assists, and 77 points, and was a key contributor to Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup Finals, which they lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. He later signed a six-year, $24.6 million contract with the Oilers.

After being traded to the Ottawa Senators in March 2014, Hemský signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Dallas Stars as a free agent on 1 July 2014, joining former Senators linemate Jason Spezza and former Oilers teammate Shawn Horcoff. He later played for the Montreal Canadiens on a one-year contract before a severe concussion ended his season after seven games. He announced his retirement on 15 May 2020.

From Pardubice to the Quebec Junior Circuit

Aleš Hemský was born on 13 August 1983 in Pardubice, Czech Republic, and stepped onto the professional ice at just sixteen with HC Moeller Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga. During the 1999–2000 campaign he divided his time between the senior squad and the club's junior side. Rather than pushing straight into the top Czech league, Hemský made a deliberate strategic choice: he judged that his visibility to North American scouts would be far greater in the Canadian junior system. The gamble proved prescient.

In the 2000 CHL Import Draft he was selected first overall by the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL. His 2000–01 rookie season was nothing short of dominant—he led every QMJHL rookie with 36 goals and 100 points, earned a spot on the All-Rookie team, appeared in the CHL Top Prospects Game, and collected the Mike Bossy Trophy as the league's top professional prospect. The following year he added 27 goals and 97 points in 53 games, finishing nineteenth in the league-wide scoring race and cementing his reputation as one of the most electrifying young forwards in junior hockey.

The 2005–06 Playoff Run and a Career Peak

The 2005–06 season represented the high-water mark of Hemský's time in Edmonton. He set personal bests in every major statistical category, posting 19 goals, 58 assists, and 77 points while appearing in all but one regular-season game. The Oilers captured the eighth and final Western Conference playoff seed, and Hemský became a pivotal figure in a stunning postseason. In the opening round he helped eliminate the Detroit Red Wings in six games, scoring two third-period goals in Game Six that included the series-clincher.

Edmonton then knocked out the San Jose Sharks in six and the Anaheim Ducks in five before ultimately losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games. During that run Hemský also underwent a biopsy on an inflamed lymph node on the right side of his neck; the results were never made public. In the summer of 2006, Edmonton rewarded his contributions with a six-year contract worth US$24.60 million, a clear signal that the organization viewed him as a long-term cornerstone of the roster.

Injuries, Resilience, and a Draft-Pick That Changed a Franchise

Hemský's years with the Oilers were shaped as much by physical setbacks as by on-ice brilliance. Shoulder problems recurred season after season: he missed 18 games in 2006–07, was sidelined for the remainder of 2009–10 after a check from behind by Michal Handzuš required surgery, missed the 2011 All-Star Game with a concussion before a shoulder injury ended that campaign as well, and returned from two shoulder operations to a sluggish start in 2011–12. Yet flashes of brilliance persisted. On 4 January 2007, with two seconds remaining, he received a stretch pass from Ryan Smyth and slid a puck past Dallas's empty net to tie the game.

That single point kept Edmonton one spot ahead of Chicago in the standings, ultimately costing the Blackhawks the first overall pick that became Patrick Kane. In March 2012 he recorded his first career NHL hat trick against Nashville, and he reached 400 career points in a 9–2 victory over Chicago. In 2007–08 he led the team with 71 points and 51 assists while setting a career high with 20 goals.

Later Stints, Olympic Service, and a Homecoming

After his six-year Edmonton contract expired, Hemský's career took a more itinerant course. In March 2014, with the Oilers out of playoff contention, he was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for two future draft picks. He immediately found chemistry with center Jason Spezza on the top line, collecting six points in his first three games and finishing with 17 points in 20 appearances. Unable to agree on a new deal with Ottawa, he signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Dallas Stars on 1 July 2014, and his NHL career also included time with the Montreal Canadiens.

Beyond club hockey, Hemský represented the Czech Republic at two Winter Olympic Games, underscoring his standing in his homeland's national program. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout he returned to HC Moeller Pardubice, where he tallied 13 goals and 31 points in 47 games, helping the club claim its first Czech Extraliga title in 16 years and earning the playoff MVP award. His trajectory—from a sixteen-year-old in Pardubice to an NHL veteran spanning four franchises and two Olympic appearances—reflected both the promise and the turbulence of a career defined by talent and recurring injury.

Did You Know?

• He scored his first NHL hat trick on 21 March 2012 against the Nashville Predators.
• Hemský and his wife have two sons.