Kateřina Mrázová (ice hockey)

Kateřina Mrázová (born 19 October 1992) is a Czech ice hockey forward and a member of the Czech national team, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Metropolitan Riveters.[1] Known for her stickhandling skill, she was the first European player to win the Clarkson Cup, winning the championship with the Boston Blades in 2013, and the first Czech player to score a goal in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; renamed PHF in 2021).[2][3]

Kateřina Mrázová
Mrázová with the Connecticut Whale in 2023
Born (1992-10-19) 19 October 1992
Kolín, Czech and Slovak Federative Republic
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight 64 kg (141 lb; 10 st 1 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
PHF team
Former teams		 Metropolitan Riveters
National team  Czech Republic
Playing career 2008–present
Medal record
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place2022 Denmark
Bronze medal – third place2023 Canada

Playing career

Her first season in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) was in 2012–13. She played with the Boston Blades under the direction of head coach Digit Murphy and was used as a defensive forward. She contributed to the Blades' first regular season title and helped them secure the 2013 Clarkson Cup. She was the first European to win the coveted trophy.

After her rookie CWHL season, she left the league to play college ice hockey with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference of the NCAA Division I. She stayed with the program for five seasons, though a knee injury kept her from playing for the entire 2015–16 season. Across 117 games, she scored 75 points and was named to the 2016–17 WCHA All-Academic Team.[4]

On 11 July 2018, Mrázová returned to professional hockey and signed a contract with the Connecticut Whale of the NWHL.[5] Along with Denisa Křížová, she was one of the first two Czech players to play in the NWHL and became the first Czech player to pick up a point. She logged 12 points in 15 games in the 2018–19 season with the Whale. On 20 October 2018, she scored the Whale's first power-play goal since mid-February 2018.[6]

She played one year in the NWHL before returning to Europe to sign with Brynäs IF Dam of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She scored 51 points in 34 games in her debut SDHL season, the fourth leading scorer in the SDHL and top of the league in assists, and added another 10 points in five playoff games as Brynäs were defeated by Luleå HF/MSSK in the semi-finals.[7]

International

She represented Czechia at three IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships, being named an assistant captain in the 2010 tournament where the country finished in seventh.

Mrázová competed with the Czech Republic at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championships. The tournament marked the first time the Czech Republic competed at the Top Division level. Although the Czechs lost to Sweden in the relegation round, Mrázová accumulated 2 points on two assists during the tournament.

She has competed in three Olympic qualification tournaments with Czechia, getting two points in three games in 2009 and scoring one goal in three games in 2013, the country failing to qualify both times. She notched three points in three games for Czechia's 2017 Olympic qualification run, the country ultimately failing to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Career statistics

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Czech Republic U18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 1 2 3 6
2008 Czech Republic OGQ DNQ 3 1 1 2 2
2009 Czech Republic U18 4th 5 2 2 4 4
2009 Czech Republic WWC D1 5th 5 4 3 7 0
2010 Czech Republic U18 7th 5 0 5 5 2
2013 Czech Republic OGQ DNQ 3 1 0 1 0
2013 Czech Republic WWC 8th 5 0 2 2 0
2014 Czech Republic WWC D1A 1st 5 1 2 3 4
2014 Czech Republic WWQ DNQ 3 0 1 1 6
2015 Czech Republic WWC D1A 1st 5 3 4 7 2
2017 Czech Republic OGQ DNQ 3 0 3 3 0
2017 Czech Republic WWC 8th 6 1 1 2 2
2019 Czech Republic WWC 6th 5 1 2 3 2
2021 Czech Republic WWC 7th 6 1 3 4 6
2021 Czech Republic OGQ Q 3 2 4 6 0
2022 Czech Republic OG 7th 5 1 0 1 4
2023 Czech Republic WWC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2 2 4 6
Junior totals 15 3 9 12 12
Senior totals 49 14 19 33 26

References
  1. "2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship – Team Roster: CZE - Czech Republic" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 3 April 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  2. Staffieri, Mark (24 March 2013). "Boston Blades making Beantown proud with historic Clarkson Cup victory". Canadian Women's Hockey League. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  3. Oliver, Nathaniel (8 November 2018). "The Whale's Mrazová: Opening Doors for Czech Women's Hockey". The Hockey Writers. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  4. "2017-18 Women's Hockey Roster: 98 Katerina Mrázová". UMD Athletics. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  5. "Whale Sign Czech Republic National Team and U. of Minnesota Duluth Forward Katerina Mrázová". NWHL.zone (Press release). 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. Murphy, Mike (20 November 2018). "Kateřina Mrázová's magic hands". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  7. Kågström, Rasmus (29 May 2020). "Vann assistligan – nu förlänger hon med Brynäs". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
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