Libor Šulák

Libor Šulák (born 4 March 1994) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings.

Libor Šulák
Šulák in 2015
Born (1994-03-04) 4 March 1994
Pelhřimov, Czech Republic
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
KHL team
Former teams		 Avangard Omsk
Piráti Chomutov
Orli Znojmo
Lahti Pelicans
Detroit Red Wings
Severstal Cherepovets
KooKoo
Oulun Kärpät
Örebro HK
Admiral Vladivostok
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2013–present

Playing career

Šulák made his Czech Extraliga debut playing with Piráti Chomutov during the 2013–14 season.[1]

During the 2015–16 season playing with Orli Znojmo, Šulák recorded six goals and 12 assists in 52 games and was named the league's rookie of the year.[2] In the following 2016–17 season with Orli Znojmo, Šulák placed fourth on the team with 10 goals and 18 assists and a team-best plus-19 rating in 54 games.[2]

After two productive years with Znojmo, Šulák was initially signed to a two-year contract with Finnish club, Lahti Pelicans of the Liiga on 13 April 2017.[3] However, on 24 May 2017, Šulák was mutually released from his contract using an NHL out-clause in signing to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[2]

Šulák competed in the ensuing Red Wings training camp and pre-season in preparation for the 2017–18 season. On 2 October 2017, Šulák was reassigned on loan to Finland by the Red Wings, joining his previously arranged club, the Lahti Pelicans.[4] During the 2017–18 season, he recorded nine goals and 23 assists. He led all defensemen in scoring with a career-high 32 points. After the completion of the Liiga season, Šulák was reassigned to the Red Wings AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on 23 March 2018.[5]

Šulák made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings to open the 2018–19 season on 4 October 2018.[6] He was scoreless in the Red Wings first six games of the season before he was reassigned to the Griffins of the AHL on 16 October 2019. Šulák remained in the AHL for the remainder of the year, posting five goals and 14 points in 61 regular season games.

As an impending restricted free agent to the Red Wings, Šulák opted to return to Europe and continue his career in the KHL, securing a contract with Russian club, Severstal Cherepovets, on 4 June 2019.[7] In the 2019–20 season, Šulák struggled to adapt with Severstal contributing just 2 points in 19 games from the blueline. On 24 November 2019, Šulák was released from his contract and signed for the remainder of the season in returning to the Finnish Liiga with KooKoo.[8]

After an impressive 2021–22 season, captaining Admiral Vladivostok of the KHL and posting eight goals and 26 points in 49 regular season games, Šulák was signed to a one-year extension on 19 January 2022.[9] With Vladivostok out of playoff contention, Šulák extended his season by moving to the SHL and signing for the remainder of the campaign with Örebro HK on 15 February 2022.[10]

International play

Šulák represented the Czech Republic at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded three assists in six games. Šulák represented Czech Republic at the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he recorded no points in five games.[2]

Šulák represented the Czech Republic at the 2017 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded one assist in two games.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 HC Rebel Havlíčkův Brod CZE U16 29 2 4 6 47 — — — — —
2009–10 HC Rebel Havlíčkův Brod CZE U18 16 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
2010–11 HC Rebel Havlíčkův Brod CZE U18 40 4 7 11 34 3 0 2 2 4
2010–11 HC Rebel Havlíčkův Brod CZE U20 9 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Tatranskí Vlci MHL 50 6 5 11 73 — — — — —
2012–13 Piráti Chomutov CZE U20 40 9 9 18 12 3 1 0 1 0
2012–13 SK Kadaň Czech.1 — — — — — 2 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Piráti Chomutov CZE U20 19 4 6 10 28 11 8 1 9 10
2013–14 Piráti Chomutov ELH 32 2 2 4 14 — — — — —
2013–14 SK Kadaň Czech.1 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Piráti Chomutov CZE U20 12 6 5 11 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Piráti Chomutov Czech.1 29 1 5 6 12 10 2 2 4 2
2014–15 SK Kadaň Czech.1 9 2 3 5 10 — — — — —
2015–16 Orli Znojmo EBEL 52 6 12 18 14 18 2 4 6 16
2016–17 Orli Znojmo EBEL 54 10 18 28 41 4 3 0 3 2
2017–18 Pelicans Liiga 42 9 23 32 66 3 0 0 0 4
2017–18 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2018–19 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 61 5 9 14 42 4 0 2 2 4
2019–20 Severstal Cherepovets KHL 19 1 1 2 14 — — — — —
2019–20 KooKoo Liiga 31 7 9 16 30 — — — — —
2020–21 Kärpät Liiga 45 8 6 14 92 5 2 0 2 2
2021–22 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 49 8 18 26 26 — — — — —
2021–22 Örebro HK SHL 11 3 4 7 8 8 0 5 5 4
2022–23 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 67 13 27 40 50 12 2 0 2 12
Liiga totals 118 24 38 62 188 8 2 0 2 6
NHL totals 6 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
KHL totals 135 22 46 68 90 12 2 0 2 12

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2012 Czech Republic WJC18 8th 6 0 3 3 4
2014 Czech Republic WJC 6th 5 0 0 0 4
2017 Czech Republic WC 7th 2 0 1 1 0
2018 Czech Republic WC 7th 8 1 2 3 8
2021 Czech Republic WC 7th 8 3 1 4 6
2022 Czech Republic OG 9th 4 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 11 0 3 3 8
Senior totals 22 5 5 10 16

References
  1. "KLH Chomutov 2013–14 player statistics". eliteprospects.com. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  2. Kujawa, Kyle (24 May 2017). "Red Wings sign free agent Defenseman Libor Sulak". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  3. "Czech Libor Sulak to strengthen blueline". Lahti Pelicans. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  4. "Detroit reduces roster". Detroit Red Wings. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  5. "Libor Sulak Reassigned to Griffins". Grand Rapids Griffins. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  6. Wakiji, Dana; Regner, Art (4 October 2018). "Five rookies set to make NHL debut for Wings tonight". NHL.com. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  7. "Severstal add to the defense" (in Russian). Severstal Cherepovets. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  8. "KooKoo sign defenseman Libor Sulak" (in Finnish). KooKoo. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  9. "Captain Libor Sulak extends contract" (in Russian). Admiral Vladivostok. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  10. "OHK sign Czech defenseman Libor Sulak" (in Swedish). Örebro HK. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
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