Tomas Plekanec

Professional ice hockey player Tomas Plekanec was born in the Czech Republic and plays for the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. He is a center and wears #14.

Plekanec was drafted by the Canadiens during the third round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (71st overall). After playing for the Czech Republic team in both the 2001 and 2002 World Junior Championships, Plekanec joined the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs for the 2002-2003 season. He played in two NHL games the following season and then joined the Montreal Canadiens for the 2005-2006 season, during which he earned 33 points in 73 games, and cementing his spot on the Habs roster.

The following season, Plekanec suited up for all but one Canadiens game and scored 20 goals and 27 assists points. During the 2007-2008 season, he again played in all but one Canadiens game, scored his first hat trick in February of 2008 and ended up with a career-high 69 points in the regular season plus another 9 points in the playoffs.

Regular Season Stats in Montreal updated end of 2009-2010 Season:

• 393 games played
• 103 goals, 151 assists, 254 points
• 214 PIM

Plekanec has been one of the healthiest players on the Montreal Canadiens Roster, having missed only 4 games from 2006-2007 to 2009-2010. Plekanec was also a member of the Czech Republic team for the World Championships from 2005-2006 to 2008-2009, scoring 15 points in 27 games.http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8469521

Plekanec had a career year in 2010, and was arguably the best player on team. He led the team in scoring, with 11 points more than the next player, Scott Gomez.http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?gameType=2&season=20092010 He played every game for the team, and ended up with 25 goals and 45 assists (a career high). His 70 points were a career high, just ahead of his 69 points in 2007-2008. He scored three power play goals and one shorthanded goal, as well as 4 game-winning goals. On December 21 against the Atlanta Thrashers, he tied a career high with 4 assists. After 8 games in the 2010 NHL Playoffs, Plekanec has 4 goals and 3 asissts.