Milan Jurčina (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmilan ˈjurtʂina]; born 7 June 1983) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins (the organization that drafted him 241st overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft), Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. Internationally, he has played for the Slovak national team.[1]

Milan Jurčina
Jurčina with the Providence Bruins in 2005
Born (1983-06-07) 7 June 1983 (age 41)
Liptovský Mikuláš, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 243 lb (110 kg; 17 st 5 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
team
Former teams
Free agent
Boston Bruins
Washington Capitals
Columbus Blue Jackets
New York Islanders
Lukko
HC Fribourg-Gottéron
Dinamo Riga
KHL Medveščak Zagreb
Eisbären Berlin
Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers
National team  Slovakia
NHL draft 241st overall, 2001
Boston Bruins
Playing career 2003–present

Playing career

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Jurčina began his career with Liptovský Mikuláš' under-18 and -20 teams from 1997 to 2000 to

The 6-foot-4 Jurčina was drafted by the Boston Bruins 241st overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After spending three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Jurcina began his American Hockey League (AHL) career with the Providence Bruins in the 2003–04 season and was brought into the main Boston Bruins roster during the 2005–06 season.

On 1 February 2007 Jurčina was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2008.[2] He was later re-signed to a two-year deal by the Capitals on 27 July 2007.[3]

Jurčina, along with Capitals captain Chris Clark, were traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on 28 December 2009 in exchange for winger Jason Chimera.[4]

Jurčina was selected to represent Slovakia in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, finishing fourth with his team.

At the trade deadline on 3 March 2010 Jurčina was traded back to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[5] However, surgery to repair a sports hernia prevented him from playing in the remainder of the 2009–10 season.

On 2 July 2010 Jurčina, an unrestricted free agent, signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the New York Islanders.

On 22 August 2014 Jurčina joined Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on trial, eventually signing a one-year contract eight days later.[6]

Jurčina remained in the KHL in 2015–16, but took his game to Croatia, suiting up for Medveščak Zagreb. He made 49 appearances for the club, scoring four goals while assisting on ten more. In early February 2016, Jurčina parted ways with Medveščak to finish the season elsewhere.[7] On 15 February 2016 he put pen to paper on a contract with Eisbären Berlin of the German top-tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for the remainder of the 2015–16 season.[8]

In September 2016, he signed a multi-year deal with fellow DEL side Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers to begin from the 2016–17 season.[9]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–2000 HK 32 Liptovský Mikuláš SVK U20 58 1 15 16 56
2000–01 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 68 0 5 5 56 6 0 2 2 12
2001–02 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 61 4 16 20 58 13 5 3 8 10
2002–03 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 51 15 13 28 102 25 6 6 12 40
2003–04 Providence Bruins AHL 73 5 12 17 52 2 0 1 1 2
2004–05 Providence Bruins AHL 79 6 17 23 92 17 1 3 4 30
2005–06 Providence Bruins AHL 7 0 3 3 8
2005–06 Boston Bruins NHL 51 6 5 11 54
2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 40 2 1 3 20
2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 30 2 7 9 24
2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 75 1 8 9 30 7 0 0 0 6
2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 79 3 11 14 68 14 2 0 2 12
2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 27 0 4 4 14
2009–10 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 17 1 2 3 10
2010–11 New York Islanders NHL 46 4 13 17 30
2011–12 New York Islanders NHL 65 3 8 11 30
2012–13 Piráti Chomutov ELH 22 0 3 3 20
2012–13 Lukko SM-l 14 5 2 7 26 12 1 6 7 16
2013–14 TPS Liiga 21 1 5 6 18
2013–14 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NLA 2 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Dinamo Riga KHL 46 5 5 10 46
2015–16 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 49 4 9 13 12
2015–16 Eisbären Berlin DEL 8 0 4 4 6 5 0 0 0 27
2016–17 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 37 5 11 16 38
2017–18 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 49 2 11 13 59
2018–19 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 37 1 9 10 24 6 0 1 1 4
2019–20 HC Sparta Praha ELH 29 3 6 9 48
2020–21 HC Sparta Praha ELH 21 3 3 6 16 11 0 2 2 8
2021–22 HC Sparta Praha ELH 23 0 1 1 39 16 0 1 1 6
NHL totals 430 22 59 81 280 21 2 0 2 18

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2001 Slovakia WJC18 6 0 0 0 6
2002 Slovakia WJC 7 1 1 2 14
2003 Slovakia WJC 1 0 0 0 0
2006 Slovakia OG 6 0 1 1 8
2006 Slovakia WC 7 2 1 3 8
2007 Slovakia WC 7 1 1 2 8
2010 Slovakia OG 7 0 0 0 0
2011 Slovakia WC 6 0 2 2 4
2013 Slovakia WC 8 0 2 2 6
2014 Slovakia OG 4 0 0 0 0
2015 Slovakia WC 7 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 14 1 1 2 20
Senior totals 52 3 7 10 38

References

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  1. ^ "Milan Jurčina sa proti Česku zranil, na majstrovstvá nepôjde". webnoviny.sk. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Capitals Acquire Defenseman Milan Jurcina from Boston". Washington Capitals. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Capitals Re-Sign Defenseman Milan Jurcina". Washington Capitals. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  4. ^ "Capitals Trade Clark, Jurcina to Blue Jackets for Chimera". TSN.
  5. ^ "Capitals re-acquire Jurcina from Blue Jackets". TSN.
  6. ^ "DINAMO RĪGA vienojas ar aizsargu Milan Jurčina". Dinamo Rīga.
  7. ^ "Jurcina leaves Medvescak". www.medvescak.com. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  8. ^ Berlin, Eisbären. "Eisbären Berlin :: Eisbären Berlin verpflichten Verteidiger Milan Jurčina". www.eisbaeren.de. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  9. ^ "451 NHL-Spiele: Ice Tigers holen Milan Jurčina! | Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nürnberg". icetigers.de. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
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