David Krejčí

Early life

David Krejčí was born on April 28, 1986, in Šternberk, a small town in the Moravia region of what was then Czechoslovakia and is now the Czech Republic. He is the son of Zdeněk and Renata Krejčí, and has an older brother, Zdeněk jr. His father was also a hockey player and later became a coach.

Playing career

Krejčí started playing junior hockey with HC Olomouc U18 in the Czechia U18 league during the 2000–01 season, he scored 2 goals and 6 assists in 26 games. During the 2001–02 campaign, he was one of the leagues top scorers with 32 goals and 27 assists in 48 games. In 2002–03, he scored 46 points (16 goals and 30 assists) in 27 games while also debuting with Třinec's U20 squad, where he scored 9 points in 12 games.

Krejčí was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the third round, 63rd overall, of the 2004 NHL entry draft. He was drafted out of Czech junior leagues, having played for HC Kladno. Following his selection, he moved to North America to play major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Gatineau Olympiques for two seasons. In his two seasons in Gatineau, Krejčí played in 117 games recording 49 goals 144 points.

Professional

Krejčí turned professional in 2006–07, playing for the Bruins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins. He played in his first NHL game on 30 January 2007 in a 7–1 loss against the Buffalo Sabres but suffered a concussion after being hit by Buffalo's Adam Mair during his third shift. He recorded just 2:07 minutes of ice time. Krejčí played increasingly with Boston the following season, appearing in 56 NHL games to go with 25 games for Providence. On 19 February 2008, Krejčí was involved in a shootout tie-breaker round in a Bruins road game against the Carolina Hurricanes and scored to help the Bruins take the shootout 2–1. Krejčí's shootout tally would not register as his first NHL goal, as shootout goals do not count towards a player's statistical totals. Krejčí scored his first official NHL goal one week later, on 26 February against Martin Gerber of the Ottawa Senators, the second Bruins' goal in a 4–0 home shutout. He finished his rookie NHL season with 6 goals and 27 points.

During the 2008–09 season, Krejčí scored his first NHL hat-trick on 18 December 2008 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He registered his first two goals against starter Vesa Toskala and his third against Curtis Joseph in an 8–5 Bruins win. About the midpoint of that season, NESN's play-by-play TV announcer Jack Edwards for televised Bruins games gave Krejčí the nickname "The Matrix" due to his ability to slow down the pace of a game through his skating style and abilities on the ice. Before a game on 2 April 2009, Krejčí was named the winner of the Boston Bruins' 2009 Seventh Player Award. The award is given annually to the player who "goes beyond the call of duty and exceeds all expectations" throughout the course of the season. During the game, Krejčí assisted on a goal by Milan Lucic, the 2008 winner of the Seventh Player Award, in a 2–1 home ice victory over the Ottawa Senators. He completed his second NHL season with a then-career-high 73 points in 82 games to go with a league-high +37 plus-minus rating. On 2 June 2009, he signed a multi-year contract extension with the Bruins, reportedly a three-year contract paying an average of $3.75 million per year.

At the beginning of November 2009, Krejčí was noticeably ill; on 5 November 2009, it was confirmed that Krejčí had been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, which sidelined him for some time.

On 5 May 2010, during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, Krejčí dislocated his wrist less than five minutes into a game when he was checked at the Bruins' blue line by Philadelphia Flyers' centre Mike Richards. Surgery was needed and was performed following the game at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, and Krejčí missed the remainder of the playoffs.

International play

After the Bruins' 2007–08 season ended, Krejčí was named to the Czech national team on 26 April 2008, for the 2008 IIHF World Championships. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics, playing centre on a line with wingers Tomáš Fleischmann and Martin Erat to open the Games.

Following the Bruins' defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the 2018 playoffs, Krejčí was invited to participate at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

Krejci was named an assistant captain for the Czech national team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, the Olympics would bring the worst result ever for the Czechs, as they finished 9th. However, Krejci and the Czechs would get redemption at the international level later that year, capturing his second bronze at the 2022 IIHF World Championships, once again serving as an assistant captain.

Personal life

Krejčí married his wife, Naomi Starr, in 2014. They have two children together: Elina and Everett.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Bold indicates led league