Roman Čechmánek

Roman Čechmánek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈroman ˈtʃɛxmaːnɛk]; 2 March 1971 – 12 November 2023) was a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He played professionally in the United States, the Czech Republic, and Germany, including in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings from 2000 to 2004. Internationally Čechmánek played for the Czech national team at multiple international tournaments, including seven World Championships. He was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia.

Playing career

Čechmánek played for HC Vsetín in the Czech Republic from 1994 to 2000. He was drafted in the sixth round as the 171st overall pick of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. In his first season with the Flyers, Čechmánek surprised many by capturing the starting job from Brian Boucher and being one of the best goaltenders in the league. In his first season, he played in the NHL All-Star Game and finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy. He had a disappointing playoffs, however, including allowing five goals in an embarrassing 8–0 loss in the final game of the Flyers' first round series against the Buffalo Sabres.

The next season Čechmánek had another good year and played fairly well in the first round of the playoffs. However the Philadelphia offense failed, scoring a record low number of only two goals in five games against the Ottawa Senators. Čechmánek was publicly annoyed at his teammates' performance. The next year he had another superior season, sharing the William M. Jennings Trophy with Flyers teammate Robert Esche, and Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. Čechmánek pitched two shutouts in a second round loss to Ottawa but many blamed him for the loss due to the number of soft goals he allowed in the other four games. At the end of the season he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a second-round draft pick.

Playing behind a mediocre Kings team, Čechmánek had a disappointing season in 2003–04. He returned to the Czech Republic to play with his old team HC Vsetín during the cancelled 2004–05 NHL season. He split the 2005–06 hockey season between HC Karlovy Vary and the Hamburg Freezers. In the beginning of 2007, Čechmánek left Linköpings HC and was replaced by Rastislav Staňa. He then played for HC Třinec in the Czech Extraliga for three seasons. He retired following the 2008–09 season.

International play

Čechmánek was on the Czech national team at both the 1998 Winter Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics, but did not play any games, instead serving as backup to goaltender Dominik Hašek. Čechmánek won a gold medal in 1998. His other appearances were in the 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, and 2007 World Championships.

Personal life and death

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Čechmánek died on 12 November 2023, at the age of 52.