František Černík

František Černík ( born June 3, 1953 in Nový Jičín, Czechoslovakia ) is a former Czech ice hockey player who played for many years in the Czechoslovak Extraliga for TJ Vitkovice and the Czechoslovak national team as a striker. Today he is president of HC Vitkovice Steel and Vice - President of the Czech Ice Hockey Association.

Career as a player

František Černík began his career in the youth teams of the HC Banik Ostrava, before joining the junior team of TJ Vitkovice 1969. In 1973 he returned to his hometown club before he played during his two-year military service in the army club Dukla Jihlava ASD. Then he returned to Vitkovice and remained faithful to this club until 1984. During his time in the top division of Czechoslovakia, he completed a total of 404 league games, scoring 185 goals and 173 assits. In 1981, he won the Czechoslovak Cup with the TJ Vitkovice. At the end of his career in 1984 he received Černík permission to go to the West.

After he was taken in July 1983 by the Detroit Red Wings under contract, he could now go to the National Hockey League. However, he had trouble getting used to the smaller ice surface and the harder style of play, so that he returned after 49 NHL games to Europe. He joined the ESV Kaufbeuren, for in 40 games he scored 67 points scorer in the season 1985/86.

Further stations of his career were the VEU Feldkirch and the ATSE Graz. Ironically, he ended by his best point season ( 64 goals and 40 assists in 30 games ) his career in 1988.

Internationally

Addition to his success at club level František Černík also had great success in international championships. With the Czechoslovak Mr. selection, he won a medal at the Winter Olympics and four medals at World Championships. His first appointment to the national team, he received the Hockey World Cup 1976 ( gold medal ) and took off this time regularly participates in the World Cup. Only at the end of his career he was called into the squad for the 1984 Winter Olympics and won the silver medal. In the national team, he scored 42 goals in 151 international matches for Czechoslovakia.

Career as a functionary

Since his retirement from competitive sport held František Černík various official posts at HC Vitkovice Steel. The mid-1990s he was assistant coach of Ladislav Svozil. Today he is president of the association.

Since 1991, he serves on the board of the Czech Ice Hockey Association. Between 1992 and 2002 he oversaw the Czech national team as a manager and team leader at four Olympics and eight world championships. He won with the national team in Nagano in 1998 the Olympic gold medal and several gold medals at the world championships. 2008 Černík candidate for the office of President of the Czech Ice Hockey Association. As part of this candidacy, he tried to bring more transparency in the financial structure of the Extraliga. Since 2008 he has been Vice - President of the Ice Hockey Federation.

Statistics

1 Statistics incomplete

Awards and achievements

• Bronze medal at the U18 European Championships in 1971 and 1972
• Gold medal at the World Championships 1976
• 2nd Canada Cup 1976
• Silver medal at the World Championships in 1978, 1982 and 1983
• Czechoslovakian league title in 1981
• Silver medal at the Olympics in 1984