Jozef Balej

Jozef Balej ( born February 22, 1982 in Myjava, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak ice hockey player who is since May 2013 in the Piráti Chomutov in the Czech Extraliga under contract.

Career

Jozef Balej began his career as a hockey player in the junior section of the HC Dukla Trenčín where he was active until 1998. Subsequently, the winger moved to the North American Junior League United States Hockey League, where he ran aground in the 1998/99 season for the Thunder Bay Flyers and Rochester Mustangs. He then played three years for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League. During this period, he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft in 2000 in the third round than a total of 78 players from the Canadiens de Montréal. For this he gave in the 2003/04 season his debut in the National Hockey League in which he came to four inserts for Montréal. However, the entire remaining period of 2002 to 2004 he spent for Montreal's farm team in Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

March 2, 2004 Balej was issued shortly before the trade deadline along with a second-round vote for the NHL Entry Draft in 2004 in exchange for the Russians Alexei Kovalev to the New York Rangers. By the end of the season he got 13 ​​times for the Rangers in the NHL on the ice and was particularly impressive in the playoffs, he, the Hartford Wolf Pack, spent in the AHL farm team of the Rangers. For the Wolfpack, he scored in 16 playoff games nine goals and had seven assists. In Hartford the Slovak spent the entire 2004/05 season, as the NHL season failed due to a lockout. In exchange for Fyodor Fyodorov he was transferred on 7 October 2005 to the Vancouver Canucks, but where he could not prevail. In Vancouver's NHL team, he completed only one NHL game, as he spent the entire rest of the season with their AHL farm team Manitoba Moose.

For the 2007/08 season signed a contract with Balej HC Fribourg - Gottéron, for which he in the Swiss National League A in a total of 41 games 35 scorer points, including 17 goals scored. Then he moved again to North America, where, however, he only played 16 games for his former club Manitoba Moose, where he reached 13 points scorer. From 2008 to 2010, the former Slovak youth international standing by the HC Ocelari Třinec in the Czech Extraliga on the ice. For the 2010/11 season he moved within the league for HC Kometa Brno, with whom he won the League relegation at season's end. In May 2011 he was taken from HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Extraliga under contract.

Internationally

For Slovakia Balej took part in the U18 World Youth Championship in 2000, as well as the U20 Junior World Championship 2001 part.

Awards and achievements

  • 2002 CHL Second All-Star Team
  • 2002 WHL First All -Star Team
  • 2004 Participation at the AHL All-Star Game
  • 2013 Czech champion with the HC Škoda Plzeň

Statistics

(End of season 2010/11)

2000 NHL Entry Draft Portland Winterhawks 2003–04 NHL season Farmteam Trade (sports)#Trade deadline 2004 NHL Entry Draft 2004–05 AHL season 2004–05 NHL lockout 2007–08 NLA season 2010–11 Czech Extraliga season Slovakia men's national ice hockey team 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Canadian Hockey League
454226
de