Miroslav Ihnačák
Born (1962-11-19) November 19, 1962
Poprad, Czechoslovakia
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 171st overall, 1982
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 19852006

Miroslav Ihnačák (born November 19, 1962) is a Slovak former ice hockey player. He played 56 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. Since 2020 he is the head coach for HC Merano. Miroslav is the brother of Peter Ihnačák.

Career

Ihnačák was involved in a true Cold War style spy movie escape from behind the Iron Curtain in late 1985. Just prior to Christmas he and his girlfriend had been smuggled into Vienna, sneaking out of Czechoslovakia in the middle of the night without even bringing any baggage after Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard spent over $100,000 to get the young superstar smuggled into Austria.[1] There they were awaiting contact from Maple Leaf team officials including General Manager Gerry McNamara who was supposed to be arriving on a commercial flight, but there were reports of terrorists shooting in the airport forcing the plane to divert to another airfield causing the Maple Leaf officials to take a two-hour bus ride to make it back to the Austrian capital. From there further concerns arose including suspicions that the Czechoslovak secret police and even KGB agents were searching for Ihnačák to bring him back home, where he would have been put in prison for three years for the defection attempt. Then problems arose with immigration officials who claimed that Ihnačák would have to spend up to two months in a refugee camp to first apply for asylum in Austria; all of this going on while he and his girlfriend were hiding out in an anonymous Vienna apartment. Then on New Year's Eve reports of the immigration issues were leaked to the press prompting public backlash resulting in two Canadian politicians getting involved to immediately get the Slovak hockey player out on the soonest possible flight. The first available flight was around the other side of the world and on January 4, 1986, Ihnačák and his girlfriend Eva arrived in Vancouver.[2]

Toronto had been off to a very bad start at the beginning of the 1985-86 NHL season and were one of the worst teams in the NHL with a record of 10-20-5. Leafs owner Harold Ballard naturally wanted to improve the fortunes of his team, while at the same time taking advantage of helping a persecuted athlete escape. Following the successful defection Ballard was quoted as saying, “Any communist that I could get out of there who wanted to be a Canadian, I'm very happy about it.”

Even after enduring such a stressful ordeal Ihnačák suited up and played for the Leafs during the second half of the season. He contributed as they attempted to make the playoffs playing in 21 games, scoring two goals and adding four assists. The Maple Leafs would end the season by qualifying for the final playoff spot in the Campbell Conference. While Ihnačák did not play in the postseason the Leafs upset the Norris Division champion Chicago Black Hawks and then gave the upstart St. Louis Blues everything they could handle before finally falling to them in seven games.

After retiring from hockey, Ihnaček became a coach. He has had head coaching stints at MHK Kezmarok, GKS Tychy, HK Spisska Nova Ves, HK Michalovce, HC Košice, TMH Polonia Bytom and Dunaújvárosi Acélbikák. He currently works as a head coach for HC Merano.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1981–82 TJ VSŽ Košice CSSR 4122113328
1982–83 TJ VSŽ Košice CSSR 4220173732
1983–84 TJ VSŽ Košice CSSR 4219254434
1984–85 TJ VSŽ Košice CSSR 4335316668
1985–86 TJ VSŽ Košice CSSR 21161632
1985–86 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2124627
1985–86 St. Catharines Saints AHL 134482
1986–87 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 34651112 10000
1986–87 Newmarket Saints AHL 321117286
1987–88 Newmarket Saints AHL 5111172824
1988–89 Detroit Red Wings NHL 10000
1988–89 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 6234377132
1989–90 Halifax Citadels AHL 5733377043
1990–91 Halifax Citadels AHL 7738579542
1991–92 BSC Preussen GER 268122024
1992–93 EV Zug NDA 76288
1992–93 Mannheimer ERC GER 82792
1992–93 TJ ŠKP PS Poprad CSSR 107292
1993–94 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 10000
1994–95 HC Košice SVK 2013173016
1995–96 ERC Selb GER-2 44396810763
1996–97 ERC Selb GER-2 4125467169
1997–98 ERC Selb GER-2 241416306
1998–99 HC VSŽ Košice SVK 4212194120
1999–00 HC VSŽ Košice SVK 4915223734
2000–01 HC Košice SVK 5017355234
2001–02 HC Košice SVK 4921315230
2002–03 HC Košice SVK 5222204242
2003–04 HC Košice SVK 5311243526
2004–05 HC ŠKP Poprad SVK 5211182928 50338
2005–06 MHC Martin SVK 101236
CSSR totals 199119102221164
SVK totals 377123198321236 50338
NHL totals 56891739 10000

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1979 Czechoslovakia EJC
1980 Czechoslovakia EJC 5 4 4 8 0
1995 Slovakia WC B 7 7 1 8 2

References

  1. "Czech Defector Eludes KGB to Join Maple Leafs". Los Angeles Times. 1986-01-04. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  2. "Czech Defector Joins NHL's Maple Leafs". The Washington Post. 1986-01-04. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
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