Ondřej Palát
Palát with the Tampa Bay Lightning in December 2014
Born (1991-03-28) 28 March 1991
Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 New Jersey Devils
Tampa Bay Lightning
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 208th overall, 2011
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2011–present

Ondřej Palát (born 28 March 1991) is a Czech professional ice hockey winger and alternate captain for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the seventh round, 208th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Palát won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Playing career

Junior

Palát began his ice hockey career in his native Czech Republic with HC Frýdek-Místek.[1] Prior to turning professional in North America, he played major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. He was then selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round, 208th overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Professional

Tampa Bay Lightning

On 10 October 2011, the Lightning signed Palát to a three-year, entry-level contract.[2] He then began his professional career with the Norfolk Admirals, Tampa Bay's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in the 2011–12 season. While a member of the Admirals, the club would set a professional hockey record by posting 28 consecutive wins.[3] Norfolk would go on to capture the Calder Cup as AHL champions.[4]

Palát in March 2014. He made it on the Tampa Bay Lightning's opening day roster to begin the 2013–14 season.

Palát played the next season in the AHL, 2012–13, with the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay's new AHL affiliate. After a brief call-up to the NHL, he scored his first career NHL goal on 16 March 2013, against Justin Peters of the Carolina Hurricanes.[5] Palát would later be returned to Syracuse for the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs. After reaching the Calder Cup Final, Palát and his teammates had the unique opportunity at back-to-back AHL championships, despite playing for two different hockey clubs.[6] The Crunch, however, would fall to the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Final.[7]

Palát would make the Lightning's 2013–14 opening roster out of training camp, along with his AHL line-mates Tyler Johnson and Richard Pánik.[8] At the end of the season, he was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year, along with teammate Tyler Johnson.[9] Palát, along with Johnson, became the first teammates to be nominated for the Trophy since Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008.[10] However, the Trophy eventually went to Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche,[11] though Palát was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.[12] On 9 June 2014, the Lightning signed Palát to a three-year contract extension. He had 23 goals, 59 points and a +32 plus-minus rating in 81 games for the Lightning in 2013–14. He ranked second among all NHL rookies in points, and was third in goals scored. Additionally, Palát became the third Lightning player to finish a season with a plus-minus rating higher than +30.[13]

On 14 July 2017, Palát was signed by the Lightning to a five-year contract with an average annual value of $5.3 million.[14] On 31 December 2017, Palát recorded his 162nd career assist in a 5–0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The assist moved Palát past Chris Gratton for 10th-most assists in franchise history.[15]

On 23 November 2019, Palát recorded his 100th career NHL goal in a 6–2 Lightning win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks.[16][17] On 25 November, Palát recorded his 200th career NHL assist and 300th career NHL point in a 5–2 Lightning win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres.[18] Palát was the eighth Lightning player to record 200 career assists and 10th Lightning player to record 300 career points.[19] On 31 August 2020, Palát recorded a goal in his fourth consecutive playoff game. With this goal Palát joined Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos as the only players in franchise history to record goals in four consecutive playoff games.[20] On 7 September, Palát recorded a goal in his fifth consecutive game to establish a new franchise playoff record. The goal came in an 8–2 Lightning win over the New York Islanders in the first game of the Eastern Conference final.[21]

New Jersey Devils

Following his 10th season in the NHL with the Lightning, Palát left the club as a free agent due to salary cap constraints, and on 14 July 2022, he was signed to a five-year, $30 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.[22]

International play

Palát (right) in February 2014 with the Czech men's national ice hockey team during the 2014 Winter Olympics.

On 6 January 2014, Palát played for the Czech Republic at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.[23] The Czechs were eliminated by the United States. During his first Olympic appearance, Palát appeared in four games for his country; he did not register any points or penalty minutes in four games played.[24]

On 2 March 2016, the Czech Ice Hockey Association named Palát to its roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, alongside then-Lightning teammate Andrej Šustr. The tournament ran from 17 September to 1 October 2016 in Toronto.[25]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 HC Frýdek-Místek CZE.2 U18 14 10 7 17 6 — — — — —
2005–06 HC Vítkovice Steel CZE U18 22 2 7 9 4 1 0 0 0 0
2006–07 HC Frýdek-Místek CZE.2 U18 7 7 11 18 6 — — — — —
2006–07 HC Vítkovice Steel CZE U18 33 32 24 56 18 9 3 6 9 4
2006–07 HC Vítkovice Steel CZE U20 13 5 2 7 12 3 0 0 0 0
2007–08 HC Frýdek-Místek CZE.2 U18 3 13 4 17 0 — — — — —
2007–08 HC Vítkovice Steel CZE U18 4 2 3 5 0 2 1 1 2 2
2007–08 HC Vítkovice Steel CZE U20 42 19 18 37 28 2 1 0 1 2
2008–09 HC Vítkovice Steel CZE U20 42 23 33 56 14 10 8 6 14 12
2009–10 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 59 17 23 40 24 7 1 1 2 0
2010–11 Drummondville Voltigeurs QMJHL 61 39 57 96 24 10 4 7 11 6
2011–12 Norfolk Admirals AHL 61 9 21 30 10 18 4 5 9 6
2012–13 Syracuse Crunch AHL 56 13 39 52 35 18 7 19 26 12
2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 14 2 2 4 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 81 23 36 59 20 3 2 1 3 0
2014–15 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 75 16 47 63 24 26 8 8 16 12
2015–16 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 62 16 24 40 20 17 4 6 10 14
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 75 17 35 52 39 — — — — —
2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 56 11 24 35 6 17 6 6 12 2
2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 64 8 26 34 20 4 1 0 1 2
2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 69 17 24 41 22 25 11 7 18 10
2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 55 15 31 46 26 23 5 8 13 10
2021–22 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 77 18 31 49 20 23 11 10 21 10
2022–23 New Jersey Devils NHL 49 8 15 23 6 12 3 4 7 6
NHL totals 677 151 295 446 203 150 51 50 101 66

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 Czech Republic U18 D1 11th 5 6 2 8 2
2008 Czech Republic IH18 5th 1
2009 Czech Republic U18 D1 6th 6 1 0 1 2
2011 Czech Republic WJC 7th 6 2 1 3 0
2014 Czech Republic OG 6th 4 0 0 0 0
2016 Czech Republic WCH 6th 3 0 1 1 0
2019 Czech Republic WC 4th 10 1 1 2 6
Junior totals 17 9 3 12 4
Senior totals 17 1 2 3 6

Awards and honours

Award Year
Czech Republic
Golden Hockey Stick 2022 [26]
AHL
Calder Cup champion 2012 [27]
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team 2014 [28]
Stanley Cup champion 2020, 2021 [29]

References

  1. ↑ Jáchim, Václav (10 April 2008). "Ondřej Palát (HC Vítkovice Steel)". hokej.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "Lightning sign Palat". Tampa Bay Lightning. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Norfolk Admirals Official Website". Norfolkadmirals.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Norfolk Admirals Official Website". Norfolkadmirals.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning". Tampa Bay Lightning. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Tampa Bay Lightning Affiliates - Syracuse Crunch". Lightning.nhl.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Grand Rapids Griffins win the Calder Cup thanks to late goal by Brennan Evans". MLive.com. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Lightning Announce Roster Cuts". Lightning.nhl.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "2014 NHL Awards: MacKinnon, Palat, Johnson are Calder Trophy finalists". SI.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Nathan MacKinnon up for NHL's Calder Trophy for top rookie - ESPN". ESPN.com. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Avalanche's MacKinnon wins Calder Trophy". National Hockey League. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "NHL announces 2013-14 All-Rookie Team". National Hockey League. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Tampa Bay Lightning re-sign Ondrej Palat to three-year contract". NHL.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Lightning re-sign forward Ondrej Palat to five-year contract". NHL.com. Tampa Bay Lightning. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  15. ↑ Merz, Craig (31 December 2017). "Vasilevskiy, Lightning blank Blue Jackets". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  16. ↑ @TBLightning (26 November 2019). "That's career goal No. 100 for Ondrej!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ "Vasilevskiy gets 132nd win, Lightning beat Ducks 6-2". usatoday.com. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  18. ↑ "Lightning get 2 short-handed goals, beat Sabres 5-2". baynews9.com. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  19. ↑ @BBurnsNHL (26 November 2019). "Ondrej Palat reached the 200-assist mark and the 300-point milestone, all with his 1st period assist on Nikita Kucherov's game-opening goal. Palat is the 8th Lightning player all-time to record 200 assists and 10th Bolt to register 300 points" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ @Erik_Erlendsson (1 September 2020). "Four consecutive games with a goal by Palat, matches a franchise playoff record set by Marty St. Louis (2003), Vinny Lecavalier (2007) and Steven Stamkos (2015 and 2018)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ "NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Playoffs Edition – Sept. 8, 2020". NHL.com. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "Palat signs five-year contract with Devils". New Jersey Devils. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  23. ↑ "Lightning's Gudas, Palat make Czech Olympic team". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  24. ↑ Ondřej Palát career statistics at EliteProspects.com. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  25. ↑ Peters, Chris (2 March 2016). "World Cup of Hockey: Czech Republic names prelim roster without Jagr". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  26. ↑ Sára, Robert (18 August 2022). "Hokej má nového krále. Palát vyhrál Zlatou hokejku, na trůnu střídá Pastrňáka". Sport.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "Norfolk Admirals win Calder Cup". ESPN NHL. Associated Press. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  28. ↑ "National Hockey League announces 2013-14 All-Rookie Team". NHL.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  29. ↑ "Lightning win Stanley Cup by smothering Stars in Game 6". NBC Sports. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
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