Stefan Ruzicka

A former NHL player (Philadelphia Flyers) and KHL player (Spartak Moscow), as well as player of Slovak national team.

Stefan is a former professional player who has extensive experience in both overseas and European hockey.

On the ice, he stood out with his excellent overview of the game, his puck handling and stick technique regularly left not only the spectators but also the opposing defenders in silent amazement.

He started playing hockey in Nitra. Already as a 17 year old in the 2001/2002 season he played for the A-team of Nitra. A year later, he won a silver medal with the Slovak national team at the U18 World Championship.

In the 2003/2004 season he moved overseas to the Canadian junior league OHL (Ontario Hockey League). Thanks to his outstanding play and high productivity (62 games, 72 points – the league’s most productive rookie), he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 3rd round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the 81st overall pick.

He played 3 seasons in the NHL and in 2008/2009 he went to the KHL, where he was signed by Spartak Moscow. He played 7 seasons in the KHL, playing a total of 300 games and scoring 193 points.

He retired from hockey after the 2016/2017 season.

Since 2018, he has been developing young players as part of the Total Hockey Management project.