Detroit Red Wings

Two Former Red Wings Battling to Run Czech Hockey

Dominik Hasek and Jiri Slegr, teammates on the Detroit Red Wings 2001-02 Stanley Cup-winning club, are running for president of the Czech Ice Hockey Association

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2022

Bob Duff

Former Red Wings defenseman Jiri Slegr is running for president of the Czech Ice Hockey Association.

There’s a pair of former Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup winners running for president of the Czech Ice Hockey Association. Czech hockey legend Jaromir Jagr is throwing his support behind one of them but it’s probably not the one you’d think.

Dominik Hasek and Jiri Slegr, both members of Detroit’s famous 2001-02 Stanley Cup championship club, are the two players seeking to be the man overseeing all hockey in their homeland of the Czech Republic.

Hall of Famer Hasek became the first goalie in Stanley Cup history to post a shutout in all four rounds of the playoffs in backstopping that 2002 title run. He’d win a second Cup with the Red Wings in 2007-08.

A trade deadline addition, Slegr was Detroit’s seventh defenseman. He appeared in only one playoff game. However, coupled with his 1998 Olympic gold medal and 2005 World Championship, that was enough to earn Slegr a Stanley Cup inscription and membership in the Triple Gold Club.

Jagr Backing Former Red Wings D Slegr

Of the two, Hasek certainly is holding the higher profile. He was the hero of the Czech Republic’s 1998 Olympic gold medal win in the first tournament featuring NHL players.

However, that’s not who Czech hockey icon Jaromir Jagr is backing to be the next leader of his country’s hockey association. He’s a Slegr man. In fact, it was the Rytři Kladno Czech extra-league club owned by Jagr that put forth Slegr’s nomination for the position.

“I believe that Jiri is the right person who can unite everyone who has different opinions and can give our sport one direction – a winning direction,” Jagr told iSport.cz.

For his part, Slegr indicated that he’s spent the past few months speaking to people of prominence in Czech hockey to test the waters and decipher whether he had a chance to win the nod. Along with his hockey background as a player, coach and administrator, Slegr also spent a brief stint in Czech politics.

“I have the impression that support for my vision and direction of Czech hockey finds a positive response, across the hockey movement, Slegr said. “Czech hockey has a huge challenge ahead of it. My main goal will be to unite, not divide.

“It is necessary to find a way to unify and find a way to return to world prominence. Above all, I want to contribute to that.”

Hasek Ready To Step Up

Hasek has never been one to hide his emotions or shy away from sharing his opinion on a subject. He’s been asked to run for this position in the past. This time, he decided the timing was right.

On this day in 2002, @DetroitRedWings' Dominik Hasek stopped all 17 shots he faced to become the first goaltender to have a shutout in each of the four rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs #Hockey365 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/p2ORWFXBe8

— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) June 10, 2022

“I felt that I had a taste for this job,” Hasek said. “I wanted to improve the conditions in Czech hockey and its quality, and thought that I could benefit it.”

Six Running For Leadership

Hasek and Slegr are just two of six contenders for the position. Also putting their names forward are Petr Briza, Otakar Cerny, Alois Hadamczik and Bedrich Scerban.