He left for the hockey sky: One of the best Czech hockey players Jan Suchý († 76) died – Sports

JIHLAVA – At the age of 76, the legendary hockey defender Jan Suchý, a member of the Czech and international Hall of Fame, died. He won seven titles with Dukla Jihlava, and took silver from the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble. In addition, he participated in the other four second places at the World Championships, in addition, he also has two bronzes. The Jihlava club informed about his death on its website.

A native of Havlíčkův Brod, he was considered one of the leading European backyards at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1969 and 1971 he was declared the best defender of the world championships, four times he joined the All stars team. He also mastered the first two years of the Golden Hockey poll.

He played 160 matches for the national team, in which he scored 44 goals, which is the maximum among defenders so far. He lost the gold from the 1972 World Championships in Prague due to the fact that a few months before the start of the championship he caused an accident in which one of his fellow passengers died. He spent nine months in prison because of his blood alcohol, and even then he didn’t worry too much about his lifestyle.

“Fate did not give him the gold of the World Championship or his involvement in the NHL, but he still belongs to the golden generations of our hockey. the president of Czech hockey, Tomáš Král, stated in a press release.

In the league, Suchý scored 162 goals in 561 matches in the Jihlava Dukla jersey, in the 1968/69 season as the only defender so far to dominate the Canadian scoring. At the end of his career, he played in Germany and Austria, after graduating he worked as an assistant coach or sales manager of the club in Havlíčkův Brod.

In addition to hockey, he also played football very well, he even got into the junior national team. However, he refused the offer to play in Dukla Prague and preferred hockey. In 2009, he was accepted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.

• The author: © List
• Source: ČTK