PERSONAL
Jiri spends his summer in Kladno, Czech Republic, where he still enjoys helping out on the family farm… He has a dog named Chejla that stays in the Czech Republic year-round… Jiri started playing hockey at age 6 in Slany… He says the biggest influences on his career were his parents… His favorite player growing up was Jaromir Jagr, who is from his hometown… His favorite television show is 48 Hours and his favorite movies are The Hangover and Braveheart… He says he listens to every type of music and his favorite book is the biography of Ivan Hlinka… His biggest game-day habit is a nap and he enjoys Italian and Czech food as well as steak… His favorite restaurants in the Triangle are Sullivan’s and Klara's, which is a Czech restaurant… His favorite video game is Call of Duty… Jiri enjoys playing tennis and soccer… His favorite athlete outside of hockey is Usain Bolt and his favorite teams are soccer clubs Barcelona, Liverpool and Real Madrid… The people he would most like to meet are Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky… His most-memorable hockey moment was his first NHL game… His favorite former teammates are Mats Sundin and Bates Battaglia… He enjoys playing in the NHL because it is “the best league in the world”… His favorite road cities are Toronto, Montreal and Phoenix, favorite road arena is Bell Centre and favorite teams to play against are Pittsburgh and Montreal.

2011-12 SEASON
Completed his fifth NHL season and third with the Hurricanes… Established career highs in games played (79), goals (17), assists (19) and points (36)… Ranked fourth on the team in points, tied for fourth in assists and tied for fifth in goals… Was tied for second on the team in even-strength goals (15)… Carolina earned points in 15 of the 17 games in which he had an assist (10-2-5)… Scored first goal of the season, the game winner, vs. BOS (10/12)… Assisted on Brent’s shorthanded tally at BUF (10/14)… Had a goal and an assist for his first multi-point game of the season vs. MTL (11/23)… Scored a goal vs. WPG (11/25) to extend his point streak to two games… Skated in his 100th game with the Hurricanes, at OTT (11/27)… Netted his fifth goal of the season vs. NYR (12/1)… Scored on his first career penalty shot at CGY (12/6)… Earned a pair of assists vs. TOR (12/29)… Matched his career highs with two goals and three points and was named first star at TB (1/12)… Played his 200th career NHL game, vs. WPG (1/23)… Assisted on Staal’s game-winning goal at BOS (2/2)… Scored a goal and was named third star vs. LA (2/4)… Earned two helpers vs. WSH (2/20)… Extended his point streak to a career-high nine games (4g, 6a) with an assist on Samson’s first-period goal vs. ANA (2/23)… Earned an assist on Brent’s game-winning goal at MIN (3/17)… Netted a pair of goals, including a power-play marker, at DET (3/24)… Games missed due to injury: 3 (upper body: 3/11-3/15)… Longest goal streak: 2 games (11/23-11/25: 2g, 1a; 2/10-2/13: 2g, 0a)… Longest assist streak: 3 games (3/17-3/21: 0g, 3a)… Longest point streak: 9 games (2/2-2/23: 4g, 6a)… Multi-goal games: 2 (last: 3/24 at DET: 2g, 0a)… Multi-assist games: 2 (last: 2/20 vs. WSH: 0g, 2a)… Multi-point games: 5 (last: 3/24 at DET: 2g, 0a).

CAREER
Is in his sixth NHL season and fourth with Carolina… Acquired by the Hurricanes from Toronto 12/3/09 in exchange for the rights to center Philippe Paradis… Signed a two-year contract with Carolina on 4/24/12… Has represented the Czech Republic in three major international tournaments… Played seven games for the Czech Republic at the 2005 IIHF World U-18 Championship, totaling three goals and two penalty minutes… Played four games for the Czech Republic at 2006 World Junior Championship (U-20)… Helped the Czech Republic earn bronze at the 2006 U-18 World Championship, ranking eighth in the tournament in scoring with seven points (4g, 3a) in seven games… Named to the 2006 U-18 tournament All-Star team.

2003-04: Played 51 games for Kladno Jr. of Czech Republic U-20 Extraleague collecting 13 points (10 goals, 3 assists) with 12 penalty minutes.

2004-05: Played 42 games for Kladno Jr. of Czech Republic U-20 Extraleague, totaling 15 goals and 12 assists (27 points) with 54 penalty minutes.

2005-06: Played 44 games for Kladno of Czech Republic Extraleague earning seven goals and three assists (10 points) with 51 penalty minutes… Also played six games for Kladno Jr. of Czech Republic U-20 Extraleague.

2006-07: Completed his first season in North America, splitting the year between Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario Hockey League) and Toronto (American Hockey League)… Played six games for the Toronto Marlies (AHL), earning four points (3g, 1a) with four penalty minutes… Played 37 games for Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), totaling 13 goals and 21 assists (34 points) and 28 penalty minutes… Ranked seventh among Greyhounds skaters in points… Played 13 playoff games for Sault Ste. Marie, netting nine goals and earning eight assists (17 points) with 14 penalty minutes… Ranked tied for first among Greyhounds in playoff goals, and second in points.

2007-08: Completed his first NHL season, appearing in 58 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs… Totaled 10 goals and six assists (16 points) with 14 penalty minutes in his rookie season… Also played 14 games for the Toronto Marlies (AHL), collecting 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) with eight penalty minutes… Earned his first NHL recall on 10/24… Made his NHL debut at PIT (10/25), scoring a pair of goals including the game-winning goal… Became the first Maple Leafs player to score two goals in his first NHL game since Nikolai Borchevsky (10/6/92 vs. Washington)… Earned his first NHL assist at NJ (11/2)… Missed five games due to a shoulder injury from 11/24-12/4… Scored goals in back-to-back games at CAR (1/31) and vs. OTT (2/2)… Collected a career-high (tie) three points (2g, 1a), including the game-winning goal, vs. MTL (3/29)… Named AHL Player of the Week for the period ending 4/13, totaling four goals and six assists (10 points) and earning a plus-10 rating in four games… Played 19 playoff games for the Marlies, notching two goals and eight assists (10 points) with 8 penalty minutes… Ranked fourth among Toronto skaters in playoff assists and fifth in points.

2008-09: Split the season between the NHL and AHL, earning four assists in 14 games for the Maple Leafs on the NHL level… Played 66 games for the Toronto Marlies (AHL), notching 25 goals and 41 assists (66 points) with 26 penalty minutes… Registered a career-high three assists and a (+3) rating at CAR (1/15)… Named CCM/AHL Player of the Month for February, totaling 12 goals and 11 assists (23 points) and earning a (+11) rating… Set Toronto Marlies franchise record with five goals in a single game vs. Syracuse (2/18)… Set Toronto Marlies franchise record with six points (2g, 4a) in a single game vs. Providence (3/4)… Played six playoff games for the Toronto Marlies, scoring one goal and earning two assists (3 points).

2009-10: Skated in 18 NHL games with the Hurricanes and two with the Maple Leafs, totaling one goal and five assists (6 points)… Notched 30 points (14g, 16a) in 39 AHL games with Toronto and Albany… Recalled by the Maple Leafs and made his NHL season debut at BUF (10/30)… Acquired by Carolina from Toronto 12/3 in exchange for the rights to center Philippe Paradis… Made his Albany (AHL) debut on 12/6 in the River Rats’ 4-1 win against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton… Recalled to Carolina for the first time on 12/11, and made his Hurricanes debut, scoring a goal that night at WSH… Earned the primary helper on the goal by Tom Kostopoulos at NYR (1/2) for his first assist with Carolina… Had a three-game assist streak for Carolina from 1/10-1/14 (0g, 3a)… Missed 15 AHL games from 2/20-3/20 with a lower-body injury… Skated in five Calder Cup Playoff games for Albany, earning his only point of the postseason with an assist at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (4/19).

2010-11: Matched his then-career highs for assists (6) and penalty minutes (14), skating in 57 games for Carolina… Also played five games on the American Hockey League (AHL) level for Charlotte during a conditioning stint… Made his NHL season debut at NYR (10/29)… Scored his first goal of the season vs. NYI (11/3)… Left the game at ATL (12/16) with an upper-body injury after a hit by Ben Eager… Returned to action vs. NYR (1/20)… Scored a goal and earned an assist vs. ATL (2/5) for his first multi-point game of the season… Missed 14 games due to injury (upper-body: 12/18-1/15)… Was a healthy extra for six games.