I Was Three Years Old When Zdeno Chara Entered The League
On this day 21 years ago, Zdeno Chara played in his first NHL game for the New York Islanders. 21 years ago, in 1997, I was just three years old. The tallest man in NHL history standing at 6’9 was drafted 56th overall in the 3rd round to the Isles. When he was 19, the Islanders sent him to Prince George to play for the Cougars of British Columbia. This is where his journey to the NHL would begin.
Z made the cross-country trek to Canada from his hometown of Trencin, Slovakia (formerly Czechosolovakia). He wasn’t the prominent youth player you’d expect from an NHL prospect, quite the opposite in fact. He was cut three times, relegated to B and even C teams when he was 16. He was told he was too tall for hockey.
No one knew he would grow into one of the most dominant shut down defenseman the league would ever see.
And at 20 years old, Chara was called up to the show and never looked back (minus a 23 game stint in the AHL with the Lowell Lock Monsters.)
He debuted against the Detroit Red Wings 21 years ago on this day.
It would take him 2 years to score his first NHL goal.
He would record 15 total fights with the New York Islanders. Tallying 29 points in 231 games.
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In 2001, Mike Milbury (lol) traded him to the Ottawa Senators with Bill Muckalt and a 1st round draft pick, in exchange for Alexei Yashin.
He was named to his first NHL All-Star Game in 2003.
In 2004 the world watched him ragdoll Bryan McCabe.
2004 would become a career year for Zdeno. The defenseman posted career-bests of 16 goals, 25 assists and 41 points with the Sens in 79 games. He would lose to Scott Niedermayer as the NHL’s best defenseman.
In 2005, he would play for Farjestad BK in the Swedish Elite League during the lockout.
On July 1st, of 2006, the big man signed a $37.5 million dollar five year contract with the Boston Bruins. And the rest is history.
In October of 2006, Boston named him their 18th captain in franchise history.
Chara vs. Larauqe in ’07, Koci in ’07 vs. Valabik in ’08.
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In 2009 he finally won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s best defenseman.
Pounded Rupp in 2010.
He scored his first hat trick in 2011.
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The Pacioretty incident was in 2011.
And he lifted the Stanley Cup in 2011.
In 2012 he broke the record for hardest shot at the All-Star Game. 108.8 MPH.
He played his 1000th career NHL game on March 24th, 2012 against the Los Angeles Kings.
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There are so many more iconic moments, but hopefully this rabbit hole has been sufficient for your Monday afternoon/evening. It’s been a hell of a career for No. 33, and the best part? It’s not over yet. He’s 9 games away from 1500 total career games, but will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks due to an MCL injury. Boston’s big man is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, now (more than ever) it’s time to enjoy the ride.
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(h/t dafoomie for the vintage Youtube videos.)