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| 1983 NHL DRAFT PICK |
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Igor Liba
Selected in
fifth round
No. 91 overall by Calgary Flames
Born
November 4, 1960
 | Position:
Left Wing
Height: 6-0 Weight: 190
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Jihlava (Czechoslovakia)
Birthplace:
Kosice, Czechoslovakia
Hometown: Presov, Slovakia |
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| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1978-79 |
Presov | Czech. |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1979-80 |
Kosice | Czech. |
42 | 16 |
10 | 26 |
16 | | 1980-81 |
Kosice | Czech. |
43 | 17 |
24 | 41 |
20 | | 1981-82 |
Kosice | Czech. |
44 | 35 |
18 | 53 |
34 | | 1982-83 |
Jihlava | Czech. |
43 | 27 |
18 | 45 |
24 |
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PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
Czechoslovakia Championship: 1983 (Jihlava)
World Championships:
1982 (silver medal), 1983 (silver medal)
World Jr. Championships: 1979 (silver medal), 1980 (fourth place)
Czechoslovakia
Goals Leader: 1981-82 (Kosice) (35 goals)
Miscellaneous: Was eligible for draft at age 22 due to NHL rule that all
Europeans, regardless of age, had to enter the league through the entry
draft rather than as unrestricted free agents. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: November 6, 1988 (N.Y. Rangers at New
Jersey)
Numbers: 26 (N.Y. Rangers); 23
(Los Angeles)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Playing Status:
Retired May 2003 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1988-89 |
N.Y. Rangers, Los Angeles |
37 | 7 |
18 | 25 |
36 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1989 |
Los Angeles | 2 |
0 | 0 |
0 | 2 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Miscellaneous: Wore No. 25 at Minnesota's training camp in 1988. ... Demoted by Minnesota to Kalamazoo (IHL) on
Oct. 5, 1988, but refused to report to the minor leagues, instead saying he
would return to Czechoslovakia. On Oct. 8, 1988, Minnesota suspended Liba
indefinitely. Three days later, they resolved the situation by
trading him to N.Y. Rangers. ... Had assist in first NHL game. ...
Missed parts of 1988-89 season with bruised left hand, an injury suffered in
December 1988, with broken right little finger, suffered in
December 1988, and with separated shoulder, an injury suffered during Los
Angeles' Jan. 21, 1989, game at Hartford. He did not return until Los
Angeles' Feb. 18, 1989, game vs. Quebec. ... Released by Los Angeles on May
24, 1989. Unhappy in the NHL, he returned home
to Czechoslovakia. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
Jihlava, Kosice (Czechoslovakia); Biel-Bienne (Switzerland); Cavalese
(Italy); Turku TuTo (Finland); Zeltweg (Austria); Spisska Nova Ves, Rebisov,
Kosice (Slovakia); Presov (Slovakia)
Olympics: 1984 (silver),
1988 (sixth), 1992 (bronze)
Canada Cup: 1984 (fifth place), 1987 (fourth
place)
World Championships: 1985 (gold medal), 1986 (fifth place),
1987 (bronze medal), 1992 (bronze medal)
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Czechoslovakia Championship: 1984 (Jihlava),
1986, 1988 (Kosice)
Slovakia Championship: 1999 (Kosice)
Czech. Golden Stick
Award (Player of Year): 1983-84 (Jihlava)
Czechoslovakia All-Star First Team: 1987-88 (Kosice)
Czechoslovakia Assists Leader: 1985-86 (Kosice) (29 assists)
Miscellaneous: Played on line with
Vincent Lukac and Darius Rusnak for Czechoslovakian national team in
early 1980s. ... Finished second in voting for 1987-88 Czech Golden Stick
(MVP) award. ... Became available to
Minnesota after North Stars general manager Lou Nanne traveled to Czechoslovakia on May 26, 1988, and paid Czechs' asking
price for Liba and Dusan Pasek, who were linemates on the Czech national
team. Liba and Pasek signed their first NHL contracts on May 27, 1988. ...
Spoke no English when he arrived in North America after final release by
Czech hockey authorities on Aug. 18, 1988. He immediately enrolled in
pre-training camp language class. ... Did not play during 2001-02 season,
but did not officially retire at that time. |
| HOW HE GOT AWAY |
| TRADE:
Calgary traded Liba to Minnesota in exchange for 1988 fifth-round pick
(Thomas Forslund) on May 20, 1988. Liba, however, never played for the North
Stars because Minnesota later traded Liba, Brian Lawton and Rick Bennett to
N.Y. Rangers in exchange for Paul Jerrard, Mark Tinordi, Bret Barnett, Mike
Sullivan and Los Angeles' 1989 third-round pick (Murray Garbutt) on October
11, 1988. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '83 | | Total Selected: |
242 | | Forwards: |
134 | | Defense: |
86 | | Goaltenders: |
22 | | Major Junior: |
122 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
19/5 | | College Players: |
15 | | High School: |
47 |
| Canadian: |
148 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
0 | | USA Citizens: |
60 | | U.S.-Born: |
60 |
| European: |
34 |
| Reached NHL: |
113 |
| Stanley Cup: |
21 | | Hall of Fame: |
4 |
| All-Star Game: |
20 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
7 |
| Olympians: |
34 |
| Picks Traded: |
41 |
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