Kateřina Mrázová (ice hockey) explained

Birth Date:1992 10, df=yes
Position:Centre
Shoots:Left
Height M:1.63
Weight Kg:64
League:PWHL
Team:PWHL Ottawa
Sex:f
Ntl Team:CZE
Career Start:2008

Kateřina Mrázová (born 19 October 1992) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward for PWHL Ottawa of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of the Czech Republic women's national ice hockey team. Known for her stickhandling skill, she was the first European player to win the Clarkson Cup, winning the championship with the Boston Blades in 2013, and the first Czech player to score a goal in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; renamed PHF in 2021).[1] [2]

Playing career

Her first season in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) was in 2012–13. She played with the Boston Blades under the direction of head coach Digit Murphy and was used as a defensive forward. She contributed to the Blades' first regular season title and helped them secure the 2013 Clarkson Cup. She was the first European to win the coveted trophy.

After her rookie CWHL season, she left the league to play college ice hockey with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference of the NCAA Division I. She stayed with the program for five seasons, though a knee injury kept her from playing for the entire 2015–16 season. Across 117 games, she scored 75 points and was named to the 2016–17 WCHA All-Academic Team.[3]

On 11 July 2018, Mrázová returned to professional hockey and signed a contract with the Connecticut Whale of the NWHL.[4] Along with Denisa Křížová, she was one of the first two Czech players to play in the NWHL and became the first Czech player to pick up a point. She logged 12 points in 15 games in the 2018–19 season with the Whale. On 20 October 2018, she scored the Whale's first power-play goal since mid-February 2018.[5]

She played one year in the NWHL before returning to Europe to sign with Brynäs IF Dam of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). She scored 51 points in 34 games in her debut SDHL season, the fourth leading scorer in the SDHL and top of the league in assists, and added another 10 points in five playoff games as Brynäs were defeated by Luleå HF/MSSK in the semi-finals.[6] She would play three seasons with Brynäs before returning to Connecticut for the 2022-23 season.[7]

Mrázová was drafted in the eighth round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by PWHL Ottawa.[8] During the 2023–24 season she recorded six goals and 12 assists in 23 games. Her 18 points tied for ninth in PWHL scoring. On 20 June 2024, she signed a two-year contract extension with Ottawa.[9]

International play

She represented Czechia at three IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships, being named an assistant captain in the 2010 tournament where the country finished in seventh.

Mrázová competed with the Czech Republic at the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Championships. The tournament marked the first time the Czech Republic competed at the Top Division level. Although the Czechs lost to Sweden in the relegation round, Mrázová accumulated 2 points on two assists during the tournament.

She has competed in three Olympic qualification tournaments with Czechia, getting two points in three games in 2009 and scoring one goal in three games in 2013, the country failing to qualify both times. She notched three points in three games for Czechia's 2017 Olympic qualification run, the country ultimately failing to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
21 1 1 2 4 4 0 0 0 2
16 1 7 8 10
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs WCHA 37 7 18 25 30
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs WCHA 0 0 0 0 0
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs WCHA 29 9 12 21 14
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs WCHA 35 8 13 21 12
15 6 6 12 4 1 1 1 2 0
34 15 36 61 18 5 3 7 10 4
Brynäs IF SDHL 29 23 40 63 14 8 4 9 13 4
Brynäs IF SDHL 23 17 37 54 33 10 3 12 15 4
Connecticut Whale 19 8 9 17 12 3 0 1 1 0
2023–24 7 11 24 35 2
23 6 12 18 16
PWHL totals236121816

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2008Czech RepublicU1851236
200831122
2009Czech RepublicU184th52244
2009Czech RepublicWC D15th54370
2010Czech RepublicU187th50552
2013Czech Republic31010
2013Czech RepublicWC8th50220
2014Czech RepublicWC D1A1st51234
2014Czech Republic30116
2015Czech RepublicWC D1A1st53472
2017Czech Republic30330
2017Czech RepublicWC8th61122
2019Czech RepublicWC6th51232
2021Czech RepublicWC7th61346
2021Czech Republic32460
2022Czech RepublicOG7th51014
2023Czech RepublicWC72246
Junior totals15391212
Senior totals4914193326

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Staffieri . Mark . 2013-03-24 . Boston Blades making Beantown proud with historic Clarkson Cup victory . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160131172923/http://cwhl.ca/view/cwhl/news-644/news_69735 . 31 January 2016 . 4 January 2016 . Canadian Women's Hockey League.
  2. Web site: Oliver . Nathaniel . 8 November 2018 . The Whale's Mrazová: Opening Doors for Czech Women's Hockey . 2022-07-31 . The Hockey Writers . 4 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204020352/https://thehockeywriters.com/connecticut-whale-mrazova-opening-czech-doors/ . live .
  3. Web site: 2017-18 Women's Hockey Roster: 98 Katerina Mrázová . 2022-07-31 . UMD Athletics . en . 4 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204020400/https://umdbulldogs.com/sports/womens-ice-hockey/roster/katerina-mr-zov-/3213 . live .
  4. Web site: 11 July 2018 . Whale Sign Czech Republic National Team and U. of Minnesota Duluth Forward Katerina Mrázová . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180809184041/https://www.nwhl.zone/news_article/show/933278 . 2018-08-09 . 9 August 2018 . NWHL.zone . Press release.
  5. Web site: Murphy . Mike . 20 November 2018 . Kateřina Mrázová's magic hands . 2022-07-31 . The Ice Garden . 4 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204020356/https://www.theicegarden.com/2018/11/20/18103118/katerina-mrazovas-magic-hands-connecticut-whale-nwhl-czech-republic-minnesota-duluth-womens-hockey . live .
  6. Web site: Kågström . Rasmus . 2020-05-29 . Vann assistligan – nu förlänger hon med Brynäs . 2022-07-31 . HockeySverige . sv . 4 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204020353/https://hockeysverige.se/2020/05/29/vann-assistligan-nu-forlanger-hon-med-brynas . live .
  7. Web site: Rice . Dan . 2022-23 PHF Season Preview: Connecticut Whale . The Ice Garden . 10 December 2023 . en . 31 October 2022.
  8. Web site: deSimas Jr. . Gerry . Five former Whale players selected in PWHL draft . The Collinsville Press . 10 December 2023 . en . 25 September 2023.
  9. Web site: Breaking: Katerina Mrazova Re-Signs, Staying In Ottawa . Ian . Kennedy . . 21 June 2024 . 21 June 2024.