Radim Zohorna Explained

Radim Zohorna
Birth Date:29 April 1996
Birth Place:Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic
Height Ft:6
Height In:6
Weight Lb:220
Position:Forward
Shoots:Left
League:NL
Team:HC Lugano
Former Teams:HC Kometa Brno
BK Mladá Boleslav
Pittsburgh Penguins
Calgary Flames
Toronto Maple Leafs
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2014

Radim Zohorna (born 29 April 1996) is a Czech professional ice hockey player for HC Lugano of the National League (NL).[1]

Playing career

Zohorna made his Czech Extraliga debut playing with HC Kometa Brno during the 2014–15 Czech Extraliga season.[2] He won the Czech Extraliga Championship with HC Kometa Brno in 2017 and 2018. In 2019–20, he set a career high with 10 goals, 12 assists and 22 points in 56 games with third-placed BK Mladá Boleslav.[3]

Following his sixth year in the Czech Extraliga, Zohorna was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 30 April 2020.[3] On 10 August 2020, Zohorna agreed to return to former Czech club BK Mladá Boleslav on loan until the commencement of the delayed 2020–21 North American season.[4]

Zohorna made his NHL debut for Pittsburgh on 25 March 2021 against the Buffalo Sabres. He scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in that game.[5] In his first North American season, he split time between Pittsburgh, the Penguins' taxi squad and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Zohorna appeared in eight NHL games, scoring two goals and four points. During the 2021–22 season, Zohorna again played with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the majority of the season, making his NHL season debut on 2 January 2022, recording a point against the San Jose Sharks. He was returned to the AHL after the game.[6] He finished the season with 12 goals and 21 points in 39 regular season games and two goals and five points in the playoffs in the AHL and two goals and six points in 17 games in the NHL.[7]

On 2 October 2022, Zohorna was placed on waivers for the purpose to be sent down to AHL for the 2022–23 season. However, he was claimed the next day by the Calgary Flames.[7] He was with the Flames for six days before being placed on waivers again, this time going unclaimed and was assigned to Calgary's AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. He appeared in 20 games with the Wranglers, scoring five goals and 16 points before being recalled by the Flames to make his season debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets.[8] On 3 March 2023, the Flames traded Zohorna to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Dryden Hunt.[9] He was assigned to the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, before being recalled and making his Maple Leafs' debut on 1 April 2024 against the Ottawa Senators.[10] He scored a goal in his debut with the Maple Leafs.[11]

As an unrestricted free agent from the Maple Leafs, Zohorna opted to return to his original club, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in signing a one-year, two-way contract on 2 July 2023.[12] Zohorna, despite having a good 2023 training camp with Pittsburgh, was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to start the 2023–24 season.[13] He was recalled by Pittsburgh and made his season debut with the Penguins against the St. Louis Blues on 22 October.[14]

At the conclusion of his contract with the Penguins, Zohorna opted to return to Europe after securing a one-year contract with Swiss club, HC Lugano of the NL, on 11 July 2024.[15]

Personal life

He has two brothers, Tomáš and Hynek, who are also professional ice hockey players.[3]

Career statistics

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
2013–14HC Kometa BrnoCzech.2011 3 5 8 4
2014–15HC Kometa BrnoCzech.2043 14 18 32 423 0 1 1 2
2014–15HC Kometa BrnoELH10 0 1 1 10
2015–16HC Kometa BrnoELH25 2 2 4 43 0 0 0 0
2015–16SK Horácká Slavia TřebíčCzech.133 6 5 11 10
2015–16HC Kometa BrnoCzech.203 1 4 5 4
2016–17HC Kometa BrnoELH14 2 0 2 44 1 0 1 0
2016–17SK Horácká Slavia TřebíčCzech.134 8 6 14 184 1 0 1 4
2017–18HC Kometa BrnoELH30 8 6 14 1414 3 4 7 8
2017–18 Czech 1. Liga season2017–18SK Horácká Slavia TřebíčCzech.121 6 6 12 18
2018–19HC Kometa BrnoELH35 1 5 6 12
2018–19 Czech 1. Liga season2018–19SK Horácká Slavia TřebíčCzech.15 0 3 3 0
2018–19BK Mladá BoleslavELH13 5 1 6 49 3 1 4 18
2019–20BK Mladá BoleslavELH46 10 12 22 10
2020–21BK Mladá BoleslavELH21 12 10 22 12
2020–21Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL12 3 8 11 4
2020–21Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL8 2 2 4 4
2021–22Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL39 12 9 21 104 2 3 5 2
2021–22Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL17 2 4 6 4
2022–23Calgary WranglersAHL40 10 19 29 23
2022–23Calgary FlamesNHL8 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Toronto MarliesAHL11 2 3 5 207 0 3 3 2
2022–23Toronto Maple LeafsNHL2 1 0 1 0
2023–24Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL30 10 16 26 102 2 0 2 2
2023–24Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL33 4 3 7 18
ELH totals194 40 37 77 7030 7 5 12 26
NHL totals68 9 9 18 26

Notes and References

  1. Web site: hrac › Radim Zohorna . hockej.cz. Czech. 19 July 2016.
  2. Web site: hrac › Radim Zohorna . hc-kometa.cz. Czech. 19 July 2016.
  3. Web site: Penguins sign Czech forward Radim Zohorna to one-year contract . . NHL.com . 30 April 2020 . 30 April 2020 .
  4. Web site: Departure to Pittsburgh postponed . . 10 August 2020 . 10 August 2020. Czech.
  5. Web site: Radim Zohorna Scores First NHL Goal In Penguins 4-0 Win Over Sabres . CBS News . Associated Press . 26 March 2021 . 26 March 2021.
  6. Web site: Pittsburgh Assigns Zohorna to WBS . Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins . Coe . Brian . 22 January 2022 . 29 April 2024.
  7. Web site: Flames Claim Radim Zohorna Off Waivers . . NHL.com . 3 October 2022 . 3 October 2022 .
  8. Web site: Laine scores on first shot, Blue Jackets beat Flames 3-1 . ESPN . Associated Press . 9 December 2022 . 29 April 2024.
  9. Web site: Maple Leafs Complete Trade With Calgary Flames . Toronto Maple Leafs . NHL.com . 3 March 2023 . 3 March 2023.
  10. Web site: Radim Zohorna to Make Maple Leafs Debut in Ottawa, What to Expect . The Hockey News . Alter . David . 1 April 2023 . 29 April 2024.
  11. Web site: 'We may need him': Maple Leafs' Radim Zohorna makes big impact in limited debut . Sportsnet . Fox . Luke . 2 April 2023 . 29 April 2024.
  12. Web site: Penguins sign three players . . NHL.com . 2 July 2023 . 2 July 2023.
  13. Web site: Penguins waive forward Radim Zohorna, 4 others . Trib Live . Rorabaugh . Seth . 8 October 2023 . 20 December 2023.
  14. Web site: Penguins Never Should Have Cut Depth Forward . The Hockey News . Horwat . Nick . 22 October 2023 . 20 December 2023.
  15. Web site: Welcome Radim Zohorna to Lugano . . 11 July 2024 . 11 July 2024 . Italian .