Date of birth of Paul Shtastny - 12/27/1985. Place of birth is Quebec. Today Paul is a professional hockey player. Plays in the center of the attack. His current club is Vegas Knights. The player has 26th number. And the financial parameter of his contract exceeds $ 6.5 million per year.
A family
The Shtastny family is rightfully considered hockey. Paul's father, Peter Shtastny, shone in the NHL in the 80s (period from 1980 to 1985)
But in order to get there, he had to make an escape from Czechoslovakia. His brothers joined him: Anton and Marian. They arrived in Canada and received the citizenship of this country.
Moreover, all three brothers managed to get into the same team at the same time - Quebec Nordics.
And there they played together from 1981 to 1985.
Paul Shtastny also has a brother. His name is Yang. He is three years older than Paul and is also a professional hockey player. Today he defends the colors of the St. Louis Blues. And before that he worked for the benefit of the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers
Play style
According to experts, Paul Shtastny on ice in a game manner is very similar to his father. Both of them are powerful, they work great with the puck, they have excellent skating and reading the game.
Paul does not argue with these facts, because, in his opinion, only the classics always give excellent results.
His father, being a hockey player, was number 26. Thanks to his game, he ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. When he finished his career, in his club - “Quebec Nordics” the indicated number was no longer used.
The number 26 flaunts on the back of his son. And Paul got the right to him by moving to Denver.
Carier start
The year 2002 is here. Then Paul Shtastny was a player in the River City Lancers junior squad. She performed in the USHL - a school league.
The guy spent 113 games, marking 107 points. In the 2002-2003 season, his club finished 4th in the West division, which allowed him to enter the playoffs. The team reached the finals, where they were defeated by Lincoln Stars
The next season, the team finished the regular championship in third place. But flew out at the initial stage of the playoffs.
Forward Paul Stastny then scored 77 points after spending 56 games. This was the second league result. The leader was Mike Howie, who was Paul's teammate.
Student
In 2004, Shtastny entered the University of Denver. There, for two years, he stands for his Denver Pioneers team. In the debut season, he played in 42 meetings. In his arsenal accumulated 45 points.
That season was notable for the fact that for a long time the club first entered the playoffs, and then won this championship (NCAA).
And Paul Shtastny was awarded the Rookie of the Year award.
In the second season, the team failed to repeat the triumph. And Paul’s statistician designated 53 points for 39 meetings.
The then team coach George Gvozdecki noted the following advantages of this striker:
- High gaming intelligence.
- Filigree passes.
- Beautiful vision of the site.
- Physical power.
And I found only one drawback - slow skating.
NHL Draft and Debut
This is the next step in the career of Shtastny. In 2005, he tried his hand at the draft in the NHL, wanted to get into the avalanche team (as the Colorado Avalanche is popularly called).
He succeeded in the second round of selection. He was assigned 44 numbers. And before the start of the 2006-2007 season, a contract was signed with this club.
During his debut season in the NHL, the player spent 82 games. The number of goals of Paul Shtastny - 28, and assists - 50.
At the end of the championship, the forward became the nominee for the Calder Trophy Award.
As an NHL debutant, Paul was a unique achievement: he handed out assists in 20 games in a row.
In the next season, Shtastny could participate in a solid hockey show called the “All-Star Game”. His name was already on the application. But appendicitis destroyed these plans.
National team
Paul was not in this show, but he was included in the US team. He played for her at the Viking Cup (2004) and the World Championship (2007), organized in Moscow. Then in Russia, his team performed not in the best way, being only on the final fifth line. Gold was won by Canada.
Although he could play for her, he chose America to play with his brother.
With the team, he achieved the best results:
- 2010 - Olympic silver.
- 2013 - World Cup bronze.
- 2014 - 4th place at the Olympics.
Period 2014-2018
Its beginning was marked by the departure of Paul from the Avalanche. The reason - it was not possible to agree on a future contract.
And on July 1, 2014, the player officially and notarially became an attacker of the “bluesmen” (as the fans call St. Louis Blues).
There he spent 4 years. And in the debut season in the colors of this club earned 46 points (16 goals - 30 passes).
Then there was far from the best season in Winnipeg. But the attacker was noticed by another team, which surprised everyone.
Period 2018 - 2019
This season is a new challenge for the striker, because before his start, he signed a contract with the amazing Vegas Golden Knights team. The paradox is that last season, as a league rookie, she reached the final, where she lost to Washington.
Paul Shtastny has great respect for Vegas and is optimistic about the future. Although this season, his club has a completely different attitude. And to prove the consistency of previous success will be extremely difficult.