Andrej Meszároš

Andrej Meszároš (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈandɾɛj ˈmɛsaːɾɔʃ]; born 13 October 1985) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player who is currently a member of Slovan Bratislava. He previously played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators, the latter of which drafted him in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 23rd overall.

Andrej Meszároš
Meszároš with the Boston Bruins in 2014
Born	(1985-10-13) 13 October 1985 Považská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
TL team Former teams	Slovan Bratislava Dukla Trenčín Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Sibir Novosibirsk
National team	Slovakia
NHL Draft	23rd overall, 2004 Ottawa Senators
Playing career	2002–present

Playing career

As a youth, Meszároš played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Bratislava.[1] He later played for Dukla Trenčín in the Slovak Extraliga as a 17-year-old in the 2002–03 season. After two seasons with Trenčín, he was drafted 23rd overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

Meszaros' banner at the Pacific Coliseum, as part of the Vancouver Giants' Ring of Honour

The following season, he went overseas to North America to play junior ice hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Vancouver Giants. Meszároš recorded 41 points in 59 games with Vancouver — fifth in WHL rookie scoring — and was named to the Western Conference's Second All-Star Team. He was also named the Giants' Rookie of the Year and Top Defenceman.[2] Nearly six years later, he was inducted into the Giants' Ring of Honour, a series of banners inside the Pacific Coliseum commemorating the team's best alumni.

In the 2005–06 season, Meszároš made the jump to the NHL with the Senators. Meszároš registered his first NHL point, an assist, on 10 October 2005, in a 6–5 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two months later, he scored his first NHL goal on 9 December — a game-tying goal in the third period of a shootout loss against the Vancouver Canucks.[3] He finished his rookie season with 10 goals and 39 points, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team with the Calgary Flames' Dion Phaneuf. Playing on a defensive pairing with Zdeno Chára, Meszároš' plus-minus rating of +39 was tied for third in the league overall and first among rookies.[2]

The following year, Meszároš registered seven goals and 35 points and added seven points in the playoffs as the Senators made their first franchise appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Anaheim Ducks. The Senators, however, were defeated by Anaheim in five games. Meszároš finished second on the team in playoff plus-minus, behind Wade Redden, at +5. His sophomore season also included an appearance in the 2007 YoungStars Game with teammate Patrick Eaves, in which he scored two goals in a 9–8 victory over the Western Conference.[4]

Although Meszároš produced at a similar pace in 2007–08, the Senators finished a disappointing seventh in the Eastern Conference and were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Meszároš became a restricted free agent in the off-season and, unable to come to terms, the Senators traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning on 29 August 2008 in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and the San Jose Sharks' first-round draft pick (previously acquired) in 2009.[5] The following day, he agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract.[6]

On 1 July 2010, the first day of the NHL's free agency period, Meszároš was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a second round pick in 2012.[7]

In his first season with the Flyers, Meszároš won the Barry Ashbee Trophy, awarded to the best defenceman on the team.

On 5 March 2014, the Flyers traded Meszároš to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a conditional 2014 third-round draft pick.[8] He scored a power play goal in his debut as a Bruin on 9 March en route to a 5–2 road win against the Florida Panthers.[9]

On 1 July 2014, Meszároš signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres.[10] In the 2014–15 season, expected to contribute on the rebuilding Sabres blueline, Meszároš struggled to play consistently to match his contract, appearing in 60 games with only 14 points.

As a free agent from the Sabres in the off-season, Meszároš went un-signed and later accepted a professional try-out contract to attend the Colorado Avalanche training camp on 15 September 2015.[11] After suffering an early injury during training camp, he was unable to make an impression and was later released on 30 September.[12] On 30 October 2015, Meszaros signed with Sibir Novosibirsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[13]

International play

Meszároš debuted internationally for Slovakia in the 2003 World U18 Championships as team captain. After a strong round robin, finishing second in their group behind the United States, Slovakia upset the Czech Republic and Russia before being defeated by Canada 3–0 in the gold medal game, earning silver. Meszároš finished with four points in seven games, third in tournament scoring among defencemen.[14]

In 2004, Meszároš competed in World Junior Championships in Finland. After losing their quarter-final match against the Czech Republic, Slovakia was then defeated 3–2 by Russia in the fifth place game. Meszároš scored a goal and an assist in six games. Later that year, he made his senior international debut with Slovakia in the 2004 World Championships. Meszároš recorded one assist in seven games as Slovakia was defeated 1–0 by the United States in the bronze medal game. At 18-years-of-age, he was the youngest player to compete for Slovakia in both 2004 tournaments.[2]

Meszároš made his second World Junior appearance in 2005, returning as team captain. Despite three goals and one assist from Meszároš, Slovakia failed to qualify for the medal rounds.

During his rookie NHL season in 2005–06, Meszároš was chosen to Slovakia's 2006 Olympic hockey team in Turin and registered two assists in six games. As a 20-year-old, he was the second-youngest player in the tournament, behind only Russia's Evgeni Malkin. After the Ottawa Senators were was eliminated in the second round of the NHL playoffs, Meszároš joined Slovakia for one game in the 2006 World Championships. Slovakia ultimately finished eighth in the tournament.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2001–02	Dukla Trenčín	SVK U20		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Dukla Trenčín	SVK U20		33	6	10	16	12		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Dukla Trenčín	SVK		23	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Dukla Trenčín	SVK U20		5	2	2	4	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Dukla Trenčín	SVK		44	3	3	6	8		14	3	1	4	2
2004–05	Vancouver Giants	WHL		59	11	30	41	94		6	1	3	4	14
2005–06	Ottawa Senators	NHL		82	10	29	39	61		10	1	0	1	18
2006–07	Ottawa Senators	NHL		82	7	28	35	102		20	1	6	7	12
2007–08	Ottawa Senators	NHL		82	9	27	36	50		4	0	1	1	6
2008–09	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		52	2	14	16	36		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		81	6	11	17	50		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		81	8	24	32	42		11	2	4	6	8
2011–12	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		62	7	18	25	38		1	0	0	0	0
2012–13	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		11	0	2	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		38	5	12	17	34		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Boston Bruins	NHL		14	2	3	5	6		4	0	2	2	2
2014–15	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		60	7	7	14	36		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Sibir Novosibirsk	KHL		28	6	3	9	36		9	1	3	4	10
2016–17	Slovan Bratislava	KHL		35	4	9	13	63		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Slovan Bratislava	KHL		51	6	11	17	46		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Slovan Bratislava	KHL		39	2	5	7	32		—	—	—	—	—
KHL totals				153	18	28	46	177		9	1	3	4	10
NHL totals				645	63	175	238	457		50	4	13	17	46

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2002	Slovakia	WJC18		8	0	1	1	8
2003	Slovakia	WJC18		7	2	2	4	6
2004	Slovakia	WJC		6	1	1	2	12
2004	Slovakia	WC		7	0	1	1	2
2005	Slovakia	WJC		6	3	1	4	4
2006	Slovakia	OLY		6	0	2	2	4
2006	Slovakia	WC		1	0	0	0	0
2010	Slovakia	OLY		7	0	0	0	4
2014	Slovakia	OLY		4	0	0	0	6
2015	Slovakia	WC		7	3	1	4	27
2016	Slovakia	WC		7	0	2	2	4
Junior totals				27	6	5	11	30
Senior totals				39	3	6	9	47

Awards and achievements

SVK

• League championship with Dukla Trenčín — 2004
• First All-Star Team — 2004

WHL

• Western Second Team All-Star — 2005
• All-Rookie Team — 2005
• Vancouver Giants' Top Defenceman — 2005
• Vancouver Giants' Rookie of the Year — 2005

NHL

• All-Rookie Team — 2006
• NHL YoungStars Game appearance — 2007
• Barry Ashbee Trophy — 2011

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
2. "Lightning acquire restricted free agent defenseman Andrej Meszaros from Ottawa". Tampa Bay Lightning. 29 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
3. "Canucks down Senators in shootout thriller". CBC Sports. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
4. "East holds off West in YoungStars Game". ESPN. 24 January 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
5. "Senators deal Meszaros to Tampa Bay". TSN. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
6. "Lightning cut six year deal with Meszaros". 30 September 2008.
7. "Flyers acquire Meszaros from Tampa Bay; re-sign Coburn". Philadelphia Flyers. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
8. SanFilippo, Anthony (5 March 2014). "WHAT THE FLYERS TRADES MEAN – Flyers Inside Out". Philadelphia Flyers. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
9. Switaj, Caryn (9 March 2014). "Bruins Take Care of Business, Take Over First in East". bruins.nhl.com. Boston Bruins. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
10. TSN.ca Staff (1 July 2014). "SABRES SIGN GIONTA, MOULSON TO MULTI-YEAR DEALS; SIGN MESZAROS". www.tsn.ca. TSN. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
11. "2015 Avalanche training camp roster" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
12. "Avalanche reduces roster". Colorado Avalanche. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
13. "Veteran d-man Meszaros signs in KHL". NBC Sports. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
14. "Defencemen Scoring Leaders". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 30 September 2008.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Andrej Meszaros at NHLPA

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Patrick Eaves	Ottawa Senators' first round draft pick 2004	Succeeded by Brian Lee