Tomáš Kaberle
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| Position | Defense |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname(s) | Kabbie |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg/14 st 2 lb) |
| NHL Team | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Nationality |  Czech Republic |
| Born | March 2, 1978 , Rakovník, CZE |
| NHL Draft | 204th overall, 1996 Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Pro career | 1994 – present |
Tomáš Kaberle (pronounced [ˈtomaːʃ ˈkabɛrlɛ]) (born March 2, 1978 in Rakovník, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) is a defenceman for the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. He also plays for the Czech national ice hockey team and won a bronze medal with the team at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
His brother František Kaberle, plays for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes; their father, František Kaberle, Sr. played for the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team in the 1970s.
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[edit] Playing career
Kaberle was drafted 204th in the 8th round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto, and saw limited playing time in the 1998-99 NHL season. After being eased into the Leafs lineup, he saw a significant increase in playing time in order to help fill in the gap on the Leafs after an injury to Bryan Berard in the 1999-2000 NHL season. By the 2001-02 campaign, Kaberle had improved enough to be selected to the World team at the 2002 NHL All-Star game. Later that year, he was named to the Czech national ice hockey team for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Kaberle started the 2003-04 campaign as a restricted free agent without a contract, and ended up playing in the Czech Extraliga for HC Rabat Kladno while a new contract was negotiated. Ultimately, he signed a contract with the Leafs securing his services through 2005-06. On February 11, 2006, Tomáš Kaberle was re-signed to a five-year contract extension worth $21.25 million with a no-trade clause for the first three years of the contract, effective July 1, 2006. This deal locked him in until the end of the 2010-11 NHL season.
On October 28, 2006, he scored his first career hat-trick against the Montreal Canadiens. He also scored in his first shootout attempt that night. Kaberle was named as an Eastern Conference All-Star Game participant for the second time in his career on January 12, 2007.
During a March 2, 2007 game against the New Jersey Devils, Kaberle suffered a concussion, and was carried off the ice on a stretcher, as a result of a late hit to the head by Cam Janssen.[1] While no penalties were called on the play, Janssen was assessed a three-game suspension. In an interview, Kaberle mentioned that Janssen had not contacted him for reconciliation, and went on to say, "I don't care [to hear from him]. He doesn't respect me and I don't respect him."[2] After missing eight games, he returned to the Leafs lineup on March 23.
Although Kaberle has scored relatively few goals, he has scored seven times in overtime.
During the 2008 NHL All Star Game Skills Competition, Kaberle became the fourth player, after Ray Bourque, Mark Messier, and Jeremy Roenick, to hit all four targets in four shots in the accuracy challenge.
[edit] International
Tomáš was selected to the Czech national team in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Tomáš and František were members of the Czech national ice hockey team at the 2005 World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna, where they won gold. While František won the World Championships for the fifth time, it was the first victory for Tomáš. In December 2005 they were both named for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where they won bronze medals with the team. The next year Tomáš accepted his nomination for 2006 World Championships in Riga where the Czech team won silver medals.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1994–95 | Kladno | CZEx | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995–96 | Kladno | CZEx | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | Kladno | CZEx | 49 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | Kladno | CZEx | 47 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997–98 | St. John's Maple Leafs | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998–99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 57 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 7 | 33 | 40 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 6 | 39 | 45 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kladno | CZEx | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001–02 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 2002–03 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 11 | 36 | 47 | 30 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 71 | 3 | 28 | 31 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Kladno | CZEx | 49 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 9 | 58 | 67 | 46 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006–07 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 11 | 47 | 58 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007–08 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 8 | 45 | 53 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 681 | 69 | 333 | 402 | 198 | 77 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 24 | ||||
[edit] Honours
- Played in 3 NHL All-Star games - 2002, 2007, 2008
- Won NHL All-Star game accuracy competition - 2007-08
[edit] International play
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Bronze | 2006 Torino | Ice hockey | |
| World Championships | |||
| Gold | 2005 Vienna | Ice hockey | |
| Silver | 2006 Riga | Ice hockey | |
Played for the Czech Republic in:
- 1998 World Junior Championships
- 2002 Winter Olympics
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2005 World Championships (gold medal)
- 2006 Winter Olympics (bronze medal)
- 2006 World Championships (silver medal)
- 2008 World Championships
[edit] International statistics
| Year | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | WJC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Oly | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2004 | WCH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005 | WC | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2006 | Oly | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2006 | WC | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 31 | |
| 2008 | WC | 7 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 0 | |
| Senior Int'l Totals | 41 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 39 | ||
This section may be incomplete.
[edit] References
- ^ McGran, Kevin. "Late hits a major headache", Toronto Star, 2007-03-06.
- ^ Kaberle hopes to return this season. TSN.ca (2007-03-07).
