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Best Later Round Picks of the Carolina Hurricanes

By Jeb Bohn

RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 18: Niclas Wallin #7 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepares for a faceoff during a NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 18, 2010 at RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 18: Niclas Wallin #7 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepares for a faceoff during a NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 18, 2010 at RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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RALEIGH, NC – OCTOBER 26: Glen Murray #27 of the Boston Bruins battles for the puck with Josef Vasicek #63 of the Carolina Hurricanes on October 26, 2005 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes defeated the Bruins 4-3 in OT. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – OCTOBER 26: Glen Murray #27 of the Boston Bruins battles for the puck with Josef Vasicek #63 of the Carolina Hurricanes on October 26, 2005 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes defeated the Bruins 4-3 in OT. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Josef Vasicek

  • 4th Round (91st overall) in 1998
  • Games played: 341
  •  Goals-Assists-Points: 57-78-135

Josef Vasicek entered the 1998 NHL Entry Draft as the 21st-rated European skater, per the Central Scouting Bureau.  The big center finished his first season in the OHL (98-99) with 56 points (21G, 35A) in 66 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.  In his second season, Vasicek’s output jumped to 72 points (26G, 46A) in 54 games.

After a strong training camp, Vasicek began his NHL career with the Hurricanes in the 2000-01 season, putting up 21 points (8G, 13A) in 76 games.  The following season saw his production increase by 10 points, thanks in no small part to his willingness to get to the front of the opposition’s net.  He added 5 points (3G, 2A) during the Hurricanes’ run to the 2002 Finals.

Most impressive was his goal to open the scoring in Game 3 against the Red Wings where he undressed veteran defenseman Steve Duchesne and held off a backchecking Sergei Fedorov before blowing a shot over the blocker of Dominik Hasek.

Vasicek’s most productive season came in 2003-04, a season in which he led the Hurricanes in scoring with 45 points (19G, 26A).  After playing in his native Czech Republic during the 2004-05 NHL Lockout, Vasicek returned to the Hurricanes for the 2005-06 season, though a serious knee injury limited him to 23 games.  He appeared in 8 playoff games, registering no points, though the Hurricanes bested the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to capture the Franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

The 2006-07 season saw Vasicek bounce between the Hurricanes and the Nashville Predators before signing as a free agent with the New York Islanders for the 2007-08 season, his last in the NHL.  In July of 2008, he signed with Yaroslavl of the KHL.

On September 7th, 2011, Vasicek was one of 44 people killed when a charter flight carrying his Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team crashed following a botched takeoff.  In tribute to the former Hurricane, the team wore a memorial patch on their jerseys in the 2011-12 season.  The Josef Vasicek award, voted by the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, is given annually for “outstanding cooperation with the local media”.

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