Jan Marek: Winning Titles with Metallurg

KHL.ru continues its series of articles dedicated to players and coaches who became legends of the League. In this new feature, we tell the story of Czech forward Jan Marek, who won the Russian championship, played in the Gagarin Cup finals, and could have competed at the highest level for several more years but tragically passed away in a plane crash.Replacing Malkin after scoring to RussiaPreviously, player transfers during the Russian Championship season were only permitted during special registration windows. The first one occurred in November. Back in 2005, the website hokej.cz published an article stating that the Russian Superleague clubs were becoming a real threat to the Czech Extraleague. The first player to leave was Vaclav Novak, who moved to Avangard. However, according to the portal, Russian teams were ready to offer compensation for eight more players. Among them was Jan Marek, who was reportedly of the greatest interest. Metallurg Magnitogorsk had a vacant spot for an import player, but at that time, an agreement for the center forward’s transfer could not be reached.Marek had begun attracting attention from the broader hockey community even earlier. In 2002, he scored 40 points in the Czech Extraleague. A year later, with 62 points, he became the tournament’s second top scorer. In 2004, he scored against Magnitogorsk in the Christmas Spengler Cup tournament. Marek was originally drafted by the New York Rangers. The forward could have gone overseas in 2006 to join Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, and several other Czech players on whom New York was relying at the time, but he turned down their offer.“This summer the Rangers management offered me a contract. However, it was a two-way agreement, and in terms of money and playing prospects, it didn’t suit me, so I declined. I know my level perfectly well.”Marek’s move to Russia was directly influenced by Evgeny Malkin’s departure overseas. Losing their main star in mid-August during the peak of preseason preparations, Metallurg’s management was forced to look out for a replacement. September began, but the long-awaited newcomer still hadn’t arrived.In those years, the first stage of the Euro Hockey Tour was held in the Czech Republic. It took place in early autumn, before the start of national championships. On the final day of the Ceska Pojistovna Cup tournament, Team Russia paid a visit to Team Czechia. Negotiations for Marek’s transfer were ongoing during the match, in which the future Metallurg newcomer scored a goal, and soon he was getting acquainted with his new teammates.However, Marek initially faced significant difficulties in everyday life. He could only speak Czech, and his first interview shortly after arriving was conducted with the help of his agent, Jaroslav Zidek, who spoke Russian.Decisive Championship GoalMarek didn’t even need time to adapt. He started producing results immediately. Playing on a line with Nikolai Kulemin and his fellow countryman Jaroslav Kudrna, he finished the regular season with 47 points in 47 games. The only players ahead of him were from the legendary Ak Bars’ trio of Alexei Morozov, Sergei Zinovyev, and Danis Zaripov, Khimik’s dynamic duo, Sergei Mozyakin and Albert Leshchyov, and Alexei Kalyuzhny from Avangard.Jan Marek 181 games with 163 (74+89) points in the KHL. Russian champion (2007). KHL Best Sniper (2009). KHL All-Star Game (2009). Czech champion (2006). World champion (2010). Apr 13, 2007 Russian championship win with Metallurg. Jan 10, 2009 Skated at the first KHL All-Star Game at the Red Square in Moscow. Feb 26, 2009 Became the KHL first season’s top sniper with 35 goals.But the most important events took place in the elimination stage. Metallurg was not considered the main favorite as it had been a year earlier. Back then, Dave King’s team had steamrolled all their opponents and won the regular season, finishing 29 points ahead of the nearest competitor. However, they lost in the playoffs’ semifinals to Avangard. The champion that year was Ak Bars, which was viewed as the main contender for the gold medals in 2007 as well. In the final, the Kazan side faced Metallurg. The Steelers managed to put up a fight against the powerful opponent, which had won three golds and a silver in five years. The series went to a fifth game, which took place in Kazan. Midway through the third period, Ilya Nikulin tied the score at one. However, a minute and 22 seconds later, Metallurg tallied the clinching goal. That goal was scored by none other than Marek, who surely became a hero to all Metallurg fans. In total, the Czech recorded 17 points in the playoffs, just one less than the top scorer, Zinovyev.That season, Marek was called up to the national team for the World Championship for the first time. The tournament was held in Russia, in Moscow and Mytishchi. The Metallurg forward, with two goals and three assists, was among the top five scorers for the Czechs, despite playing one game fewer than his teammates. Marek was unable to play in the most crucial game, the quarterfinal, due to stomach problems. The Czechs lost that game 0:4 to a very strong Russian team.Marek’s contract was for one year. In the off-season, he received offers from Khimik and the Los Angeles Kings, who had acquired his rights from the Rangers. However, the Kings couldn’t guarantee him a spot in the main lineup. Therefore, he decided to stay in Russia and extended his contract with Metallurg.World championMarek spent another three seasons with Metallurg. During his tenure, the team won bronze medals in 2008 and 2009. In those championships, the Czech became Metallurg’s top scorer with 48 and 72 points. In 2009, he also ranked second, after Mozyakin, in the list of KHL top scorers. However, the 2009-2010 season did not go as well for Marek, and Metallurg was eliminated in the second round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs.Marek then moved to CSKA. But the Muscovites had a poor start to the championship. By January, it was clear that the team would fail to make the playoffs. The club’s management decided to sell off their leading players, which led to the Czech ending up in Atlant. The team had hired Milos Riha, who had been dismissed from Spartak, in October and significantly strengthened their roster in preparation for the elimination stage.In the playoffs, Atlant defeated Severstal, SKA, and Lokomotiv. Marek failed to score against Cherepovets but netted two goals each against SKA and Lokomotiv. In the final, he scored three times against Salavat Yulaev. However, neither this nor anything else could stop the super team from Ufa, led by the line of Alexander Radulov, Igor Grigorenko, and Patrick Thoresen. Atlant ended up as the runner up, but for a team not considered one of the main favorites, this was a very successful result. Marek became Atlant’s second top scorer in the playoffs.May 23, 2010 World Championships gold medal with Team Czechia. April 2011 Gagarin Cup finals appearance with Atlant. Sep 7, 2011 Passed away in Lokomotiv’s air crash.In 2010 and 2011, Marek also won medals on the international stage. After the failure at the Vancouver Olympics, Russia brought a very strong and nearly optimal lineup to the World Championship in Germany. However, the Czechs also had their stars, such as goalie Tomas Vokoun, who delivered one of the best games of his career in the final, stopping Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeny Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Sergei Gonchar, and others. Marek made a significant contribution to the victory. During the group stage, he only scored against Switzerland, but in the quarterfinals and semifinals against Finland and Sweden, he scored the decisive SO goals.A year later in Bratislava, the Czechs defeated Russia again, and they did it twice – in the group stage and in the bronze medal game. In the first eight games of the tournament, Marek only managed one assist, but in the match for third place, he scored a goal and provided a helper.In the offseason, Marek joined Lokomotiv, which had assembled a strong team and was expected to compete for the Gagarin Cup. The Czech would have played at a high level for several more years, but he tragically died along with his new team, which was on its way to the first game of the season.Marek’s memory was honored not only in his homeland, where a statue was erected at Sparta’s home arena and a memorial plaque was placed in his hometown. In Magnitogorsk, Marek’s jersey was raised to the rafters of the Metallurg Arena, highlighting his contribution to the team’s achievements, which included three medals over four seasons.KHL.ru dossierJan MarekBorn Dec 31, 1979, in Jindruchuv Hradec, Czechia.Playing career: 1998-2003, Trinec (Czechia); 2003-2006, Sparta (Czechia); 2006-2010, Metallurg; 2010-2011, CSKA, Atlant.Achievements: gold (2010) and bronze (2011) medal at the World Championships, gold (2007), silver (2011) and bronze (2008, 2009) at the Russian championship, European Champions Cup winner (2008).