Deník Sport has shared the passing of former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Roman Čechmánek. The goaltender was 52 years old and had previously played 212 games in the NHL, after being drafted in the sixth round – 171st overall – in the 2000 NHL Draft. That was 34 spots before Henrik Lundqvist heard his name called by the New York Rangers.
Čechmánek was, interestingly, 29 years old when he was drafted. He also had seven years of professional hockey in Czcehia under his belt, helping to set him up for an immediate role in the NHL. Čechmánek made his NHL debut on October 17th after his draft day and would go on to play a dazzling 59 games with Philadelphia through his inaugural season – the 14th-most of any goalie that season. And Čechmánek was efficient in the performances, tallying a 35-15-6 record and .921 save percentage. While he was too old to be considered a rookie, he would have recorded the second-highest save percentage of any Flyers goalie in the modern era, only outperformed by Doug Favell’s .931 set in the 1967-68 season. Čechmánek would go on to finish second in Vezina voting that season – his first in the NHL – losing out to Dominik Hašek for the award.
But he stayed consistent, recording a .921 save percentage again through 46 games in his sophomore season. His record also stayed green, with the then-30-year-old goalie going 24-13-6. And despite two tremendous years to start his career, it was Čechmánek’s third season in the league that would go down as his career best. Through 58 games, the netminder recorded a .925 save percentage and 33-15-10 record. He won the William M. Jennings award, provided to the goalie(s) that allowed the fewest goals against, but ranked seventh in Vezina voting in a year where Martin Brodeur, Marty Turco, and Ed Belfour topped the list.
Čechmánek would play one more NHL season after that, moving to the Los Angeles Kings and continuing to find success. But his NHL career drew to a close after one year in L.A., with the goaltender returning to Czechia and appearing in various European pro leagues before retiring in 2007-08. Interestingly, he recorded a career-high .948 save percentage in the 2006-07 season in Czechia’s top league. While he had a short NHL career, he was always someone to watch when he played. We at Pro Hockey Rumors extend our condolences to his family, friends and the Philadelphia/L.A. hockey community.