| International Played in 11 World Championships (1970 to 1979, 1981)and won the gold medal three times (1972, 1976 and 1977) ... Named to the All-Star Team in 1978 ... He also won a bronze medal at 1972 Sapporo Olympics and a silver medal at the 1976 Innsbruck Games ... Missed the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics due to a knee injury ... Saw action in inaugural Canada Cup in 1976 ... In his career, he recorded 132 goals in 256 games with the Czechoslovak National Team ... Took the reins as a head coach of the National Team in 1991 and worked until 1994 ... Under his coaching, the Czech National Team got a bronze medal at the 1992 Albertville Olympics and won two World Championship bronze medals ... Came back to coach the National Team before 1997 World Championship and earned another bronze medal ... His best achievement as a coach came with a gold medal at 1998 Olympics in Nagano.
Career A veteran of 16 seasons in the Czechoslovak League, Hlinka recorded 347 goals in 544 games ... Played in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks for two seasons; 1981-82 and 1982-83 ... He had 123 points (42 goals and 81 assists) in 137 games and was a key contributor to the 1981-82 edition of the Canucks which made it to the Stanley Cup finals -- the first time the Canucks had played for the Stanley Cup in their history ... Hlinka and Jiri Bubla were the first Czechoslovaks to play for the Canucks ... The two had been selected in a special NHL draft for Czechoslovak players by Winnipeg and Colorado, but were signed by Vancouver when the Canucks learned that no formal agreement exists between the NHL and the Czechoslovak Hockey Federation ... After finishing his NHL career, Hlinka played two seasons in Switzerland, with Zug ... Was named the coach of CHZ Litvinov in 1985. |
