Slovak hockey legend Peter Šťastný turned 70 on September 18th.
Šťastný who was born in Bratislava and became a star playing for Slovak Bratislava and the Czechoslovak national team in the late 1970s escaped Czechoslovakia and joined the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques in 1980. Along with his brothers Anton and Marian he became a star in the NHL where in terms of scoring in the 1980’s only Wayne Gretzky surpassed him.
At the end of his career, Šťastný returned to Slovakia and captained Slovakia when they made their first Olympic appearance in the 1994 Winter Games. After his hockey career he served as an MEP in European Parliament.
Šťastný was a 2-time World Champion representing Czechoslovakia (1976, 1977). In 1979 he led Slovan Bratislava as they became the first Slovak team to win the federal championship title. He won the NHL’s Calder Trophy after his rookie year in Quebec. Overall he played 977 games in the NHL scoring 450 goals and adding 789 assists. He retired as the highest scoring European player of all-time.
Although he had taken Canadian citizenship, after Slovakia became independent in 1993 he returned to the national team and helped them move up from C division to the A division where they have remained ever since.
He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in 1998 and to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000.
Source: RSI
