Tomáš Plekanec (born October 31, 1982 in Kladno,
Czechoslovakia) is a Czech ice hockey forward.
Plekanec currently plays for the National Hockey
League's Montreal Canadiens. He was drafted in the
3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. In 2001, he
came over to North America and played for the Habs
minor league affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs. He made
his debut in the NHL during the 2003-2004 season
playing in two games, and has since become a fixture
in the Canadiens's lineup.
Internationally, Plekanec has represented his home
nation in multiple international tournaments. He was
a member of the Czech National Team at the 2006
Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and the 2007
Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. The 2006 Czech
team captured a silver medal in Latvia. He was also
a member of the Czech national junior team at the
2002 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Following the 2006-07 NHL season, Tomas represented
the Czech Republic at the 2007 IIHF World
Championship. He scored a total of four goals in the
tournament (v. Belarus 2 goals; v. Slovakia 1 goal;
v. Canada 1 goal).
On February 29th, 2008. Plekanec recorded his first
NHL hat trick in a 6-2 victory over the Buffalo
Sabres. He is one of the few NHL players to score a
hat trick on a leap day.
