Richard Žemlička

Most of Richard Žemlička’s long career (1985-2006) was spent with ČKD Praha in his native Czechoslovakia. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 9th round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, but never played professionally in North America. He did play for various other European teams as a forward and in other leagues, notably with TPS Turku in the Finnish League (1991-92), the German Elite League from 1992-96 with EHC Freiburg, Eisbären Berlin and ES Weißwasser, and his last two years were spent in the Slovakian Leagues with HK Poprad and HK 32 Liptovský Mikulás.

Žemlička represented Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic multiple times on international ice, appearing at the Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994 and at six World Championships (1991-95, 1997). This earned him an Olympic bronze medal in 1992 and three bronze medals at the World Championships - 1992-93 and 1997.