Pack Attack: Petr Průcha
Pack Attack is on the prowl – yesterday we were in Finland today in former Czechoslovakia.
Petr Průcha is a 27 year old forward entering his second full season with the Phoenix Coyotes after being acquired from the New York Rangers during the 2008-09 season.
As the 240th overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers; Průcha did not make the transition from playing in Europe to North America until the 2005-06 season when he split the season between the Rangers and their AHL affiliate team the Hartford Wolf Pack. His first North American season saw only two games played for Hartford in which he scored two goals and one assist before going on to play in 68 games with the Rangers. In his rookie season Průcha put up 47 regular season points (30 goals and 17 assist) and appeared in four play off games playing along side fellow Czech Republic native Jaromír Jágr.
After playing in 28 games with the New York Rangers in the 2008-09 season and only accumulating 9 points Průcha was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes on March 4, 2009 Coyotes in return for Derek Morris. Finishing the season in Phoenix he played in 19 games and accumulated 10 points. On June 19, 2009 it was announce that the Coyotes and Průcha had reached an agreement for a two-year deal with an $1.1 million cap hit for each season.
This past season was the first year of the contract and his first full season with the Coyotes. Playing in 79 games Průcha put 13 goals and 9 assist on the box score – his highest point production since the 2006-07 season with the New York Rangers. On February 13, 2010 Průcha was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a hit by Dallas’ forward James Neal that left him motionless on the ice. He spent the NHL 2010 Olympic break recuperating, coming back to finish the regular season and playing in all 7 games of the Coyotes first play off round since the NHL lockout. In the post season he added one goal (a game winner with video below) and two assist against the Detroit Red Wings.