Athlete Bios
Hockey
Despite injuries, Slovakia's Gaborik makes way to Games
Last Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010 | 3:19 PM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
Marian Gaborik, of the New York Rangers, will be a central part of Team Slovakia's offence at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Marian Gaborik of Slovakia is considered one of the most talented offensive players in the National Hockey League, but his career has been consistently hampered by injuries.
Gaborik, 27, was signed as a free agent last July 1 by the Rangers after he played his first eight NHL seasons with the Minnesota Wild, who selected him with the third overall pick in the 2000 draft. The Rangers signed him for five years at $37.5 million.
“He is an exciting guy to watch play,” Rangers general manager Glen Sather said after the signing. “He can skate and does a lot of great things. He’s a great player and he’s young. I certainly think he’s in the top 10 in this league.”
Gaborik holds the distinction of being one of 43 players to score five or more goals in an NHL game, a feat he accomplished against the Rangers in a game at Minnesota on Dec. 20, 2007.
In an effort persuade Gaborik to sign with them, the Rangers sent a video to his home in Slovakia that featured his career highlights and Rangers players talking about their experiences in New York.
“I watched it right away and it was unbelievable," Gaborik said after he signed. “I felt right away that they were interested in me. It really was very important that they came after me this way.”
Gaborik scored a career-high 42 goals in the 2007-08 season for the Wild, the only dangerous scorer on a team that consistently ranks among the league’s lowest in scoring. He sustained an injury early in the next season, had an operation on his hip in January and played only 17 games, scoring 23 points. Groin injuries shortened his seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
He has spent the early part of this season among the NHL leaders in scoring.
Gaborik was born in Trencin in the former Czechoslovakia, a town of 56,000 that has produced an astounding number of NHL players, including forwards Marian and Marcel Hossa, Pavol Demitra, Ziggy Palffy and defenceman Zdeno Chara.
“I first saw him at 16, and everybody knew how special he was right away,” Demitra said while the two were teammates with the Wild. “He’s got that special touch you can’t learn. Look at Gaborik, you see the speed. He’s so fast.”
Gaborik, Marian Hossa and Chara will form the core of the Slovakian Olympic team, as they did in 2006, when Slovakia finished fifth. The country’s best international showing was winning the 2002 world championships.
