Radek Faksa
Faksa with the Dallas Stars in 2022
Born (1994-01-09) 9 January 1994
Vítkov, Czech Republic
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position Centre[1]
Shoots Left
NHL team Dallas Stars
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 13th overall, 2012
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2013–present

Radek Faksa (born 9 January 1994) is a Czech professional ice hockey centre for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). In his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he was the League's leading rookie scorer when he was playing for the Kitchener Rangers.[2] Faksa was drafted 13th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

Faksa began his ice hockey career in his hometown Opava, although at age 11, his single mother was struggling to fund his hockey career. Faksa and his family received an offer from HC Oceláři Třinec for Faksa to play in Třinec's system, an offer they accepted; Faksa moved alone to Třinec, where he lived by himself in a hotel paid for by his team until the age of 17.

Faksa was drafted 22nd in the CHL Import Draft by the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In his first season with the Rangers, in the 2011–12 OHL season, Faksa primarily played on the team's second line, scoring 29 goals and 37 assists for 66 points in 62 games in his first season of North American hockey. He was selected to participate in the 2012 CHL Top Prospects Game, where he won the “Showdown Breakaway Challenge” in the Top Prospects Skills Competition.[3] Faksa's draft stock rose throughout the season and he solidified himself as a top prospect, ranking fourth on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's midterm ranking of North American skaters.[4] Faksa finished the season as the rookie leading scorer in the OHL, also finishing second in voting for the Emms Family Award, awarded annually to the OHL's top first-year player; the Award ultimately went to 15-year-old defenceman Aaron Ekblad.[2]

On 22 June 2012, Faksa was drafted 13th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He was the first Czech taken in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft since Jakub Voráček's selection in 2007. In addition, Faksa was drafted seventh overall by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)'s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in the 2012 KHL Junior Draft.

On 10 January 2014, Faksa was traded by Kitchener to the Sudbury Wolves in exchange for fellow Czech Dominik Kubalík and two second-round draft picks.[5]

Professional

On 6 July 2012, Faksa signed an entry-level contract with Dallas.[6] Upon completing his junior career with Sudbury, on 3 April 2014, Faksa was reassigned by the Stars to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars.[7]

Faksa scored his first NHL goal on 6 November 2015 in a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.[8]

On 28 November 2017, Faksa tallied a natural hat trick in the second period, scoring the only goals in the Stars' shutout of the Vegas Golden Knights.[9] It was the first hat trick of his NHL career as well as the first scored in T-Mobile Arena and the first time the Golden Knights were shut out at home. The following game, on 30 November in Chicago, Faksa was hooked by Patrick Kane on a shorthanded breakaway and awarded his first career penalty shot, which he scored on to give the Stars a 2–1 lead in the first period. Faksa notched an assist in the second period on a pass to Remi Elie, and the Stars went on to beat the Blackhawks 4–3 with an overtime goal by Mattias Janmark.[10]

On 11 October 2020, the Stars re-signed Faksa to a five-year, $16.25 million contract.[11]

International play

Faksa competed as part of the Czech Republic men's national junior ice hockey team at the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships, the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and for the Czech Republic in the 2016 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 HC Oceláři Třinec CZE U18 36 19 19 38 52 — — — — —
2009–10 HC Oceláři Třinec CZE U20 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2010–11 HC Oceláři Třinec CZE U18 28 19 30 49 32 2 1 0 1 10
2010–11 HC Oceláři Třinec CZE U20 24 9 6 15 12 2 2 2 4 4
2011–12 Kitchener Rangers OHL 62 29 37 66 47 13 2 4 6 10
2012–13 Kitchener Rangers OHL 39 9 22 31 26 10 4 2 6 4
2012–13 Texas Stars AHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Kitchener Rangers OHL 30 16 11 27 22 — — — — —
2013–14 Sudbury Wolves OHL 29 5 16 21 26 5 1 2 3 10
2013–14 Texas Stars AHL 6 1 2 3 6 21 4 0 4 8
2014–15 Texas Stars AHL 32 4 6 10 12 — — — — —
2015–16 Texas Stars AHL 28 15 11 26 22 — — — — —
2015–16 Dallas Stars NHL 45 5 7 12 16 13 3 2 5 2
2016–17 Dallas Stars NHL 80 12 21 33 67 — — — — —
2017–18 Dallas Stars NHL 79 17 16 33 36 — — — — —
2018–19 Dallas Stars NHL 81 15 15 30 54 13 0 1 1 6
2019–20 Dallas Stars NHL 66 11 9 20 42 19 3 5 8 4
2020–21 Dallas Stars NHL 55 6 8 14 30 — — — — —
2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 77 5 14 19 52 7 1 1 2 4
2022–23 Dallas Stars NHL 81 11 9 20 39 19 1 2 3 10
NHL totals 564 82 99 181 336 71 8 11 19 26

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Czech Republic U18 8th 6 0 0 0 2
2012 Czech Republic WJC 5th 6 2 0 2 4
2013 Czech Republic WJC 5th 6 0 2 2 2
2014 Czech Republic WJC 6th 5 1 0 1 2
2016 Czech Republic WC 5th 3 0 0 0 0
2016 Czech Republic WCH 6th 1 0 0 0 0
2018 Czech Republic WC 7th 8 0 3 3 4
2019 Czech Republic WC 4th 7 1 3 4 2
Junior totals 23 3 2 5 10
Senior totals 19 1 6 7 6

Awards and achievements

Awards Year
AHL
Calder Cup champion 2014 [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Radek Faksa, český hokejista Dallasu při draftu NHL" [Radek Faksa, Czech hockey player for Dallas in the NHL Draft]. aktualne.cz (in Czech). 2 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 Graham, Doug (25 January 2012). "First-year success". The Whig Standard. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Skills competition winners". NHL.com. 31 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Faksa showing game translates easily to North America". NHL.com. 6 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Dallas Stars Prospect Update: Radek Faksa, Gemel Smith Traded Within The OHL". Defending Big D. 10 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Faksa Signs Deal with the Stars". The Record. 30 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Dallas Stars Reassign Forward Radek Faksa To Texas Stars". Dallas Stars.
  8. ↑ "Radek Faksa scores first goal of his NHL career Friday; Roussel misses game with injury". Dallas News. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Radek Faksa tallies first career hat trick for Dallas Stars". FanRag Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Janmark scores twice as Stars beat Blackhawks 4-3 in OT". CBS Sports. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  11. ↑ "Stars sign center Radek Faksa to a five-year contract". NHL.com. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Dallas Stars' affiliate wins AHL Calder Cup". Dallas Stars. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
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