Slovak defenseman Branislav Mezei, 44, has signed a one-year contract
extension with his hometown club, HK Nitra, to play what will be his
26th season of professional hockey, the Slovak Extraliga club
announced on Saturday.
“Throughout (last)
season, I had in my mind that it
wasn’t the last season,” said
Mezei. “So
it wasn’t a decision that was made at the end, but throughout the
season, depending on how I felt and how much fun I had with my
teammates. I was more or less determined during the season to
continue.
“I haven’t even had
the thought of ending my career yet, but
of course,
it also depends on the club whether they are still interested in
bringing me
back,” he
continued.
“Management
said yes, so that also made the decision easier for me.”
Nitra, a city
of about 80,000 people located approximately 100 km northeast of
Bratislava, is where Mezei was born and raised until age 16, when he
went overseas to play junior hockey for the OHL’s
Belleville Bulls, who no longer exist.
His junior
career included an OHL championship and an appearance in the 1999
Memorial Cup, which also included Roberto Luongo, Francois
Beauchemin, Brad Stuart, Nick Boynton, Brian Campbell and
teammate Jonathan Cheecho.
He
also played in that year’s World Junior Championship, where
Slovakia won its first-ever IIHF medal – a bronze. His teammates
included Ladislav Nagy and Marián
Gáborik. Other players in the tournament included Luongo, Brian
Gionta, Simon Gagné, Nikolai Antropov and Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
Brett Ritchie Moves From Slovakia To Germany – Nitra Club President Blames Slovak RefsCanadian right winger Brett Ritchie, 31, has been released from his contract with Slovak Extraliga club HK Nitra and has signed to play the remainder of the current season with the Schwenninger Wild Wings, the German DEL club announced on Wednesday.
Mezei was
chosen in the first round, 10th
overall, by the New
York Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. The
Islanders had acquired the pick from the Montreal
Canadiens in exchange
for Trevor Linden.
Between 2000
and 2008, Mezei played 527 NHL games for the Islanders and Florida
Panthers, recording 24 points and 311 penalty minutes.
Mezei split
the 2004-05 lockout season between Oceláři
Třinec in the Czech Extraliga and Dukla Trenčín in Slovakia, where
his teammates included Radek Bonk, Pavol Demitra, Marián
Hossa
and
Gáborik.
Between
2008 and 2014, he played for eight different clubs in the KHL,
Czechia and Finland
before
returning to Nitra in October 2014. He’s remained there ever since.
Highlights since
his return to Nitra over a decade ago include national titles in 2016
and 2024.
Along the way he mentored young defenseman Šimon
Nemec, who now plays
for the New Jersey
Devils.
“I’m
home, I’m playing for my hometown, that’s always extra
motivation,” said
Mezei.
“My son also plays hockey, so I’m glad that I can still be there
and I can be a role model for him, so it all came together somehow.”
Photo © Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images: Branislav Mezei playing for the Florida Panthers in the 2005-06 season.
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