Anton Šťastný

Anton Šťastný
Šťastný in 2011
Born	(1959-08-05) August 5, 1959 Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Played for	HC Slovan Bratislava Quebec Nordiques HC Fribourg-Gottéron EHC Olten
National team	Czechoslovakia and Slovakia
NHL Draft	198th overall, 1978 Philadelphia Flyers 83rd overall, 1979 Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1976–1994

Anton Šťastný (born August 5, 1959) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey left winger who played nine seasons with the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 until 1989. He was the first player born and trained in Slovakia to be drafted by an NHL team. He is the brother of Vladimír, Bohumil, Eva, Marián, and Peter Šťastný, and the uncle of Yan Stastny and Paul Stastny (both Peter's sons), all of whom have been involved in ice hockey at a professional level. Anton's son, Thomas Šťastný, played in Switzerland, last for Martigny in 2015.

Playing career

Šťastný was originally drafted 198th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft, but the selection was ruled invalid after it was determined Šťastný was too young to be drafted. He re-entered and was drafted 83rd overall by the Nordiques in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He played 650 career NHL games, scoring 252 goals and 384 assists for 636 points and scored at least 25 goals in eight consecutive seasons.

He played his first nine seasons alongside his brother Peter, four of which were also played alongside Marián. They were the third trio of brothers to play on the same professional hockey team (the first being the Bentley brothers of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1940s and the second being the Plager brothers of the St. Louis Blues in the 1970s). He ranks ninth overall in NHL points by a Slovak player. Anton and Peter share the rookie record for points in a game, with 8, which they accomplished in the same game against the Washington Capitals on February 22, 1981. Two days earlier, they each recorded six points against the Vancouver Canucks. These two games, played two days apart, are four out of the nine total instances in which rookies have recorded at least 6 points in a game.

Personal life

Anton was born in Bratislava, the fifth son of Stanislav and Frantiska. His two older brothers, Vladimir (born 1945) and Bohumil (born 1947) were born when the family still lived in the village of Pružina, about 170 kilometres northeast of Bratislava. They moved to Bratislava before the birth of Marián (1953), Peter (1956), and Eva (1966). Stanislav worked for a state-run company that built hydro-electric dams until 1980 when he retired, and mainly dealt with managing inventory. Frantiska stayed at home and raised the children.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977–78	Slovan ChZJD Bratislava	TCH		44	19	17	36	22		—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	Slovan ChZJD Bratislava	TCH		44	32	19	51	38		—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Slovan ChZJD Bratislava	TCH		40	30	30	60	33		—	—	—	—	—
1980–81	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		80	39	46	85	12		5	4	3	7	2
1981–82	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		68	26	46	72	16		16	5	10	15	10
1982–83	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		79	32	60	92	25		4	2	2	4	0
1983–84	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		69	25	37	62	14		9	2	5	7	7
1984–85	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		79	38	42	80	30		16	3	3	6	6
1985–86	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		74	31	43	74	19		3	1	1	2	0
1986–87	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		77	27	35	62	8		13	3	8	11	6
1987–88	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		69	27	45	72	14		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		55	7	30	37	12		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Halifax Citadels	AHL		16	9	5	14	4		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	HC Fribourg–Gottéron	NDA		36	25	22	47	—		3	3	4	7	—
1990–91	EHC Olten	NDA		36	26	14	40	—		10	10	16	26	—
1991–92	EHC Olten	NDA		33	20	19	39	66		8	10	6	16	22
1993–94	HC Slovan Bratislava	SVK		11	6	8	14	2		—	—	—	—	—
TCH totals				128	81	66	147	93		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				650	252	384	636	150		66	20	32	52	31

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1977	Czechoslovakia	EJC		6	6	2	8	0
1978	Czechoslovakia	WJC		6	4	2	6	4
1979	Czechoslovakia	WJC		6	3	4	7	6
1979	Czechoslovakia	WC		8	5	1	6	2
1980	Czechoslovakia	OLY		6	4	4	8	2
Junior totals				18	13	8	21	10
Senior totals				14	9	5	14	4

See also

• Notable families in the NHL
• List of Slovaks in the NHL
• List of players with eight or more points in an NHL game

Bibliography

• Laflamme, Robert (2012), Les Stastny: Le Coup de Génie de Gilles Léger (in French), Montreal: Hurtubise, ISBN 978-2-89647-873-6

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database