Dominik Hasek, a goalie who has starred in the National Hockey League (NHL) and in international competition. In 1997 and 1998 Hasek won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. In 1998 he also led the Czech Republic national ice hockey team to the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.

Hasek was born in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic. He joined his hometown Czech League hockey team in 1981 at the age of 16. Hasek was named the league’s top player three times (1987, 1989, 1990).

Hasek played on the Czech national team in several international tournaments in the 1980s and early 1990s. He earned a silver medal in the 1983 world junior championships and played in the Canada Cup in 1984 and 1991. Hasek also appeared in five world championship tournaments (1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1995) and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

During the early part of Hasek’s career, Czechoslovakia was a Communist nation. Because Communist countries generally prevented their best athletes from moving to the United States or Canada, the Chicago Blackhawks waited until the 199th pick in the 1983 NHL draft to select Hasek. The Czechoslovakian government eventually loosened its hold on Czech athletes, and Hasek signed a contract with the Blackhawks in 1990.

Hasek made his debut with the Blackhawks in the 1990-91 season, appearing in 5 games. He played in 20 games for Chicago the following season and was voted to the NHL’s All-Rookie team. However, because Chicago already had a starting goalie, Ed Belfour, Hasek was traded to the Buffalo Sabres after the 1991-92 season.

With the Sabres, Hasek established himself as one of the NHL’s best goalies, and his accomplishments earned him the nickname the Dominator. Hasek frustrated opponents with an acrobatic style, stopping pucks in almost any body position—kneeling, standing, sitting, or lying flat on the ice.

During the 1993-94 season Hasek posted a goals-against average of 1.95. It was the lowest figure by a NHL goalie since Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers recorded a 1.89 average in 1973-74. Hasek’s performance earned him the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie. He earned the honor again in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 1999. By winning the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1997 and 1998, Hasek became the first NHL goalie to be named MVP since Jacques Plante of the Montréal Canadiens in 1962—and the first goalie ever to win the award twice.

Hasek returned to Olympic play in 1998 as a member of the Czech national team. Although the Czech squad was considered by many to be an underdog in the tournament, Hasek sparked the team to the gold medal, recording a 0.97 goals-against average during the Games. The following NHL season, Hasek led the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Dallas Stars in six games.  He currently plays with Detroit.