Stefan Blaho

Blaho Dies in Car Accident

August 30, 2006: According to hokej.sk and reports out of Slovakia Stefan Blaho, the Islanders fourth round pick in 2003, died in a car accident early Wednesday morning. Blaho was a passenger in the vehicle at the time. The driver, Marcel Hanzal, could face serious charges as he was found to be driving while intoxicated. Blaho recently turned 21 in June.

Prior to being drafted by the Islanders, Blaho starred for Dukla Trencin Jr. In 2004, he was a member of Team Slovakia at the World Junior Championships. He went on to play in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves and was not signed by the Islanders in 2005. He played last season with the Sarnia Sting.

Blaho was in Slovakia taking part in training camp with the Slovak team MsHK Zilina, who originally reported the tragedy. In the last preseason game he took part in against Banska Bystrica, Blaho recorded a goal.

The Zilina police department reported that Hanzal, the 32 year old driver of the vehicle - a mitsubishi pajero, lost control and overturned the car. Hanzal survived the accident. He later was found to have 0.71 mg/l of alcohol on his breath. Slovakia law does not allow anything over 0.00.

Hanzal is a former hockey player for Dukla Trencin and HKM Zvolen. According to the reports, Hanzal has had disciplinary action taken against him in the past for possession of marijuana.

Condolences from islesinfo.com go out to the family and friends of Stefan Blaho, whose life was cut way too short.

newyorkislanders.com releases comments:

"Our thoughts are with Stefan's family and friends," said Islanders general manager Garth Snow. "I know all of our scouts were very fond of Stefan and are deeply saddened by the news this week. Everyone has been talking about what a good kid he was and how much he loved playing the game and being with his teammates."

"Such a good kid," recalled Islanders assistant general manager Ryan Jankowski. "He worked so hard at those camps(Blaho attended two Islanders conditioning camps) and enjoyed every moment he spent on Long Island. Stefan will be missed by all of us."

FORMER WOLF DIES IN CAR ACCIDENT
August 30, 2006 - sudburywolves.com

The Sudbury Wolves regret to announce that former player Stefan Blaho was killed in a car accident on Tuesday night in Slovakia.

Blaho was the passenger in a friend’s car when the fatal accident occurred at around midnight on Tuesday night. Reports indicate that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. The driver of the vehicle is in hospital.

Blaho played three seasons with the Wolves from 2003-2006. He suited up for 153 games tallying 18 goals and 30 assists.

Further details are not available at this time.

The Wolves organization would like to extend their deepest sympathies to Stefan’s family and friends.

Former Sting Player Dies In Car Accident
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - sarniasting.com

The Sarnia Sting Hockey Club regret to announce that former player Stefan Blaho was killed in a car accident on Tuesday night in Slovakia.

Blaho came to the Sting in a deal at the trade deadline coming over from Sudbury where he had played the previous two and a half seasons.

The Sarnia Sting Hockey Club would like to express its deepest condolences to the entire Blaho family as well as everyone in the hockey community who had the good fortune of knowing Stefan.

2005-06 Update: The New York Islanders chose not to sign Stefan Blaho before the July 2005 deadline to sign 2003 junior drafted prospects, allowing him to re-enter the 2005 draft. Blaho was not re-selected. He is no longer Islander property.

Stefan Blaho Returns to Wolves
BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW - Northernlife.ca
October 14, 2005

The Wolves, desperate for help up front have signed forward Stefan Blaho, who will eat up both a European spot and an overage spot on the team. Blaho, 20, played two seasons with the Wolves from 2003-04 to 2004-05. The Slovakian winger has recorded 15 goals and 38 points in 115 games with the Wolves. The two-way forward is not expected to be in the Wolves line up until Sunday's road game against Brampton. The Wolves three overage players are Blaho, forward Alex Eaton and defenceman Ryan Hastings.

islesinfo 2004-05 report:

Scored only 2 goals and 14 points in his final 50 games played. Disappointing numbers for an offensive player....Scored only 7 goals on the season after notching 8 in 2003-04....Finished 10th on his team in scoring with 22 points....went 1-4-5 in 12 playoff games....with the current NHL lockout situation, the Islanders apparently still hold his rights even though the 2 year signing period for players drafted in 2003 has passed. But it is of this sites opinion that Blaho's lackluster play in the OHL over the last two seasons(15 goals combined in 115 games played) did not do much to convince the Islanders they needed to sign him. In all likelihood they wouldn't have....when the Islanders selected Blaho in the 4th round in 2003, they hoped the Slovakian would find his goal scoring touch in the OHL and follow in the footsteps of some fellow countrymen who came from Trencin, for example former Islander Zigmund Palffy. It just never happened.

islesinfo 2003-04 report:

Blaho scored his first OHL goal 9/19/03 in a 4-0 Sudbury win over visiting Erie, his OHL debut and Sudbury's home opener. The goal made it 4-0 and was a power play goal....Received 9 PIM's(5 for fighting and a double minor for head butting) and a game misconduct in the third period of his second game, a 6-4 win over Ottawa, 9/21/03....Suspended 2 games by the OHL for head butting incident, missing 3-0 loss to Barrie 9/26/03 and 9-2 loss to London 10/3/03....Scored two goals and was named the first star in a 5-4 home victory over Kingston 10/21/03....Missed 8 games in late December and early January to take part in the World Junior Championships with Slovakia....Scored the game winning goal with 2:43 remaining in a 3-2 win over Sarnia 1/16/04. Also added an assist in the game....In Sudbury's playoff series against Toronto St. Mike's Blaho went 1-2-3 with 2 PIM's in 6 games played. Sudbury rallied down from a 3 games to 1 deficit only to lose in Game 7.

Synopsis: Not a bad year for Blaho in his debut season in North America. He should be counted on much more in 2004-05 as he becomes a go to player for the Wolves. More offense will be expected of him. He did not have a good showing at the WJC's.

CSB: Very good skater with a smooth stride and impressive speed....good puckhandler and an intelligent and creative playmaker....good puck carrier, fine passer and playmaker....excellent overall skill level....good competitor....works well in traffic....doesn't prefer a physical style but can be aggressive and tough when needed....solid player in every game situation....could improve his checking ability....key member of Team Slovakia at World under-18 championship.

Islanders Scouting Report:

"He competes for the puck and I like the way he battles," said Islander scout Karel Pavlik. "He doesn't mind fighting. I'm really high on him."

In 17 games for Trencin, Blaho notched six goals and 11 points along with a whopping 50 penalty minutes. His parents are both former athletes, meaning that Blaho has the "athletic genes" that can go a long way in determining a prospect's future.

"He's a strong forechecker, really likes to hit and get involved physically," said Pavlik. "He's not afraid to go to the net hard and plays more of a North American style."

"I'd like to see him improve his shot," said Pavlik. "That's what he's going to need to work on."

Blaho made a big jump in the Central Scouting Rankings this year. In the midseason rankings, he was slated as the 46th ranked European skater. He jumped all the way up to the 18th slot in the final rankings.

Wolves Acquire European:

courtesy sudburywolves.com 

The Wolves traded-up in the first round to select 45th and chose hard-working right winger Stefan Blaho from Slovakia. Blaho is a 6'1", 200 lb winger who plays hard and has some offensive skill to his game. He is an excellent skater. Blaho was drafted by the N.Y. Islanders in the 4th round of this year's NHL Entry Draft.

Wolves' Coach/GM Mike Foligno is making his mark early in attracting World-class hockey players to Sudbury to assist in building a championship hockey team for the great fans of Sudbury.

SI.com/McKeen's Hockey: Taking a Fall 6/18/03

Stefan Blaho, RW, Dukla Trencin (Slovak Jr.) -- Well-built Slovak failed to make much of an impression in Yaroslavl with just one goal in the tournament. Blaho is a rugged 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger who excels at protecting the puck and making plays in traffic. However, his lack of quickness was exposed at this level of competition. He also needs to improve his one-on-one defensive marking. Still a worthwhile later-round project given his size/skill/toughness quotient.

islesinfo.com: Blaho was drafted by the Islanders on the same day he turned 18, June 22, 2003. He's considered a good sleeper pick in this draft.

- Blaho was selected 46th overall by the OHL's Sudbury Wolves in the 2003 CHL Import Draft June 26, 2003. He has the option of either joining the Wolves in 2003-04 or moving up from Trencin junior to Dukla Trencin's elite club.