Former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Roman Cechmanek died Sunday at his home in Czechia at age 52, the team announced. No cause of death was provided.
Cechmanek played a total of four seasons in the NHL, the first three with the Flyers from the 2000-01 to the 2002-03 season. His accolades included one All-Star Game appearance in his rookie year, as well as earning the Flyers’ Bobby Clarke Trophy twice as team MVP.
“Beyond his numbers, which were outstanding, he was beloved by fans and teammates for his personality, distinct style, and pride in stopping the puck,” Flyers president Keith Jones said in a statement on Sunday. “His passing at too young of an age is heartbreaking to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
Cechmanek’s unorthodox style, uncommon in today’s game, helped the Czech goaltender control the chaos of his movement in between the pipes to give the Flyers a chance at victory more often than not.
“Roman was an acrobat in goal. He would use any part of his body to stop the puck. One of the characters of the game,” his former head coach Ken Hitchcock said.
His path to the NHL mirrored his play between the pipes in many ways as unorthodox and unconventional. Cechmanek was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft at 29 years old and made his NHL debut the following season. Cechmanek had gone largely unnoticed beforehand, but extremely strong showings at the IIHF World Championships for Czechia and consistently above-average numbers in his domestic league earned him an NHL shot.
The Flyers welcomed him with open arms, while fellow tandem mate Brian Boucher fondly remembers his first season in North America.
“Truthfully, the minute he got here, there was no doubt in my mind he was NHL-ready, and it turns out he was more than NHL-ready because he ended up being the starter that year and pretty much took my job,” Boucher said.
After leading Philadelphia through the playoffs in 2003, he would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a second-round draft pick before the 2003-04 season. The netminder played one final season for the Kings before heading back to Europe for the NHL lockout and remaining overseas for five more seasons with five teams in three different leagues.
Cechmanek totalled 212 games, with a 110-64-28 record, 25 shutouts, a 2.08 goals against average, and a .919 save percentage.
According to the Flyers, Cechmanek continued his passion for the sport by coaching youth hockey in Czechia after he hung up the goalie pads. He is survived by his two sons and one daughter.
