Vyborny latest Czech in Hall of Fame

Two IIHF World Junior Championships, 12 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, one World Cup of Hockey and one Olympic Winter Games. At the 2006 IIHF WM, with the Czechs capturing the silver medal, Vyborny was named to the all-tournament team.

And, on 25 May, Vyborny became the 27^th Czech hockey player inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. He joins Jaromir Jagr and Jaroslav Pouzar as the only Czechs to receive the honour in the past 10 years.

“It’s a recognition of all my work, of my entire hockey life,” says Vyborny. “I’m truly honored to be here among such legends. There are so many people who could be awarded like this. I’m just happy. And when you see the career highlights playing on the screen … I really appreciate it deeply.”

Many athletes will say it’s difficult to select top moments of a long and storied career and Vyborny is no different. He does, however, acknowledge the importance of two gold medals at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, during the NHL-lockout year in 2005 that saw extremely deep international teams battle for the title and his first of five world golds in 1996, which was the Czechs’ first championship since 1985, when the country was still Czechoslovakia (that country split in 1993 to form the two nations). Vyborny and the Czechs would win three golds in a row from 1999-2001, with his final gold coming in 2005.

“Which World Championship title do I remember the most? In 1996, I was just a rookie and we won the title after a long time,” he says. “But honestly, I could name all of them. 2005 as well — all the teams had stacked NHL rosters. Every title was special. Of course, I also experienced a lot of losses. I ended my national team career with a seventh place in Moscow. That wasn’t great.”

Vyborny’s path to greatness started with development in the Czech league with Sparta Praha. His initial exposure to international hockey came at the 1993 IIHF World Junior Championship, when a young Vyborny turned heads, finishing third in tournament scoring with six goals and 15 points in seven games to lead the Czechs to the bronze medal. Vyborny’s totals were behind only Sweden’s Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund. The 1993 tournament followed a seven-game round-robin format and Vyborny’s finest moment may have come with a one goal and three-assist performance as the Czechs beat the United States 6-5….