Gustav Bubník

A native of Praha, Gustav Bubník had two careers in the Czechoslovakian leagues. From 1945-50 he played for ČKD Praha, LTC Praha, and ATK Praha as a forward. In 1950 he was arrested and imprisoned by Czechoslovakian authorities, along with 11 other Czech ice hockey players, for allegedly trying to defect at the 1950 World Championships, giving Bubník a 14-year sentence. In prison Bubník was tortured and worked on the equivalent of Czechoslovakian chain gangs, forced to work in uranium mining at the prison camp in Jáchymov. In 1955 he was granted amnesty and was released on 23 January 1955. He then played out his career through 1962, playing first with ZJS Spartak Brno, then HC Olomouc, and finally in Slovakia with ŠK Slovan Bratislava, with whom he played his final four seasons. His career ended because of a spine injury. Bubník skated for Czechoslovakia at the 1949 World Championships, winning a gold medal, but because of his little escapade in 1950, was never again chosen to play on the national team. In retirement Bubník became a coach, coaching the Finnish national team in the late 60s and bringing them to a new level of international respectability. The Czechs then brought Bubník back home and had him coach HC Škoda Plzeň for a few years in the 1970s.