František Vaněk

After working as an electrical mechanic František Vaněk went on to become one of the best ice hockey players in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s and 1960s. Vaněk joined Kometa Brno where he earned the nickname “the professor” due to his technical and imaginative play. He played in 297 matches for Brno, winning 11 championship titles with the team from 1955 to 1966. Vaněk was also a mainstay on the Czechoslovakian national team, playing in 76 matches, including seven editions of the World Championships and two Olympic Games. At the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics the Czechoslovak team finished fifth, with the Games serving as both the World and European Championships, resulting in the side winning gold at the latter. Four years later at the Squaw Valley Olympics the team finished fourth to earn them silver at the European Championships.

Following his playing career Vaněk worked as coach in Switzerland where he helped EHC Biel to win the Swiss championship in the late 1970s. In 2009 he was inducted into the Czechia Hockey Hall of Fame.