Branislav Mezei (born October 8, 1980) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player. Mezei is a defenceman currently with HK Nitra of the Slovak Extraliga. Mezei has previous played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. Mezei also played for Barys Astana and HC Plzen of the KHL, and Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga. Mezei was a first-round pick of the Islanders in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, tenth overall.

Branislav Mezei
Born (1980-10-08) October 8, 1980 (age 44)
Nitra, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 236 lb (107 kg; 16 st 12 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
Slovak team
Former teams
HK Nitra
New York Islanders
Florida Panthers
HC Oceláři Třinec
HK Dukla Trenčín
Barys Astana
HC Plzen
Espoo Blues
HC Pardubice
Lev Poprad
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
HC Vityaz Podolsk
KHL Medveščak Zagreb
National team  Slovakia
NHL draft 10th overall, 1999
New York Islanders
Playing career 2000–present

Playing career

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Mezei moved to Canada to play junior hockey with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. Mezei played three seasons with the Bulls from 1997 until 2000. After his second season, he was drafted tenth-overall by the New York Islanders. He joined the Islanders organization in 2000. Mezei played two seasons in the Islanders organization, including 66 games with the Islanders. He recorded his first NHL assist against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 23, 2000, and he scored his first NHL goal on March 31, 2001, against the Boston Bruins. In July 2002, he was traded to the Florida Panthers. He was a member of the Panthers from 2002 until 2008, playing a further 178 games primarily in a defensive role. He tallied 5 goals and 19 assists in his NHL career.

During the 2004–05 lockout, Mezei played for Trinec Ocelari HC and HK Dukla Trenčín. In 2008, Mezei moved to Europe to play with Barys Astana of the KHL. He has since played for Espoo Blues, HC Plzen, HC Pardubice and Lev Poprad.

On August 31, 2014, Mezei remained in the KHL, signing with his fourth club, in Croatian based KHL Medveščak Zagreb on a one-year deal.[1] After just 8 games with the Croatian club, Mezei was released mutually from his contract in order to return to his native Slovakia with HK Nitra on October 24, 2014.

International play

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He has also played with the Slovak national ice hockey team in Ice Hockey World Championships in 2001, 2004 and 2008.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 AC/HC Nitra SVK U20 45 5 10 15 86
1996–97 AC/HC Nitra SVK U20 52 7 22 29 114
1997–98 Belleville Bulls OHL 53 3 5 8 58 8 0 2 2 8
1998–99 Belleville Bulls OHL 60 5 18 23 90 18 0 4 4 29
1999–2000 Belleville Bulls OHL 58 7 21 28 99 6 0 3 3 10
2000–01 New York Islanders NHL 42 1 4 5 53
2000–01 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 20 0 3 3 28
2001–02 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 59 1 9 10 137 20 0 1 1 48
2001–02 New York Islanders NHL 24 0 2 2 12
2002–03 Florida Panthers NHL 11 2 0 2 10
2002–03 San Antonio Rampage AHL 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
2003–04 Florida Panthers NHL 45 0 7 7 80
2004–05 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 41 1 2 3 68
2004–05 HK Dukla Trenčín SVK 10 1 1 2 16 12 1 2 3 38
2005–06 Florida Panthers NHL 16 0 1 1 37
2006–07 Florida Panthers NHL 45 0 3 3 55
2007–08 Florida Panthers NHL 57 2 2 4 64
2008–09 Barys Astana KHL 56 5 5 10 151 3 0 1 1 6
2009–10 HC Plzeň 1929 ELH 19 0 0 0 61
2009–10 Espoo Blues SM-l 38 0 4 4 120 3 1 2 3 4
2010–11 HC Eaton Pardubice ELH 51 6 9 15 118 9 0 1 1 16
2011–12 HC Lev Poprad KHL 53 3 11 14 117
2012–13 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg KHL 51 8 13 21 89
2013–14 HC Vityaz KHL 47 4 4 8 108
2014–15 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 8 0 0 0 14
2014–15 HK Nitra SVK 40 4 10 14 65 12 0 2 2 27
2015–16 HK Nitra SVK 43 4 7 11 54 16 2 1 3 37
2016–17 HK Nitra SVK 56 5 25 30 83 13 3 4 7 37
2017–18 HK Nitra SVK 51 5 23 28 112 8 3 7 10 14
2018–19 HK Nitra SVK 57 1 12 13 77 18 1 3 4 26
2019–20 HK Nitra SVK 55 3 9 12 68
NHL totals 240 5 19 24 311
KHL totals 215 20 33 53 479 3 0 1 1 6
SVK totals 312 23 87 110 475 79 10 19 29 179

International

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Medal record
Representing   Slovakia
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
  1999 Manitoba
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1999 Slovakia WJC   6 0 0 0 8
2000 Slovakia WJC 9th 7 1 0 1 6
2001 Slovakia WC 7th 6 0 0 0 2
2004 Slovakia WCH 7th 2 0 0 0 0
2004 Slovakia WC 4th 9 0 0 0 6
2008 Slovakia WC 13th 5 0 0 0 8
2013 Slovakia WC 8th 7 0 4 4 6
Junior totals 13 1 0 1 14
Senior totals 29 0 4 4 22

References

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  1. ^ "Slovakian defender Mezei signs instead of Belle" (in Croatian). KHL Medvescak Zagreb. 2014-08-31. Archived from the original on 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2014-08-31.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by New York Islanders first round draft pick
1999
Succeeded by