 |
|
| Position | Goaltender |
| Catches | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) |
| NHL team | Colorado Avalanche |
| Nationality |  Slovakia |
| Born | September 18, 1982 , Banská Bystrica, CS |
| NHL Draft | 63rd overall, 2001 Colorado Avalanche |
| Pro career | 2005 – present |
Peter Budaj (born September 18, 1982) is a Slovakian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Contents |
Playing career
Budaj was drafted by the Avalanche in the 2001 draft as the first pick for the Avalanche and 63rd overall. He wears number 31 for the Colorado Avalanche and recently finished playing his fourth season in the NHL (2008-09). Prior to this, he played for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
In his first NHL season (2005–06), he appeared in 34 games while backing up David Aebischer and then José Théodore. He recorded a combined 47 wins in the next two seasons while splitting duties with Théodore. His first and only NHL playoff appearances came in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs in relief of Théodore in Colorado's second round matchup against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings.
Budaj played his 100th NHL game on November 3, 2007, in a 4-3 home loss against the Vancouver Canucks.[1]
For the 2008-09 season, Budaj was named the starting goalie for the Colorado Avalanche for the first time. He and backup goaltender Andrew Raycroft struggled throughout the season as the Avalanche finished last in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the second time in last three seasons.[2]
On June 29, 2009, Budaj was re-signed by the Avalanche to a one-year contract for the 2009-10 season.[3] He will likely backup newcomer Craig Anderson, formerly of the Florida Panthers.
Mask
Budaj is perhaps best known for having the depiction of Ned Flanders, a popular character from TV's The Simpsons painted on the back of his masks. In 2008, Budaj began wearing a mask featuring the character Altaïr from the popular video game Assassin's Creed.[4] The mask primarily worn by Budaj during the 2008-09 season features a burgundy colored version of the comic book hero The Hulk, [5] although he did continue wearing the Assassin's Creed mask as well.
Awards & achievements
- 2001-02 OHL Second All-Star Team
- 2006-07 NHL YoungStars Game
Career statistics
Regular season and Playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1999–00 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 34 | 6 | 18 | 1 | - | 1676 | 112 | 1 | 4.01 | .882 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000–01 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 37 | 17 | 12 | 3 | - | 1996 | 95 | 3 | 2.86 | .907 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 621 | 26 | 1 | 2.51 | |||
| 2001–02 | Toronto St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 42 | 26 | 9 | 5 | - | 1148 | 89 | 2 | 2.29 | .922 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 620 | 34 | 1 | 3.29 | .898 | ||
| 2002–03 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 28 | 10 | 10 | 2 | - | 1467 | 65 | 2 | 2.66 | .911 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 20.81 | .333 | ||
| 2003–04 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 46 | 17 | 20 | 6 | - | 2574 | 120 | 3 | 2.80 | .916 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004–05 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 59 | 29 | 25 | 2 | - | 3356 | 148 | 5 | 2.65 | .919 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005–06 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 34 | 14 | 10 | - | 6 | 1802 | 86 | 2 | 2.86 | .900 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006–07 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 57 | 31 | 16 | - | 6 | 3198 | 143 | 3 | 2.68 | .905 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007–08 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 35 | 16 | 10 | - | 4 | 1912 | 82 | 0 | 2.57 | .903 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 6 | 0 | 3.33 | .908 | ||
| 2008–09 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 56 | 20 | 29 | - | 5 | 3232 | 154 | 2 | 2.86 | .899 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL totals | 182 | 81 | 65 | - | 21 | 10,146 | 465 | 7 | 2.75 | .902 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 6 | 0 | 3.33 | .908 | ||||
| AHL totals | 133 | 56 | 55 | 10 | - | 7,397 | 333 | 10 | 2.70 | .917 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 20.81 | .333 | ||||
| OHL totals | 113 | 49 | 39 | 9 | - | 4,820 | 296 | 6 | 3.68 | .905 | 23 | 11 | 10 | 1241 | 60 | 2 | 2.90 | |||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Slovakia | WJ-18 | 5 | 2 | 3 | - | 249 | 13 | 0 | 3.13 |
| 2001 | Slovakia | WJC | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | 239 | 16 | 0 | 4.01 |
| 2002 | Slovakia | WJC | 4 | 1 | - | 2 | 212 | 11 | 1 | 3.11 |
| 2004 | Slovakia | W-Cup | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | Slovakia | Oly | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 179 | 6 | 0 | 2.01 |
| Senior int'l totals | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 179 | 6 | 0 | 2.01 | ||
Notes and references
- ^ Associated Press (2007-11-03). "Game Recap - Canucks 4, Avalanche 3". NHL. http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&page=Recap&gameNumber=197&season=20072008&gameType=2. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
- ^ "Avalanche GM Giguere pays price for poor season". nhl.com. 2009-04-13. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=418201#&navid=nhl-search. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
- ^ "Budaj signs deal, likely No. 2 in net". denverpost.com. 2009-06-30. http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12718821. Retrieved on 2009-06-30.
- ^ "Mailbag: Man behind the Mask". denverpost.com. 2008-11-17. http://www.denverpost.com/avsmailbag/ci_11001171?source=rss. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.
- ^ "Budaj getting swagger back into his game". foxsports.com. 2008-03-20. http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/8864426/AVALANCHE-Budaj-getting-swagger-back-in-his-game-. Retrieved on 2009-01-10.
External links
- Peter Budaj's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Peter Budaj's NHL player profile
- Peter Budaj's profile at the Colorado Avalanche Database
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