| Branislav Mezei | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1980-10-08)October 8, 1980 (age 45) | ||
| 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 | ||
Branislav Mezei (born October 8, 1980) is a Slovak professionalice hockey player. Mezei is a defenceman currently withHK Nitra of theSlovak Extraliga. Mezei has previous played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) with theNew York Islanders andFlorida Panthers. Mezei also played forBarys Astana andHC Plzen of the KHL, andEspoo Blues of theSM-liiga. Mezei was a first-round pick of the Islanders in the1999 NHL Entry Draft, tenth overall.
Mezei moved to Canada to play junior hockey with theBelleville Bulls of theOntario 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 theColumbus Blue Jackets on December 23, 2000, and he scored his first NHL goal on March 31, 2001, against theBoston 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 forTrinec Ocelari HC andHK 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, the Croatian basedKHL 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.
He has also played with theSlovak national ice hockey team inIce Hockey World Championships in 2001, 2004 and 2008.
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York Islanders first round draft pick 1999 | Succeeded by |