NHL Goalie: Roman Turek Trivia Quiz

Answer: Czech Republic

Turek was born in the town of Strakonice, Czech Republic. He played his entire junior hockey career with Czech junior teams before being drafted at the age of 20.

Answer: Minnesota North Stars

Although Turek was drafted in 1990, he had to wait until the 1996-97 season to play, as a member of the Dallas Stars. His first career start was on November 20, 1996, in a 3-1 winning effort against his future team, the Calgary Flames.

Answer: Nashville Predators

Roman Turek seemed like he had the number of the Nashville Predators. In 18 career games against the Predators, Turek recorded five shutouts and only 29 goals against him. The Coyotes and Blackhawks came in a close second, with Turek shutting them down four times each. Turek only shut down the Edmonton Oilers twice.

Answer: False

Turek was a right-handed catcher, with a left handed blocker. Most players with that style tend to have higher save percentages because of their unorthodox angles and cover. The fact that a majority of players are left-handed shots is only a plus for a right-handed goalie. Other notable right-glove goalies included Tomas Vokoun, Josh Harding, Jose Theodore, and Tom Barrasso.

Answer: Petr Sykora

The first penalty shot that Turek faced was on December 30, 1999. Jeff Friesen of the San Jose Sharks could not beat Turek. On January 11, 2000, Roman faced his second shot. He conceded the goal to Alexander Korolyuk, also of the San Jose Sharks. The third shot that Roman faced was just eight days later against Martin Straka of the Pittsburgh Penguins. That was another goal he conceded.

The fourth penalty shot he faced was against Joe Sakic, of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2000-01 post season. Sakic scored the final penalty shot goal against Roman Turek. Roman stopped the next three shots from Jeff Cowan, Michal Handzus, and Petr Sykora, of the Atlanta Thrashers, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Anaheim Ducks respectively.

Answer: Fewest goals against with at least 25 games played

In the 1998-99 campaign, Roman Turek was a member of the Stanley Cup winning Dallas Stars. He played 26 games in the regular season compiling a superhuman 16-3-3 record with a 2.08 goals against average, one shutout and a 0.915% save average. He shared the award with his team's starting goaltender, Ed Belfour.

In the 1999-00 campaign, Turek was a member of the St. Louis Blues and topped almost every aspect of his previous season's performance. He played in 67 games that year, compiling a 42-15-9 record, with a 1.95 goals against average, 7 shutouts, and a 0.912% save average. He didn't have to share the award that time.

Answer: Yes

Turek achieved the feat for the first time on December 18 and 21 of the 1999-00 season. He recorded a 4-0 victory over Boston on the 18th and a 6-0 victory over Phoenix on the 21st. The second time he achieved it was in the 2001-02 season. He recorded a 1-0 shutout against the Oilers before coming up big with a 4-0 victory over the Blackhawks.

The third and final time that Turek managed back-to-back shutouts was in his final NHL season. In the 2003-04 season, Turek recorded a 3-0 shutout on March 14, 2004 against his old team, the St. Louis Blues. On March 24, he followed up that play with a 4-0 victory at Phoenix.

Answer: Jarome Iginla

On June 23, 2001, the Calgary Flames really needed a goaltender to turn their team around so they offered goaltender Fred Brathwaite, forward Daniel Tkaczuk, and forward Sergei Varlamov to the Blues.

Sergei Varlamov was an undrafted talent. He played a total of 63 NHL games in his career, scoring 8 goals and 7 assists. Daniel Tkaczuk was an unsuccessful first round draft pick from the 1997 draft. In 19 career games, he scored 11 points. Fred Brathwaite was a goaltender for the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Edmonton Oilers. He had 254 games to his credit with a career record of 81 wins, 99 losses, and 37 ties. He also recorded 15 shutouts and a 0.901% save percentage.

Answer: Yes

Roman Turek had a very short international career, with only five games to his credit. His first two games were 7-3 and 7-1 victories over Austria and Slovakia. In the next game he played against Finland, and played only 10 minutes due to his sloppy goaltending, that day.

The next game he played was a 3-0 losing effort against Sweden. His final international game was an abysmal 12 minute performance in a 7-1 loss to Germany, in 1996.

Answer: Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden was a popular heavy metal band featuring a strong line-up of musicians. They released over 20 albums in a span of more than twenty years. Turek liked the band so much that the band autographed his helmet while he played in Germany, during part of the 1995-96 season.