Milan Kraft (born January 17, 1980) is a Czech former professional ice hockey centre. He was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Starting his career as a youth with hometown team HC Plzeň (the club for which his father of the same name also played in the 1970s and 80s), Kraft played initially with the Prince Albert Raiders in 1998 after moving to North America. He appeared in 207 games over four seasons with the Penguins, with his most successful season coming in 2003–04 when he scored 19 goals and recorded 21 assists (it was also the only campaign that did not involve him spending some time with the Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins).

Milan Kraft

This progress was halted by the 2004–05 NHL lockout, during which he returned to the Czech Republic to play for Plzeň and HC Energie Karlovy Vary. He also had a brief stint with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Super League before signing permanently with Karlovy Vary, remaining there until the end of the 2007–08 season and helping them reach the Extraliga finals that year only to be defeated by rivals HC Slavia Praha. He then moved to Slavia and quickly contributed to their winning the 2008–09 regular season Presidential Cup trophy – but they subsequently lost in the play-off finals to Karlovy Vary. Kraft spent the final four years of his career captaining KLH Chomutov (leading the team to promotion in 2012) until announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the 2012–13 season.

Milan Kraft

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

1980 births

Living people

Avangard Omsk players

Czech ice hockey centres

Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Russia

HC Plzeň players

HC Slavia Praha players

National Hockey League first-round draft picks

Piráti Chomutov players

Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins players

Prince Albert Raiders players

Ice hockey people from Plzeň

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players

Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada

Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States

Milan Kraft