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Summary for: Former NHL star Hanzal becomes České Budějovice councilor, eyes sportFormer NHL player Martin Hanzal has been elected to the České Budějovice city council, adding local politics to a career that included 673 games in North America’s top hockey league.
Hanzal, 39, ran in 12th place on the Naše Česko candidate list. The movement won nearly 30 percent of the city’s vote, securing 15 council seats.
“It will be something new. I’ll see how everything works, but I see it as a new responsibility,” Hanzal told ČTK on Sunday.
Sports facilities and schools top his priorities
Hanzal said he entered the election to support South Bohemian Gov. Martin Kuba, Mayor Dagmar Škodová Parmová and Deputy Mayor Petr Maroš, whom he knows personally.
Although politics was never his dream profession, he plans to take the role seriously, focusing primarily on sport.
Drawing on experience in the United States and Sweden, he sees opportunities to improve the city’s sports infrastructure and strengthen cooperation between schools and sports organizations.
“What I miss most here is the connection between sport and school, so that they complement each other,” he said.
From the NHL to youth coaching
Hanzal spent 12 seasons in the NHL, playing for the Phoenix and Arizona Coyotes, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars. Phoenix and Arizona were successive names of the same franchise.
After returning to Czechia, he continued playing for Hluboká nad Vltavou in a regional league but has now retired definitively.
He said back surgery had limited him, although health was not the only reason for stopping: hockey was also taking up too much of his time.
Hanzal now oversees the youth academy at Motor České Budějovice, the city’s top-division hockey club. He expects to combine that work with his council duties, noting that being a councilor does not require daily attendance.
