Login or Register

Vladimir Hartinger Hockey Player

Jun 28, 2011 | By A.G. Moody

Vladimir Hartinger is a Czech Republic-born ice hockey player who spent much of his career in the United States with the professional Central Hockey League. Born on July 16, 1979, in Sternberk, the 5-foot-10, 205-lb. defenseman made his CHL debut in Wichita, Kansas, and played for CHL teams in New Mexico, Texas and South Dakota. After a career-best 2007-2008 season, the left-handed shooter became New Mexico's all-time defensive scoring leader, seventh overall. He played two seasons with a higher-level team in Italy, and then returned to the United States in 2010 to win a championship with the Southern Professional Hockey League's Huntsville Havoc. He signed with the CHL's Rapid City Rush the following year.

Early Career

Hartinger made his debut with the Czech Republic's Level 2 HC Sternberk in the 1996-97 season. Over the next five years, he played for Level 1 and 2 teams HC Prostejov, KLH Jindrichuv Hradec, HC Pribram and HC Kometa Brno, scoring 11 goals and 32 assists for 43 points in 209 games. He signed with the CHL's Wichita Thunder in October 2001, scoring four goals and 23 assists for 27 points his 2001-2002 rookie season, racking up 110 penalty minutes in 56 games. Hartinger played in the 2003 All-Star Ggame for the Northern Conference, and then was traded to the New Mexico Scorpions in February 2003.

Mid-Career

Except for one season in 2005-2006 with the Fort Worth, now Texas Brahmas, Hartinger played for New Mexico through 2007-2008. As team captain and quarterback of the power play, Hartinger scored 20 goals and 43 assists for 63 points in 2007-2008, all career-high marks. He played in the 2008 all-star game for the Southern Conference, won the CHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman award and a place on the All-CHL Team. He was the first player New Mexico placed under contract in the offseason, but the Italian team Sterzing Vipiteno enticed Hartinger to Europe instead.

Recent Career

Hartinger scored 96 points, including 24 goals and 72 assists in 76 games with Sterzing Vipiteno over two seasons. In March 2010, Hartinger signed with the SPHL Huntsville Havoc and returned to the United States for the team's playoff run. After scoring eight points in five regular season and eight playoff games for Huntsville, Hartinger returned to the CHL as player-assistant coach with the Rapid City Rush. The 31-year-old veteran scored 22 points -- 10 goals and 12 assists -- during an injury-plagued 2010-2011 season and contributed nine assists during a 15-game playoff run to the conference finals.

Career Totals

Hartinger's career totals as of publication include 111 goals and 281 assists for 392 points, along with 1,070 penalty minutes in 729 regular season games for 11 teams in three countries. He scored eight goals and 40 assists for 48 points in 71 postseason games. His longest stint with one team was four seasons and 13 games with New Mexico in the CHL. He scored 147 points for the Scorpions, including 43 goals and 104 assists in 254 games. In 26 post-season games for New Mexico, Hartinger scored 17 points with two goals and 15 assists, and served 34 penalty minutes. As of publication, Hartinger was not under contract.

References

Article reviewed by Glenn Singer Last updated on: Jun 28, 2011

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments