Andrej Sekera
Andrej Sekera was born in Bojnice, Trenín Region, Slovakia on June 8th, 1986 and is the Hockey Player. At the age of 38, Andrej Sekera biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 38 years old, Andrej Sekera has this physical status:
Andrej Sekera (born June 8, 1986) is a professional ice hockey player in Slovakia currently under contract with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. (NHL)
He has played for the Buffalo Sabres, Slovan Bratislava, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers.
In the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, he was drafted in the third round, 71st overall, by the Sabres.
Early life
Sekera was born in Bojnice, Slovakia, on June 8, where he first started playing ice hockey with neighborhood friends. He spent two seasons with the Trencin Jr. team as a youth and three in the Slovak Extraliga for Dukla Trenn.
Personal life
Sekera and his partner Katarina have one child together.
Playing career
Sekera was drafted second overall by the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the 2004 Import Draft as a result of his hometown appearance. In the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Sekera was drafted 71st overall by the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sekra finished the regular season with 28 points in 51 games, ranked eighth on the team in scoring. Sekra became the OHL's top defenceman the following year.
Sekera signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Buffalo Sabres on July 14, 2006, following the 2005–06 OHL season. As such, he was involved in the Sabres' pre-season games and scored two penalty minutes and nine shots on goal in four contests. He was then sent to the Rochester Americans, the Sabres' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, to begin the 2006-07 season. Sekera was limited to 11 games with the Americans due to an illness, but on November 24, he received his first NHL call-up. In a 2–1 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, he made his NHL debut that night. He was welcome to the AHL and finished the season with 17 points in 40 games. Sekera also spoke highly of his AHL experience, saying it helped him to re-invent his game to a higher level.
Sekera returned to the Sabres for the 2007-08 season, but the Rochester Americans had him recalled. Jaroslav Spacek's injury brought him a recall to the NHL just a few weeks later. During this period, he scored his first NHL goal against Manny Legace of the St. Louis Blues in a 4-3 loss on November 28. Following further injuries to Dmitri Kalinin and Henrik Tallinder, Sabres' coach Lindy Ruff announced in December that Sekera will remain on the NHL roster. Sekera's ice time increased as a result of the Sabres' numerous injuries, and he averaged 17:17 minutes of ice time. As the team recovered, he was returned to the AHL but he was called back in March. The Sabres battled for the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs from their 10th position in the Eastern Conference standings during the month.
Sekera joined the Sabres in 2008-09 as a result of his play during the previous season. He played in 43 games before suffering an ankle injury. He was also averaging over 22 minutes of ice time per game before being hurt. He finished with a career-high 19 points in 69 games when returning to the lineup. Sekera was first selected to the Sabres' opening night roster for the 2009-10 season, playing in three games before suffering a rib injury.
Sekera's career-high of 29 points in 76 games, including three goals, was set in the last year of his deal. He has since signed a four-year contract extension with the Sabres worth $11 million. He had originally requested a salary arbitration. Sekera played in Slovakia with Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2012-13 NHL lockout, which also ended the majority of the first half of the 2012–13 season. (KHL). Following the return of NHL play in January 2013, he rejoined the Sabres.
Sekera was traded by the Sabres to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the team's second-round draft pick, which was later used to select J. T. Compher) and defenseman Jamie McBain on June 30, 2013. Sekera ignited offensively and recorded back-to-back goals in consecutive games for the first time since February 2010. Sekera's rookie season with the Hurricanes featured new career-highs in goals and points. He had nine goals and 32 points by February, tying for ninth among NHL defensemen in points. In January, he was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week as a result of his popularity. He ended the 2013-14 season with a new career-high 44 points, while leading all Hurricanes skaters in blocked shots and average time on ice per game. He underwent season ending abdominal surgery in April 2014, taking about six weeks.
Sekera returned to the Hurricanes in 2014-15 following his career-best season. Sekera tripped over Cam Ward's outstretched pad during a game against the New York Rangers and went headfirst into the end boards. As a result, he was out of the lineup for one game. After blocking a shot during a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, he missed his second game of the season. Sekera had scored two goals and 17 assists in 57 games as potential trade bait by February 2015. He was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional first-round draft pick and defensive prospect Roland McKeown on February 25.
Sekera's time with the Kings was only complete during the 2014–15 season. He had a goal and three assists in 16 games before joining the team.
Sekera signed the Los Angeles Kings to a six-year, $33 million deal with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2015. He was the second-most experienced defenceman on the Oilers after the signing, behind Andrew Ference who had played 901 NHL games at the time. He wished to be a quiet leader for the team both on and off the ice. Sekera began playing for Mark Fayne and skated on the teams' second power play unit. He was soon assigned to Darnell Nurse's top defensive pair, and the pair ranked in the top three of average ice time by January. Sekera had six goals and 30 points in his first season with the club, earning him a career-high 81 games.
The Oilers signed Kris Russell to bring another veteran defenseman to the team's blue line in the 2016 offseason. Russell, Sekera, was shifted to the left wing to put Russell on the right after being asked to test Russell on the right. As the Oilers qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, he finished the 2016–17 season with a career-high eight goals and 35 points in 80 games. However, Sekera suffered a season-ending ACL tear during Game 5 against the Anaheim Ducks Sekera. Sekera scored eight points in 32 games for the Oilers despite his injuries.
Sekera continued to recover from his torn ACL injury during the 2017 off-season and made his 2017–18 season debut over the St. Louis Blues on December 22. However, his return to the lineup was shortlived after being placed on injured reserve in February 2018 after taking a puck to the face during a game against the Anaheim Ducks. On February 24, he was activated from injured reserve and joined Matt Benning's third defensive pairing.
Sekera sustained his Achilles tendon injury during training and was expected to be out indefinitely during the 2018 off-season. Sekera returned to play on a conditioning assignment with the Bakersfield Condors in the 2018-19 season after a lengthy recovery. Sekera made his first appearance with Edmonton in over a year, and he was playing a third-pairing defensive role against the Arizona Coyotes on February 19, 2019. Sekera was the top performer in 24 games last season, leading with four assists.
Sekera's time with Edmonton came to an end after being limited to only 60 regular season games over the past two seasons, but the Oilers announced him on unconditional waivers in order to buy out the remaining two years of his first six-year deal on June 30, 2019.
Sekera was signed as a free agent to a one-year $1.5 million deal with the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2019. Sekera was praised by coach Jim Montgomery for being "a top-two or top-four (defenseman) in the NHL) and "a guy who has been relied on by a lot of coaches" after the signing. After impressing Montgomery with his puck-handling and decision-making skills, Sekera was placed on a defensive pairing with Miro Heiskanen during the pre-season. He appeared in three games with the Stars before suffering a shoulder injury during a match against the Pittsburgh Penguins and was aided off the ice. He remained out of the game with overall body soreness before returning to the lineup as a replacement for injured John Klingberg. Heiskanen was recuperating, but Montgomery paired Sekera with Esa Lindell, so Montgomery paired him with Esa Lindell. Sekera, who played in 57 games on the blueline in the 2019-20 season, had two goals and six assists in the Stars' third pairing on the blueline. Sekera and the Stars, who are playing in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, are hoping for a deep run. Sekera blocked a shot in the first period of Game 5 and left the ice until overtime during the Final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, Sekera appeared in a career high 27 postseason games, as well as one assist.
Sekera also signed a two-year, $3 million contract extension on October 4, 2020, extending his annual salary cap to $1.5 million to remain with the Stars. Sekera was involved in the Stars' 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes before being placed on the NHL's COVID list. Sekera was struck by a puck and named a game-time decision for the following game against the Columbus Blue Jackets as the Stars prepare for the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. In 46 games, he won five points and a plus-12 rating.
Sekera returned to the Stars in the 2021-22 season, but the first few games were a barefooter. However, Sekera, Jacob Peterson, and Riley Tufte were all called into the lineup as a replacement for Blake Comeau, Joel Kiviranta, and Thomas Harley on November 14th, as a result of their slow start. The Stars won their first game within 60 minutes of regulation in his first game back in the lineup.