55 Martin Skoula
1999-2000 Fifth Season
Pro Player Mesh. Set 3. Neck tagging 56.
Meigray No. 106535
This jersey is a true rookie jersey, as Skoula's 80 games this season were his first in the NHL. The jersey shows light to moderate wear. It is tagged set "3" on the fight strap, and is marked with an "N" by the trainer in the collar. As with all 99-00's, it has the "NHL 2000" patch on the right chest. The jersey shows light to moderate game wear with a few random marks throughout the body. It has some good marks, burns, and small holes in the shoulder. It also has some stick/board work on the lower sleeves. The jersey is accompanied by the Avalanche LOA and Meigray documentation.
[ click on individual thumbnails to see larger images ]
Neck tagging
Hem tagging
NHL2000 patch
Fight strap
Nameplate
Shoulder damage
Sleeve marks
Body marks
Born in Litomerice, Czech Republic on October 28th, 1979 defenseman Martin Skoula headed to Canada to play his Junior hockey with the OHL's Barrie Colts. While with the Colts, Skoula was drafted in the first round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche.
As a rookie, Skoula stepped right into the Avalanche lineup and became a valuable member of their defensive unit chipping in 16 points and fitting in very well with the Avalanche's quick transition game. The following year Skoula upped his point totals to 25 on the strength of eight goals and 17 assists. That spring Skoula added five more points en route to a Stanley Cup championship. In his third season in the NHL, Skoula continued to develop not only defensively, but his offensive progression was also evident as his scoring pace was higher still establishing a career high in goals with ten.
Coming off a career high in points during the 2001-02 season, Skoula became a more sound defenseman the following year with a plus-11 and over the course of his first four seasons in the league, Skoula became one of the Avs more durable players having only missed three games.
After four full seasons in Colorado, Skoula was dealt to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the latter stages of the 2003-04 season for former Avalanche draft pick Kurt Sauer. However, Skoula's stay in Anaheim was short-lived, as he would be acquired by the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2005 and go on to play the better part of the 2005-06 season in the Lone Star State before moving on to the Minnesota Wild at the trading deadline.
On the international stage, Skoula has represented his homeland at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 World Championships.
On September 29, 2009, Skoula signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but would appear in only 33 games for the club before being traded to Toronto along with Luca Caputi in exchange for Alex Ponikarovsky on March 2, 2010. The following day the Maple Leafs traded the defenseman to the New Jersey Devils.
Defenseman - Shoots left
Born: October 28, 1979 - Litomerice, Czech Republic
6-2, 195 lbs.
Colorado's second choice (17th overall) in the 1998 Entry Draft. Traded to Anaheim by Colorado for Kurt Sauer and Anaheim's 4th round choice (Raymond Macias) in 2005 Entry Draft, February 21, 2004. Signed as a free agent by Litvinov (CzRep), September 17, 2004. Signed as a free agent by Dallas, August 3, 2005. Traded to Minnesota by Dallas with Shawn Belle for Willie Mitchell and Minnesota's 2nd round choice (Nico Saccheti) in 2007 Entry Draft, March 8, 2006. Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh, September 29, 2009. Traded to Toronto by Pittsburgh with Luca Caputi for Alexei Ponikarovsky, March 2, 2010. Traded to New Jersey by Toronto for New Jersey's 5th round choice (Sam Carrick) in 2010 Entry Draft, March 3, 2010. Signed as a free agent by Omsk (KHL), June 23, 2010.
- OHL All-Rookie Team (1998)
- OHL Second All-Star Team (1999)