photo: © Czech Ice Hockey Association
Jiri Kochta, a member of Czechoslovakia’s famous 1972 World Championship gold-medal team, passed away on Thursday, 3 April after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 78 and leaves behind two daughters, Marketa and Renata, who were world-class tennis players on the WTA tour in the 1990s.
"The entire club is deeply saddened by this event and expresses its sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of this club icon," HC Sparta Prague wrote on its website in memory of one of its greatest legends. Kochta played eleven seasons with Sparta, three as captain, and his playmaking with Jan Havel made the pair famous for many years with the team.
Kochta also played two seasons early in his career with Dukla Jihlava, winning two championships, in 1967 and 1968.
During a career that lasted two decades, Kochta played in two Olympics, winning a silver medal in 1968 and bronze in 1972. He also played in seven World Championships, winning that historic gold as well as three silver and two bronze.
He was inducted into the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010.
Kochta played for his country for the first time at the 1967 World Championship, a 4th-place finish. The following year, in his first Olympics, Kochta scored one goal, that in a 10-3 win over West Germany. The team defeated the Soviets, 5-4, during the medal round but then suffered a heart-breaking 2-2 tie with Sweden on the final day, settling for silver.
By the 1970 WM, Kochta was 23 years old and at the height of his powers. Although the team had to settle for bronze that year, he had the lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the Soviets as well as goals against Sweden and Poland. In 1971, he had a goal and an assist in a critical 3-3 tie with the Soviets that gave the Czechs the silver medal.
In 1972, history was made. For the first time, the IIHF held a World Championship tournament in the same year as there was an Olympics. The Czechs had to settle for a bronze at the Sapporo Games after suffering a stunning 5-1 loss to the surprising United States, but at the WM two months later, everything fell into place.
Kochta had six goals in eight games and the Czechs beat and tied the Soviets en route to a gold medal. At a time of tremendous political tension between the nations, the win was especially satisfying and important in Czechoslovakia. In the next three WM’s, Kochta won bronze, silver, and silver, making it eight events in a row he had helped the team win a medal.
Kochta’s last international event was the 1975 World Championship, but he still had plenty of hockey left in him. He played in the Czech league four more years, all with Sparta Prague, his club team for eleven seasons. He was then given permission by the Czech government to move to Germany, in 1979, where he established a reputation as one of the league’s top players.
He arrived first as a player and then became a player-coach with EV Landshut, skating alongside German legend Erich Kuhnhackl. Kochta retired as a player in 1986 but continued coaching in Munich, his last club team as a player. Kochta spent much of the next 20 years coaching in Germany, the exception being 1993-94 when he coached briefly in Biel, Switzerland. His last coaching assignment was with Dresden, in 2006-07, where he had had his greatest success with Eislowen, in 2005. That year, the team earned promotion to the 2nd division for the first time in team history.
"The entire club is deeply saddened by this event and expresses its sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of this club icon," HC Sparta Prague wrote on its website in memory of one of its greatest legends. Kochta played eleven seasons with Sparta, three as captain, and his playmaking with Jan Havel made the pair famous for many years with the team.
Kochta also played two seasons early in his career with Dukla Jihlava, winning two championships, in 1967 and 1968.
During a career that lasted two decades, Kochta played in two Olympics, winning a silver medal in 1968 and bronze in 1972. He also played in seven World Championships, winning that historic gold as well as three silver and two bronze.
He was inducted into the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010.
Kochta played for his country for the first time at the 1967 World Championship, a 4th-place finish. The following year, in his first Olympics, Kochta scored one goal, that in a 10-3 win over West Germany. The team defeated the Soviets, 5-4, during the medal round but then suffered a heart-breaking 2-2 tie with Sweden on the final day, settling for silver.
By the 1970 WM, Kochta was 23 years old and at the height of his powers. Although the team had to settle for bronze that year, he had the lone goal in a 3-1 loss to the Soviets as well as goals against Sweden and Poland. In 1971, he had a goal and an assist in a critical 3-3 tie with the Soviets that gave the Czechs the silver medal.
In 1972, history was made. For the first time, the IIHF held a World Championship tournament in the same year as there was an Olympics. The Czechs had to settle for a bronze at the Sapporo Games after suffering a stunning 5-1 loss to the surprising United States, but at the WM two months later, everything fell into place.
Kochta had six goals in eight games and the Czechs beat and tied the Soviets en route to a gold medal. At a time of tremendous political tension between the nations, the win was especially satisfying and important in Czechoslovakia. In the next three WM’s, Kochta won bronze, silver, and silver, making it eight events in a row he had helped the team win a medal.
Kochta’s last international event was the 1975 World Championship, but he still had plenty of hockey left in him. He played in the Czech league four more years, all with Sparta Prague, his club team for eleven seasons. He was then given permission by the Czech government to move to Germany, in 1979, where he established a reputation as one of the league’s top players.
He arrived first as a player and then became a player-coach with EV Landshut, skating alongside German legend Erich Kuhnhackl. Kochta retired as a player in 1986 but continued coaching in Munich, his last club team as a player. Kochta spent much of the next 20 years coaching in Germany, the exception being 1993-94 when he coached briefly in Biel, Switzerland. His last coaching assignment was with Dresden, in 2006-07, where he had had his greatest success with Eislowen, in 2005. That year, the team earned promotion to the 2nd division for the first time in team history.