Ladislav Ščurko

Ladislav Ščurko (born April 4, 1986 in Gelnica) is a Slovak professional ice hockey center who currently plays for HC 07 Detva in Slovak Extraliga. He previously played for HC Košice until he confessed to a murder of an ice hockey referee in April 2009.

Ladislav Ščurko
Born (1986-04-04) April 4, 1986
Gelnica, CS
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
1HL team
Former teams
HC 46 Bardejov
HC Košice
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 170th overall, 2004
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2007–2009
2011present

Playing career

Ščurko started his junior career by playing in 37 games with his junior team, HK VTJ Spisská Nová Ves, in Slovakia. He scored 44 points on 20 goals and 24 assists. Following that season he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round, 170th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Shortly after, he was drafted seventh overall in the CHL Import Draft by the Seattle Thunderbirds. In his first year in the Western Hockey League (WHL), he scored 42 points, which put him in fifth in the league for points scored by a rookie. He also set a Thunderbird record with a nine-game point streak from December 11, 2004 through January 12, 2005, during which he scored 12 points. He enjoyed similar success in fewer games the following season.

Murder

Ladislav Ščurko
Born
Ladislav Ščurko

(1986-04-04) April 4, 1986
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyEight years' imprisonment
Details
Victims1 killed (Marek Liptaj)
Span of crimes
January 2008–
CountrySlovakia
Date apprehended
April 23, 2009 (2009-04-23)

On April 23, 2009, Ščurko confessed to a murder of referee Marek Liptaj in January 2008 at a motorway service area near Kosice.[1] He admitted that he killed Liptaj by stabbing him fourteen times with a knife.[1] Liptaj's body was hastily buried in a forest.[1] No motive was revealed, but police said the crime was not premeditated.[2]

On July 16, 2012, Ščurko was convicted of the murder; however, because psychiatric examinations found that Ščurko committed the act in a state of diminished sanity, the court sentenced him to the minimum penalty of eight years in prison.

First imprisonment

He served his first sentence from April 2009 to November 2011.

Life after the first release

Ščurko was released from jail on November 8, 2011 and played his first hockey game after the release from prison on December 3, 2011. He played for his boyhood club HK Slovan Gelnica.

Second imprisonment

Ščurko served the rest of his sentence from September 2014 to December 2015 and was finally conditionally released before Christmas in 2015.

Playing career after the second release

He signed a contract with HC 46 Bardejov, which plays in the second-level ice hockey league in Slovakia, only one week after the release from prison. He played his first game for HC 46 Bardejov on December 22, 2015.

Since the 2017-2018 season, Ščurko has been playing in Slovak Extraliga for HC 07 Detva.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 HK VTJ Spisská Nová Ves SVK U20 37202444102 66288
2003–04 HK VTJ Spisská Nová Ves SVK-2 3023516 20112
2004–05 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 6718254340 1251610
2005–06 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 6417264341 72462
2006–07 Tri-City Americans WHL 12461018
2007–08 HC Košice SVK 3202230 1610118
2007–08 HK VTJ Trebišov SVK-2 17741148
2008–09 HC Košice SVK 52751238 1801116
2008-09 HK VTJ Trebišov SVK-2 11 9 10 19 45
2011-12 HK Slovan Gelnica SVK-3 10 19 7 26 10
2011-12 HK VTJ Trebišov SVK-2 10 15 9 24 8
SVK totals 84771468 3411234
WHL totals 14339579699 19751212

International

Medal record
Representing  Slovakia
Men's ice hockey
World U18 Championships
2003 Yaroslavl
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2003 Slovakia WJC18 7 0 2 2 2
2004 Slovakia WJC18 6th 6 0 3 3 6
2005 Slovakia WJC 7th 6 0 0 0 6
2006 Slovakia WJC 8th 6 2 0 2 16
Junior totals 25 2 5 7 30

Records

  • Seattle Thunderbirds' franchise record for longest point streak: 9 games (12 points, from 11 December 2004 to 12 January 2005)

References

  1. Panaccio, Tim (2009-04-24). "Flyers Prospect Accused of Murder". CSNPhilly.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  2. "HC Kosice Player Confesses to Murder of Referee". 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.