Roman Cechmanek, Former NHL All-Star for Flyers, Dies at Age 52

Roman Cechmanek, a former All-Star goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers, has died.

He was 52 years old. His death was confirmed Sunday by the Flyers.

The Flyers drafted Cechmanek, then 29 years old, in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL draft. He played three seasons in Philadelphia between 2000 and 2003.

Cechmanek finished his rookie campaign in 2001 with 35 wins, an All-Star nod and a second-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting.

He went on to win the William M. Jennings Trophy alongside Flyers goaltender Robert Esche in 2003 after the pair combined to allow the fewest goals in the NHL. That postseason, Cechmanek helped the Flyers to victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hall of Famer Ed Belfour in the seven-game 2003 Eastern Conference Final.

Cechmanek ranked second in the NHL in regular-season goals-against average in each of his three seasons with the Flyers.

The goaltender played his final NHL season in 2003-04 for the Los Angeles Kings. He finished his NHL career with an overall 110-64-28 record, .919 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average.

After leaving the NHL, Cechmanek played professionally in Czechia, Germany and Sweden before retiring following the 2007-08 season.

Cechmanek represented Czechia in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics and served as Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek's backup as the country won gold at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

He also represented his country in seven World Championships between 1995 and 2007. Cechmanek in 2000 backstopped the team through eight games en route to gold medals in Russia.

Cechmanek is survived by his children Jakub, Roman Jr., and Katerina, per PhiladelphiaFlyers.com's Bill Meltzer.