Modry to Aide RPI Staff
TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
men’s hockey team has added long-time National Hockey League
(NHL) defenseman Jaroslav Modry to the staff as a volunteer
assistant coach. Modry, who recently retired from playing
professionally, joins sixth-year head coach Seth Appert, along with
assistant coaches Nolan Graham and Bryan Vines in leading the
Engineers.
“We are thrilled to add Jaroslav to our hockey
family,” Appert said. “He brings incredible NHL
and international experience to our program. More importantly, he
is a first-class person who will be a great role model for our
young men.”
Modry, a native of Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia, played 13
seasons in the NHL beginning in the 1993-94 season. Over the
course of his career he played for the New Jersey Devils, Ottawa
Senators, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars and
Philadelphia Flyers. In 725 games he scored 49 goals with 201
assists for 250 points. He also accumulated 510 penalty
minutes. He also played 28 playoff games, scoring once with
six assists.
Modry’s best individual season came in 2001-02 when he was
with the Kings. He set career highs for assists with 38 and
points with 42 and was selected to play in the NHL All-Star
Game. He then scored a career-best 13 goals while playing
every game the following season, also with Los Angeles.
During his tenure with the Devils, who drafted him in the ninth
round (179th overall) in 1990, he spent parts of two seasons with
their top minor league affiliate, the Albany River Rats. He
played 19 games in 1993-94, scoring once with five assists, and 18
games the following year. That season, 1994-95, he scored
five times with six assists in the regular season. He then
had six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 14 playoff games in helping
the River Rats to the 1995 Calder Cup Championship.
Modry also has extensive international experience, having played
in Europe for parts of nine seasons. His final year was last
season when he played 52 games (8 goals, 12 assists) for Plzen HC
in the Czech Republic.
