Levente Szuper

8 NHL Games

November 5, 2002 Calgary Flames vs New Jersey Devils. 3-2 win.

November 7, 2002 Calgary Flames vs New York Rangers. 0-1 loss.

November 9, 2002 Calgary Flames vs Florida Panthers. 0-3 loss.

November 11, 2002 Calgary Flames vs Atlanta Thrashers. 1-2 loss.

November 14, 2002 Calgary Flames vs New York Rangers. 1-2 loss.

November 16, 2002 Calgary Flames vs St. Louis Blues. 0-1 loss.

December 1, 2002 Calgary Flames vs Detroit Red Wings. 2-3 loss.

December 3, 2002 Calgary Flames vs Colorado Avalanche. 2-1 win.

Getty Images

    Levente Szuper had a great junior career. In 1999, he was a member of the Ottawa 67s teams that won the Memorial Cup. The following year he was drafted, and later signed, by the Calgary Flames in the 4th round of the NHL draft. In doing so Szuper became the first Hungarian to be drafted by an NHL team and the first Hungarian to sign an NHL contract. He very nearly became the first Hungarian to play in the NHL.

   Early November, 2002 the Calgary Flames lost goaltender Roman Turek. He sat out seven games while recovering from a broken finger. The Flames recalled Dany Sabourin for the first game but then promptly sent him back to the minors in favor of Szuper. Lavente dressed in six games as Jamie McLennan's backup before Turek was ready to return.

   Early December, 2002 Jamie McLennan missed two games while recovering from a back injury. Szuper was recalled to replace him as Roman Turek's backup.

   The Flames decided not to resign Szuper following the 2003 season. He was inked to a one-year deal by the St. Louis Blues but was never given any time in the NHL by the club. After his contract with the Blues expired in 2004, Szuper opted to return to Europe. He became a staple on Hugary's national team. Looking back he regrets not being able to become the first Hungarian to officially play in the NHL. "There's a little bit of sadness still in my mind because I was so close to get to the NHL as the first Hungarian. Since I got a little older, a little more mature, I realized what this whole thing's all about," said Szuper. "It's not enough to work hard. It's not enough to be talented. It's not enough to be everything combined. You have to be lucky, too, and I don't think I was very fortunate in those days. It's still hard to talk about. It's not an easy subject because everyone expected me to make the NHL." (1) 

• Wore #31 with Calgary Flames

Career stats from hockeydb.com

Born Jun 11 1980 -- Budapest, Hungary 

Height 5.11 -- Weight 175

Drafted by Calgary Flames - round 4 #116 overall 2000 NHL Entry Draft

			RS Scoring			RS Goalie Stats										PO Scoring
Season	Team	Lge	GP	A	PIM	Min	GA	EN	SO	GAA	W	L	T	Svs	Pct	GP	A	PIM
1998-99	Ottawa 67's	OHL	32	1	0	1800	70	1	4	2.33	22	6	3	730	0.913	4	0	0
1999-00	Ottawa 67's	OHL	53	0	0	2862	122	1	5	2.56	31	15	2	1357	0.918	11	0	0
2000-01	Saint John Flames	AHL	34	1	0	1750	73	4	2	2.50	16	10	2	640	0.898	1	0	0
2001-02	Saint John Flames	AHL	43	0	2	2429	98	3	5	2.42	15	18	5	949	0.906	-	-	-
2002-03	Saint John Flames	AHL	35	1	0	1904	82	6	1	2.58	12	18	2	762	0.903	-	-	-
2003-04	Worcester IceCats	AHL	3	0	0	93	7	0	0	4.53				32	0.821	-	-	-
2003-04	Peoria Rivermen	ECHL	32	0	0	1897	73	3	4	2.31	23	8	1	788	0.915	3	0	2
2005-06	Asiago HC	Italy-A	40	0	2	2379	93	0	6	2.35				1164	0.926	5	0	0
2006-07	Duisburg Foxes	DEL	36	1	0											-	-	-
2006-07	Malmo IF	SEL	2	0	0	120	7	0	0	3.50				45	0.865	-	-	-
2007-08	Milan	Italy-A	31	0	12	1834	81	0	1	2.65				901	0.918
2008-09	Szekeshfehervar Alba Volan HC	Austria	50	0	2
2009-10	Hannover Scorpions	DEL	22	1	0	1151	59	0	0	3.08	7	7	0	550	0.903	-	-	-
2010-11	Arizona Sundogs	CHL	41	2	2	2342	132	0	0	3.38	18	13	6	1240	0.904	-	-	-
2011-12	Arizona Sundogs	CHL	15	0	0	757	40	0	0	3.17	2	6	4	447	0.918	-	-	-
2011-12	Missouri Mavericks	CHL	1	0	0	60	3	0	0	3.00	1	0	0	40	0.930	-	-	-

(1) Hungary relishing every minute in the big time, Ottawa Citizen. April 26, 2009.