Ondřej Palát (born 28 March 1991) is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the seventh round, 208th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2011 NHL entry draft. Palát won the Stanley Cup back-to-back with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Palát began his ice hockey career in his native Czech Republic with HC Frýdek-Místek.
Following the 2007–08 season, Palát was drafted by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the second round of the 2008 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft. However, before being able to play for the team, his playing rights were traded to the Chilliwack Bruins. Although he was eligible for the 2008 NHL entry draft, Palát went undrafted as had a less productive season and was recovering from mononucleosis. However, Drummondville Voltigeurs's assistant general manager André Ruel had scouted Palát in 2008 and was aware that Palát would only go to North America once he had finished school. As such, the Voltigeurs drafted him 10th overall in the 2009 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) European Draft when he was 19.
Palát joined the Voltigeurs for the 2009–10 season, which was also the first season former NHLer Denis Gauthier served as a coach. Although Gauthier was originally sceptical of Palát's ability to play in the QMJHL, he was named to the team's roster and finished the season with 40 points in 59 games. After going undrafted again in the 2010 NHL entry draft, Palát returned to the Voltigeurs for the 2010–11 season. Palát received early recognition from the league after recording six points over two games in mid-October to help lift the Voltigeurs to second place in the overall standings. He was recognized again later that month with the Star of the Week honour after recording seven points over four games. By 4 November, Palát had accumulated 11 goals and 13 assists over 24 games. He continued to score goals through November and led all import players with 38 points by 24 November. Palát was named the QMJHL's Third Star of the Week for the week ending on 28 November, after scoring four goals and two assists over two games. The following month, during a game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Palát and teammate Sean Couturier became the second and third QMJHL players to reach 50-points in the season. As such, he was recognized as the QMJHL's First Star of the Week and strongly considered for CHL Player of the Week. By 24 December, Palát ranked second in the QMJHL with 25 goals and 29 assists through 34 games. He was also named to the Czech junior team roster for the second consecutive year. Palát finished the 2010–11 season with a career-high 39 goals and 57 assists for 96 points.
Leading up to the 2011 NHL entry draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning had planned to invite Palát to a tryout as a free agent if he remained undrafted. However, during the draft, the Lightning acquired an extra seventh-round pick at the last minute and used it to draft Palát 208th overall.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2011–2022)
After attending the Lightning's 2011 training camp, Palát signed a three-year, entry-level contract and joined their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, for the 2011–12 season. Due to his young age, the Admirals kept Palát in the AHL instead of returning him to the OHL or assigning him to the ECHL. In January 2012, head coach Jon Cooper placed him on a line with Richard Pánik and Tyler Johnson (nicknamed the "Top Gun Line." This move coincided with the Admiral's North American record of 28 consecutive games. As the Admirals qualified for the 2012 Calder Cup playoffs, Palát had recorded 30 points through 61 games. In game 4 of the Calder Cup finals against the Toronto Marlies, Palát assisted on one of Mike Kostka's goals to lift the Admirals to their first AHL championship. This would be their last Calder Cup trophy under the name Admirals as the Lightning announced they had accepted the Syracuse Crunch as their new AHL affiliate.
Palát returned to the AHL for the 2012–13 season and played for the Syracuse Crunch. Despite the location change of the team, Palát remained on a line with Johnson and Panik and began to improve on his rookie seasons points total. Through the first month of the 2012–13 season, Palát tied for sixth in the league with seven assists. He suffered an ankle injury at the end of January and missed six games to recover. He returned to the Crunch's lineup on 14 February, in a 6–0 win over the Albany Devils. Later that month, Palát recorded his first professional hat-trick on 26 February, against the Rochester Americans to help the Crunch continue their eight-game win streak. Shortly thereafter, he earned his first NHL call-up on 3 March, due to an injury to Benoit Pouliot. At the time, he led the team in goals and ranked third with points. Palát subsequently made his NHL debut the following night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Tom Pyatt's goal. Later, on 16 March, he scored his first career NHL goal against Justin Peters of the Carolina Hurricanes. On 25 March 2013, Crunch head coach Jon Cooper replaced Guy Boucher as the Lightnings newest head coach. Rob Zettler was subsequently appointed the Crunch's head coach as they attempted to qualify the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs. Due to the NHL's waiver rules, Palát was required to be assigned to the Crunch by 3 pm EST on 3 April 2013, in order to play in the Calder Cup playoffs. Over the final nine games of the regular-season, Palát recorded three goals and 10 assists for 13 points. As all three were playing in the NHL, the "Top Gun Line" was reunited for the first time since 2 March in game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. In their first game back together, Palát and Johnson tallied three points while Panik scored the game-winning overtime goal to lift the Crunch over the Portland Pirates. By game 3, Palát had recorded five points and the trio combined for 12 as the Crunch led the series 2–0. Palát scored the series-winning overtime goal of game 4 to lead the Crunch over the Pirates and into the Eastern Conference semifinals. After eliminating the Crunch, Palát and the "Top Gun Line" continued their dominance against the Springfield Falcons. Over three games, Palát and Johnson both had eight points while Panik had five. The Crunch swept the Falcons in four games to qualify for the Calder Cup conference finals for the first time in 17 years. After winning Games 2, 3, and 4, Palát set numerous franchise and league records en route to the Calder Cup finals. While the Crunch eliminated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a 7–0 shutout, Palát's 20 points led the league and were the third most recorded in Crunch playoff history. He also set a new single-season playoff scoring record and tied the franchise record for most assists in a single playoff game with three. However, the "Top Gun Line" struggled in the finals after losing Panik to an injury, and the Crunch eventually fell to the Grand Rapids Griffins in six games.
Palát participated in the Lightning's 2013 training camp and preseason games before making their 2013–14 opening night roster alongside top gun linemates Tyler Johnson and Richard Pánik. The trio were reunited at the NHL level, where they continued their dominance, and were often referred to as "The Kid Line" instead of "Top Guns" by local media. They started the season playing on the third line but slowly began earning more playing time and more responsibility. By the end of November, the trio had combined for 30 points and were praised by coach Cooper for their development and maturity. However, following a leg injury to Steven Stamkos, head coach Jon Cooper broke up the trio and put Palát and Johnson with Martin St. Louis. Palát later stated that playing with St. Louis boosted his confidence and made him feel "emboldened to use his skills." Palát set a new franchise rookie record for longest points streak by tallying four goals and six assists between 23 December to 9 January. While maintaining this streak, Palát was also selected for the Czech Republic national team to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics. By the end of January, Palát ranked third among rookies with 20 assists and fourth with 31 points. His efforts were recognized by the NHL who awarded him the Rookie of the Month accolade. Following St. Louis' trade to the New York Rangers in March, Palát recorded four goals and nine points over seven games. He was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month after recording five goals and 11 assists through 16 games in the month of March. At the time, he also ranked second among all rookies with 32 assists and 51 points. Once Stamkos recovered from his broken leg and was named captain of the Lighting in earl-March, Johnson and Palát were split up for the first time in the season. Stamkos spoke highly of Palát after becoming his linemate in March: "You see the way he plays, the work ethic he has, the skill set he has, the confidence he's gaining each and every game. He's an unbelievable player. You'd love to play with a guy like that." Palát finished the season leading the Lightning in scoring with 23 goals and 36 assists for 59 points in 81 games, helping the Lighting qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2011. As such, Palát was named a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year, along with teammate Tyler Johnson. Palát, along with Johnson, became the first teammates to be nominated for the Trophy since Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008. Although the Calder went to Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, Palát was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. On 20 April 2014, Palát recorded his first career playoff goal and point against Carey Price in the Lightning's game three 3–2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. In the Lighting's first round four-game sweep at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs, Palát