Branko Radivojevič ( / ; born 24 November 1980) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey player who began and finished his career playing for HK Dukla Trenčín of the Slovak Extraliga. He also played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota Wild from 2002 to 2008, and other leagues in Europe during his career, which lasted from 1998 to 2019.
Playing career
Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 1999, Radivojevič signed a 3-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes on 19 June 2001 and played parts of the next three seasons there. Part of a mid-season trade in 2003–04, he was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers along with Sean Burke and the rights to Ben Eager for Mike Comrie. After 2005–06, the Flyers declined to tender him a qualifying offer, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. He signed with the Minnesota Wild as an unrestricted free agent on 6 July 2006. After a couple seasons with the Wild, he opted to go to the KHL.
After two years with the Wild, Radivojevič signed with Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In the 2008–09 season Branko established himself as an offensive presence with Spartak, leading the team in scoring with 45 points in 49 games. He was re-signed to a further two-year contract with Spartak on 23 December 2009.
After three seasons with Spartak (during the last one he was the captain of the team) Branko decided to change the team. After some arguments with Spartak's management his contract was terminated and Branko signed with Atlant Moscow Oblast. After spending only one season with Atlant (2011–2012) he returned to Spartak.
Personal
Branko's father Matija, a Bosnian Serb, came to Czechoslovakia during the 1970s as a contractor of a Yugoslavian company. His son, Luka, is also a hockey player who currently plays for Boston College.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1995–96
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK U18
| 45 || 23 || 32 || 55 || 74
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK U18
| 53 || 41 || 38 || 79 || 56
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1997–98
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK U20
| 52 || 30 || 31 || 61 || 50
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1997–98
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1998–99
| Belleville Bulls
| OHL
| 68 || 20 || 38 || 58 || 61
| 21 || 7 || 17 || 24 || 18
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1999–00
| Belleville Bulls
| OHL
| 59 || 23 || 49 || 72 || 86
| 16 || 5 || 8 || 13 || 32
|-
| 2000–01
| Belleville Bulls
| OHL
| 61 || 34 || 70 || 104 || 77
| 10 || 6 || 10 || 16 || 18
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2001–02
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 18 || 4 || 2 || 6 || 4
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|-
| 2001–02
| Springfield Falcons
| AHL
| 62 || 18 || 21 || 39 || 64
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2002–03
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 79 || 12 || 15 || 27 || 63
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2003–04
| Phoenix Coyotes
| NHL
| 53 || 9 || 14 || 23 || 36
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2003–04
| Philadelphia Flyers
| NHL
| 24 || 1 || 8 || 9 || 36
| 18 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 32
|-
| 2004–05
| Vsetínská hokejová
| ELH
| 31 || 7 || 11 || 18 || 114
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2004–05
| Luleå HF
| SEL
| 10 || 6 || 4 || 11 || 8
| 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 44
|-
| 2005–06
| Philadelphia Flyers
| NHL
| 64 || 8 || 6 || 14 || 44
| 5 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2006–07
| Minnesota Wild
| NHL
| 82 || 11 || 13 || 24 || 21
| 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2
|-
| 2007–08
| Minnesota Wild
| NHL
| 73 || 7 || 10 || 17 || 48
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2008–09
| Spartak Moscow
| KHL
| 49 || 17 || 26 || 43 || 86
| 6 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
| 2009–10
| Spartak Moscow
| KHL
| 56 || 18 || 37 || 55 || 115
| 9 || 0 || 5 || 5 || 33
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2010–11
| Spartak Moscow
| KHL
| 54 || 7 || 23 || 30 || 51
| 4 || 2 || 3 || 5 || 2
|-
| 2011–12
| Atlant Moscow Oblast
| KHL
| 43 || 7 || 20 || 27 || 24
| 12 || 5 || 2 || 7 || 10
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2012–13
| Spartak Moscow
| KHL
| 50 || 4 || 17 || 21 || 23
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2013–14
| Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
| KHL
| 14 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2013–14
| Slovan Bratislava
| KHL
| 31 || 3 || 5 || 8 || 22
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2014–15
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK
| 12 || 5 || 6 || 11 || 0
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2014–15
| HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
| ELH
| 37 || 6 || 15 || 21 || 36
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 2015–16
| HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
| ELH
| 51 || 15 || 26 || 41 || 71
| 14 || 5 || 12 || 17 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2016–17
| HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
| ELH
| 52 || 9 || 24 || 33 || 20
| 16 || 4 || 6 || 10 || 10
|-
| 2017–18
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK
| 45 || 16 || 29 || 45 || 49
| 17 || 8 || 9 || 17 || 36
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2018–19
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK
| 56 || 13 || 30 || 43 || 44
| 4 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 4
|-
| 2019–20
| Dukla Trenčín
| SVK
| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 399 !! 52 !! 68 !! 120 !! 252
! 31 !! 2 !! 1 !! 3 !! 36
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | KHL totals
! 297 !! 58 !! 129 !! 187 !! 323
! 31 !! 9 !! 11 !! 20 !! 51
|}
International
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="102" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1998
| Slovakia
| EJC
| 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2000
| Slovakia
| WJC
| 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4
|-
| 2003
| Slovakia
| WC
| 9 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 8
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2004
| Slovakia
| WCH
| 4 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
| 2007
| Slovakia
| WC
| 7 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2009
| Slovakia
| WC
| 6 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4
|-
| 2010
| Slovakia
| OLY
| 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 6
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2011
| Slovakia
| WC
| 6 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 6
|-
| 2012
| Slovakia
| WC
| 10 || 4 || 4 || 8 || 2
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2013
| Slovakia
| WC
| 8 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 2
|-
| 2014
| Slovakia
| OLY
| 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4" | Junior totals
! 13 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 8
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4" | Senior totals
! 61 !! 11 !! 11 !! 22 !! 36
|}
Awards and honours
{| class="wikitable"
! Award
! Year
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
| colspan="3" | OHL
|-
| First All-Star Team
| 2001
|-
| Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy
| 2001
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
| colspan="3" | NHL
|-
| YoungStars Game
| 2003
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
| colspan="3" | Slovak Extraliga
|-
| Playoffs MVP
| 2018
|}