BIOGRAPHY

Marián Gáborík (born February 14, 1982 in Trenčín, Slovakia) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger who will begin the 2009/2010 NHL season playing for the New York Rangers as part of a new five year off-season contract signing after playing with the Minnesota Wild since 2000. He has the distinction of being one of fewer than 50 NHL players to have scored five or more goals in a single game.

Gáborík was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He immediately showed promise during his rookie season, collecting 18 goals and 36 points for the expansion Wild. Gáborík elevated his game the following season, in 2001-02, notching his first 30-goal season and nearly doubling his rookie output to 67 points.

In 2002–03, Gáborík was named to his first NHL All-Star Game and won the fastest skater competition, lapping the rink in 13.713 seconds. He notched 30 goals for the second consecutive season, and helped lead the Wild to their first ever playoff appearance.

Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Gáborík returned to HC Dukla Trenčín where he dominated with 52 points in 29 games. He also saw time with Färjestads BK of the Elitserien. As NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Gáborík becoming a point-per-game player with 38 goals and 66 points in a 65-game season limited by a groin injury.

On December 20, 2007, Gáborík recorded a six-point game against the New York Rangers with five goals and an assist. This made him the first player in Wild history to score five goals in a game, as well as the first NHLer since Sergei Fedorov of the Detroit Red Wings 11 years earlier. He was chosen to his second NHL All-Star Game and would go on to record personal bests of 42 goals, 41 assists and 83 points. Gáborík finished his career year as team captain for the Wild in March 2008.