Marek Schwarz

Marek Schwarz (born 1 April 1986) is a Czech former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 6 games in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues from 2006 to 2008. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2003 to 2023, was mainly spent in the Czech Extraliga. Internationally Schwarz played for the Czech national junior team at several junior tournaments, winning bronze medals at both the 2004 under-18 championships and 2005 World Junior Championships.

Playing career
As a youth, Schwarz played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Chomutov. He played junior ice hockey in his native Czech Republic with HC Sparta Praha. He made his debut at the senior level with Sparta Praha playing one game in the Czech Extraliga in 2002–03. The following season, he joined the Extraliga full-time at seventeen-years-old and played between three teams – HC Plzeň, HC Oceláři Třinec and Sparta Praha. That off-season, Schwarz was drafted 17th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Upon being drafted, he moved to North America to play major junior in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Vancouver Giants. He posted a 2.67 GAA and a winning record before moving back to the Czech Republic the following season to continue to play for Sparta Praha.

In 2006–07, he began playing for the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. He was called up that season and played in his first NHL game on 12 December 2006 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Schwarz made 21 saves on 24 shots as the Blues lost 3–2. At 20 years old, he became the third youngest goaltender in Blues history to play in a game.

On 25 October 2008 Schwarz combined with third-string goalie Ben Bishop for a 4-0 shutout against the Florida Panthers. With Manny Legacé and Chris Mason out due to injuries, Schwarz was called up to play backup to Bishop when Bishop also went down with an injury in the third period. Schwarz completed the shutout with 15 minutes to go.