Former Daufuskie Island resident bestowed hockey honor in homeland

Former Daufuskie Island resident Robert Lang, whose 16-year NHL career included an Olympic gold medal for the Czech Republic, was honored in his homeland earlier this month with enshrinement in its Hockey Hall of Fame.

The towering center tallied 261 goals over a career that spanned eight teams, mostly with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings. Twice he reached the 30-goal mark, first with the Penguins in 2000-01 and again two years later when he split time between Washington and Detroit.

Lang also represented his country in four Olympics, winning gold at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. He also captained the 2006 team that earned a bronze medal in Torino, Italy.

"It's a really nice feeling," Lang told Czech media, "that your name is even nominated for approval so that one may be in the hall of fame. It's great that it even happened."

Lang began making Daufuskie Island his offseason home in 1998, where he lived not far from Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier. He stayed seven years before moving his family to La Jolla, Calif., to be closer to his wife's family.

Despite nine trips to the playoffs, Lang never got a chance to play in a Stanley Cup final. He came closest in 2007, when the Red Wings grabbed a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals before falling to the Anaheim Ducks.

Nonetheless, Lang was teammates with such hockey royalty as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Nicklas Lidstrom and fellow Czech Jaromir Jagr.

"I have ushered a lot of players into retirement, so I have teased," Lang quipped.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 12:55 AM with the headline "Former Daufuskie Island resident bestowed hockey honor in homeland."