Ice hockey player Milan Nový is 22^nd Czech who has got this honour. In a short speech he thanked his family and couches who led him in his career. “It is a great honour, I am very happy. When seeing players against whom I used to play I was thinking that I knew how to play ice hockey a little bit”, he said during the ceremony to the Czech Ambassador. He was also convinced that he would still score many goals as he keeps playing actively in a veteran team.

Together with 60 years old twofold world champion also former ice hockey players Raimo Helminen from Finland and Russian Pavel Bure, defender Phil Housley from the USA and Canadian couch Andy Murray joined the legend group. Paul Loicq Award for contributions to the international ice hockey was given to Canadian Kent Angus.

Milan Nový played altogether in nine World Championship and Olympic Games tournaments winning a medal in eight of them. Besides gold medals from the World Championships in 1976 and 1977 he won four silver medals and one bronze medal. Nový won a silver medal in the Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 1976. He was left without a medal only four years later under the Olympic rings in Lake Placid. Leading all scorers with 15 points he was however the most efficient player in the Olympic Games.

He played brilliantly also in two Canada Cups. In 1976 when Czechoslovakia played in the finals Nový shared the position of the top scorer and was named to the All-Star team. He also played in the 1981 Canada Cup.

Nový won six Czech leaguechampionships (five times with Kladno and once with Jihlava), three times he won a competition Golden Hockey Stick for the best Czech ice hockey player. With his 594 goals he is a leader of Ice hockey scorers´ club in Sport papers counting the goals scored in the national team (120) and in the highest domestic league (474).