Andrej à  ustr (born 29 November 1990) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman who plays for Kalmar HC of HockeyAllsvenskan.
Previously, he played in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Anaheim Ducks. An undrafted player, Ã Â ustr made his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2013 after playing three seasons of college ice hockey with the University of Nebraska Omaha.
à  ustr grew up in the city of Plzeà Â, but after finding little opportunity in his home town, was encouraged to move to the United States at the age of 17 to play junior hockey. He spent a year with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in 2008âÂÂ09 before moving up to the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2009âÂÂ10. The University of Omaha Nebraska Mavericks ice hockey program then recruited à  ustr to join their program in 2010. He played three seasons with the Mavericks, appearing in 111 games and recording 15 goals and 51 points.
An undrafted player, Ã Â ustr participated in NHL development camps with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. After completing his junior season at Omaha, he signed a professional contract with the Lightning on 21 March 2013. He made his NHL debut on 29 March against the New Jersey Devils. He appeared in two games in Tampa before being assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He played eight regular season games with Syracuse, scoring two goals and adding an assist, while the Crunch reached the Calder Cup Final against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
à  ustr scored his first career NHL goal on 5 April 2014, against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars. On 7 July 2014, the Lightning announced that they had re-signed à  ustr to a one-year, one-way contract. He made his Stanley Cup playoff debut against the Montreal Canadiens, appearing in three games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Additionally, à  ustr appeared in 12 games with the Crunch, recording a goal and three assists.
On 16 February 2015, during the 2014âÂÂ15 season he played in his 100th career NHL game in Tampa Bay's 3âÂÂ2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. On 30 March, the Lightning announced that à  ustr would be out one-to-two weeks with an upper body injury, but was expected to return in time for the start of the 2015 playoffs. On 18 April, he scored his first career playoff goal in a 5âÂÂ1 Lightning win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
On 30 June 2015, the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed à  ustr to a two-year, two-way contract. à  ustr played in 72 games with the Lightning in the 2014-15 NHL season, recording 13 assists and 34 penalty minutes. à  ustrset career highs in games played, assists, plus/minus (+10) and penalty minutes. à  ustr also appeared in 26 Stanley Cup playoffs games for the Lightning, registering one goal and two points. à  ustr has skated in 117 NHL games, all with the Lightning over the past three seasons, collecting one goal and 21 points. à  ustr ranked fourth on the Lightning for blocked shots with 84 during the 2014âÂÂ15 season. He also set the Lightning franchise record for the best plus/minus (+7) in a playoff series in the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings.
On 25 October 2016, à  ustr skated in his 200th career NHL game, which came in a 7âÂÂ3 Lightning victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. On 26 June 2017, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed à  ustr to a one-year, $1.95 million contract extension.
After six seasons within the Lightning organization, following the 2017âÂÂ18 season, à  ustr left as a free agent and agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks on 5 July 2018. à  ustr began the 2018âÂÂ19 season with the Ducks. However, he was limited to just 5 games over the duration of the year, reassigned for the majority of the campaign to add a veteran presence to AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
With his NHL career stagnating, Ã Â ustr, an impending free agent from the Ducks, opted to halt his North American career, agreeing to a one-year contract with Chinese club Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on 7 June 2019.
à  ustr returned to the Lightning organization on 28 July 2021, when he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the team. He began the season with the Lightning, appearing in his first NHL contest in three years in a 7âÂÂ6 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings on 14 October 2021. He registered 1 goal in 8 games with the Lightning before he was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, registering 12 points through 25 games. In a recall to the Lightning, on 7 March 2022, à  ustr was later placed on waivers by the Lightning, and was claimed the following day by one of his former teams, the Anaheim Ducks.
On 13 July 2022, à  ustr joined the Minnesota Wild, signing a one-year, two-way contract as a free agent. In the 2022âÂÂ23 season, à  ustr made 39 appearances with AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, collecting 12 points. On 3 March 2023, à  ustr was traded by the Wild back to Anaheim, for his third stint with the team, in a package for defenceman John Klingberg.
At the conclusion of the season, as a pending free agent, à  ustr was traded by the Ducks to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Andrew Agozzino on 27 June 2023. While not offered a contract by the Sharks, à  ustr left North America as a free agent and agreed to a one-year deal with German outfit Kölner Haie of the DEL, on 10 July 2023.
On 28 July 2024, Ã Â ustr signed a one-year contract with HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga. However, after recording two assists in 12 games, Ã Â ustr and the club agreed to mutually part ways. Just four days later, Ã Â ustr came to terms with Finnish club Tappara to play the remainder of the season with them.
On 2 March 2016, the Czech Ice Hockey Association named à  ustr to its roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. à  ustr was joined by Lightning teammate Ondà Âej Palát. The tournament ran from 17 September to 1 October 2016, in Toronto.