Background
Šustr grew up in the city of Plzeň, 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.
Šustr grew up in the city of Plzeň, 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.
An undrafted player, Šustr made his National Hockey League debut with the Lightning in 2013 after playing three seasons of collegiate hockey with the University of Nebraska–Omaha. Junior/collegiate
He spent a year with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in 2008-2009 before moving up to the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2009-2010. The University of Omaha–Nebraska ice hockey program then recruited Šustr to join their program in 2010.
He played three seasons with the Mavericks, appearing in 111 games and recording 15 goals and 51 points.
Professional
An undrafted player, Šustr participated in National Hockey League 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 March 21, 2013.
He made his National Hockey League debut on March 29 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.
Šustr scored his first career National Hockey League goal on April 5, 2014, against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars.
On July 7, 2014, the Lightning announced that they had re-signed Šustr to a one-year, one-way contract. Additionally, Šustr appeared in 12 games with the Crunch, recording a goal and three assists. On February 16, 2015, during the 2014-2015 season he played in his 100th career National Hockey League game in Tampa Bay"s 3–2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
On March 30, the Lightning announced that Šustr 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 June 30, 2015, the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed Sustr to a two-year, two-way contract. Sustr played in 72 games with the Lightning in the 2014-2015 National Hockey League season, recording 13 assists and 34 penalty minutes.
Sustr set career highs in games played, assists, plus/minus (+10) and penalty minutes. Sustr has skated in 117 National Hockey League games, all with the Lightning over the past three seasons, collecting one goal and 21 points.
Sustr ranked fourth on the Lightning for blocked shots with 84 during the 2014-2015 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 National Hockey League Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings. On March 2, 2016, the Czechoslovakian Ice Hockey Association named Šustr to its roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Šustr will be joined by Lightning teammate Ondřej Palát.
The tournament is set to run from September
17 to October 1, 2016, in Toronto.
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. He made his Stanley Cup playoff debut against the Montreal Canadiens, appearing in three games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. On April 18, he scored his first career playoff goal in a 5–1 Lightning win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Sustr also appeared in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Lightning, registering one goal and two points.
