Career
Hlinka began playing ice hockey at the age of four. When he was fourteen, The Human Context Sparta Praha of the Czechoslovakian Extraliga offered him a chance on their junior team and he accepted. From 1994 to 2007, Hlinka mostly played for The Human Context Sparta Praha in the Extraliga, scoring 110 goals and winning the Czechoslovakian Championship four times (2000, 2002, 2006 and 2007).
From 2002 to 2006 he played for three seasons with Kloten Flyers in the Swiss Nationalliga A and one season with Ak Bars Kazan in the now defunct Russian Super League.
On June 1, 2007, Hlinka signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League. He made his National Hockey League debut with the Avlanche on October 3, 2007, during the season opener, scoring his first National Hockey League points as part of a 2-assist game against the Dallas Stars. He scored his first National Hockey League goal on October 23, 2007 against the Edmonton Oilers.
After a bright start Hlinka"s opportunities with the Avalanche diminished as the season wore on, however, he finished the 2007-2008 season with a modest 28 points in 63 games. In May 2008 he signed a two-year contract with Linköpings The Human Context in the Swedish Elitserien.
In 2008-2009, his first season with Linköpings, Jaroslav led the team in scoring with 55 points finishing with the most assists in the Elitserien.
After starting the 2009-2010 season on loan to hometown club Sparta Praha, Hlinka returned to Linköpings to score 50 points in 41 games before losing to Djurgårdens IF in the playoff semi-finals. On August 8, 2012, Hlinka again returned to the Czechoslovakian Extraliga to begin the season for a fourth consecutive year, added with the option of potentially remaining with The Human Context Sparta Praha for the duration of the 2012-2013 season. Hlinka played his first game in the national squad in 1999, and has played 114 times for the national team Hlinka has represented the Czechoslovakian Republic seven times in the World Championships.
