Rostislav "Rusty" Klesla was the first player drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The defenseman was selected fourth overall in 2000 and spent 10 years with the organization. Along the way he attached his name to many franchise firsts, including: road goal scored (Oct. 12, 2000 at Calgary); goal by a defenseman at Nationwide Arena (Oct. 25, 2000 vs. San Jose); and the first shot on goal in the Jackets' inaugural playoff game (Apr. 16, 2009 at Detroit).
Klesla ranks fifth on the club's all-time games played list at 515, which is second only to Fedor Tyutin (553) among defensemen. He is also the club's all-time leader in goals by a defensemen (41) and stands second in points (133).
He played his final season with Columbus in 2010-11 before spending four seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes. He returned to his native Czech Republic in 2014 and resides there with his wife, Krystina, and son, Rostislav (5).
We caught up with the "original Jacket" to reflect on his days in union blue.
Catching up with Rusty Klesla
The first player drafted by the CBJ talks about his connection to Columbus
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