Stan Smrke
Stanley "Stan" Smrke (September 2, 1928 – April 14, 1977) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He was born as Stanko Smrke in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovenian father and a Serbian mother.
Smrke started his National Hockey League career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1956. He was the first Yugoslavian-born player ever to play in the NHL. Smreke played his entire NHL career (9 games) with the Habs. In this season, he scored a total of four assists before being dropped by the team. His final season in the NHL was the 1957–58 season.
After leaving the NHL, he was sent to the minor leagues and became a member of the Rochester Americans. He is currently ranked fifth all-time in the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame.
His son, John Smrke, was also a hockey player and played 103 games in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and Quebec Nordiques.