Leaf Rookie Apologizes Over Embarrassing Internet Photos

There are a lot of mistakes Leaf rookies can make while trying to impress on the ice. But it turns out there are just as many errors they can make away from the rink, as well. Take the case of 19-year-old Jiri Tlusty, a budding forward with the struggling team.

The Czech native was playing with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds last season, when he apparently used his cell phone to take some compromising pictures of himself wearing almost nothing – and then nothing at all. That was mistake number one.

Mistake number two was posting them on his Facebook site for the world to see. 

Mistake number three was sending those shots to a girlfriend. They wound up on a variety of Internet sites and have now come back to haunt the embarrassed teenager, who’s bound to take a huge ribbing from fellow players. 

The photos, apparently taken when the rookie was celebrating his birthday in his hometown of Slany in the Czech Republic, show the future hockey star touching tongues with a friend and later looking into a mirror completely naked. Since then, a number of sites – including many catering to the gay community – have picked up the private photos and posted them prominently across the worldwide web.

That prompted Tlusty to issue a statement after Tuesday night’s loss to the Canadiens, trying to contain the damage. “I used poor judgment in this instance last season and I have learned a valuable lesson,” he writes. “It will not happen again and I have no further comment.”

But Leaf GM John Ferguson did, in a statement of his own. “He made a naive mistake as a teenager. It’s a lesson in how something private can easily become very public in the Internet age. Hopefully it’s a lesson that other people will learn from as well.”

Tlusty is considered one of the Leafs’ brightest hopes for the future and was their first round pick in 2006.

But will his candid camera wind up forcing him to take slaps and shots from fans?

“Not really,” suggests Timothy O’Mara. “If it’s on the Internet, it’s on the Internet. What counts is his hockey playing.”

“If I came across it, I’d probably enjoy it for a brief moment but there’s no reason for it to be there,” contends Jenny Cooper.

Cliff Blundell is blunt. “Everyone is nude on the Internet these days,” he shrugs. “Who cares?”

Only M.J. Graham seemed to take a real interest – and even that was somewhat tentative. “It depends,” she laughs. “How chunky is the nude Maple Leaf?” 
 
The pictures were originally posted on the site ” isthishappening.com“, which now contains a letter from a lawyer representing the player. “We demand that you remove these photos and any links or comments from your website immediately,” it reads. See the correspondence here.

Zach Taylor owns the site, and defends his decision to run the pics.

“I don’t feel bad for him because, you know what? You’ve sent these pictures out and it’s a lesson learned, just like Paul Maurice and John Ferguson said.”

Taylor received the photos anonymously.  S ince posting them hits on his site jumped from 1,000 to 100,000 daily.

The pictures have since been taken down but remain on other sites across the net. But don’t expect the club to face off with the media about this anytime soon. Despite questions that are sure to follow, Leaf coach Paul Maurice insists the matter is being dealt with internally by the Toronto club.

“I talked to players, talked to Jiri and both conversations are private,” Maurice noted at practice on Wednesday. “I can tell you that his play has been exceptional and he’s in the lineup because of it. His practice habits are fantastic. And for man of his age, I think he’s handling it just exceptionally well.

“It was a mistake made a year ago. And he will now answer for this like none of us will. Or have to. I’m sure that each one of you has a story that you prefer didn’t hit the front page of the paper.”

His teammates have rallied around Tlusty, insisting it’s no big deal. Wade Belak chalks it all up to pettiness on the part of a few fans. “It’s obviously the price of being a young guy coming in and only playing for a month and having some success and having somebody to try to knock you down and embarrass you. So it’s just jealousy.”

Forward Alex Steen agrees.  

“This is just … a tough situation. I think it’s somebody was jealous or something. I don’t know what it was, but it’s too bad for Jiri.”

Who Is Jiri Tlusty?

Long before Jiri Tlusty became the latest quasi-celebrity Internet pinup, the 19-year-old native of Slany, Czech Republic was a first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs and a promising playmaker for a franchise starved of young goal-scoring talent.

Tlusty was selected by the Leafs 13th overall in the 2006 NHL entry draft, coming off a promising season with Kladno of the Czech league. Though his numbers were paltry – just seven goals and three assists in 44 games – Tlusty was playing with grown men at the age of 17, and showed speed and creativity with the puck that excited NHL scouts.

After being selected by the Leafs, the 6’1″ winger opened the season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in the fall of 2006, playing in six games before heading to the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds where he notched 13 goals and 21 assists in 37 games.

Tlusty played the first five games of the 2007-08 season with the Marlies again, before getting the call up to the big club in response to injuries to Darcy Tucker, Kyle Wellwood and a generally anemic offence.

His impact was immediate, scoring two goals in his first game in a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. In nine games this season, Tlusty has four points.