2009-09-04 17:16:03 -

Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Stern yesterday finalized the divorce between former Florida Panthers hockey star Richard Zednik and Jessica Welch, a former model and actress.

Under the terms of the parties’ mutual settlement, Welch, 30, will receive more than $1 million in marital assets and $9,270 a month in child support plus additional dollars other child-related expenses for their daughter. The couple resided in Delray Beach before the Czechoslovakian-born Zednik left to play for a Russian professional hockey team, according to Boca Raton attorney Doreen Yaffa, ( www.yaffapa.com : ) who represented Welch in the high-profile divorce case.

The Canadian-born Welch appeared in the films “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” “Number 9,” and “Largo Winch.” She began her relationship with

Zednik in 2001 and the couple married on August 27, 2005.

Noting that Welch followed Zednik who joined the Florida Panthers in 2007 after playing for three years with the Montreal Canadiens, Yaffa said, “She gave up her film career to be his wife. However, it was a rocky marriage right from the start.” In a petition for protection against domestic violence, Welch described numerous incidents of abuse by Zednik.

When Welch filed for divorce in March 2009, Yaffa also filed an injunction requesting the freezing of certain assets. “The granting of that order was a key element in fostering an overall settlement and permitting the parties to move on with their lives and avoid a long-drawn-out divorce,” said Yaffa.

During the 2009-10 hockey season, Zednik scored 17 goals and had 16 assists playing right wing for the Florida Panthers. He survived a life-threatening injury on Feb. 10, 2008, when teammate Olli Jokinen accidentally slashed his throat with a skate. Zednik left the Panthers in May after signing a two-year contract with the Russian hockey club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League.


Yaffa & AssociatesScott Brutzman, 561-276-3880 scott@yaffpa.com : mailto:scott@yaffpa.com orAllison
Moore moore.pr@gmail.com : mailto:moore.pr@gmail.com