Aleš Stezka (born 6 January 1997) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 111th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2015.[1]
| Aleš Stezka | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Stezka with the Seattle Kraken in 2023 | |||
| Born |
January 6, 1997 Plzeň, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Weight | 91 kg (201 lb; 14 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Seattle Kraken Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) Bílí Tygři Liberec HC Vítkovice | ||
| NHL draft |
111th overall, 2015 Minnesota Wild | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Playing career
editStezka played junior hockey with the regional Czech team HC Meteor Třemošná.[2] He would join the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga in 2010.[3]
In the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Stezka was selected in the fourth round (111th overall) by the Minnesota Wild. However, he would spend the 2015–16 season with the Sioux Falls Stampede and the 2016–17 season with the Chicago Steel, both of the United States Hockey League (USHL).[4]
For the 2017–18 season, Stezka returned to the Czech Republic, once again playing for Liberec, where he formed a goaltending tandem with Roman Will.[5] During the season, he played only two games with Liberec and another 27 after being loaned to HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League, where he alternated in goal with Josef Kořenář.[6]
Stezka spent the 2018–19 season on loan to Piráti Chomutov of the Extraliga and HC Slovan Ústí nad Labem of the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League. He would then spend the following two seasons playing for AZ Havířov.[7] He then started playing for HC Vítkovice Ridera, where he would spend two seasons.[8] At the end of the 2022–23 season, writers for the Czech newspaper Právo honored him when they chose him as the Extraliga's best goaltender.[9]
Following the 2022–23 season, Stezka went back to North America, where he signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL), taking effect in the 2023–24 season.[10] Before the season, he participated in the Kraken's training camp, and was then sent down to the Kraken's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
International play
edit
Stezka played with the Czech Republic during the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships. The Czech Republic was eliminated in a 3–2 loss to Canada, in which Stezka made 22 saves.[11] The next year, he played with the Czech Republic in the 2016 World Junior Championships.[12]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2015–16 | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 19 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1014 | 56 | 1 | 3.32 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Chicago Steel | USHL | 37 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 2154 | 82 | 4 | 2.28 | .916 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 796 | 27 | 3 | 2.04 | .812 | ||
| 2017–18 | HC Bílí Tygři Liberec | ELH | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 7 | 0 | 4.20 | .868 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017-18 | HC Benátky nad Jizerou | CZE.3 | 27 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 1397 | 113 | 0 | 4.85 | .858 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Piráti Chomutov | ELH | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 235 | 15 | 0 | 3.83 | .883 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | HC Slovan Ústí nad Labem | CZE.3 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 1641 | 103 | 1 | 3.77 | .903 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | AZ Havířov | CZE.3 | 50 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 2928 | 125 | 4 | 2.56 | .909 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | AZ Havířov | CZE.3 | 20 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1184 | 50 | 1 | 2.53 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | HC Vítkovice Ridera | ELH | 46 | 24 | 21 | 0 | 2736 | 116 | 1 | 2.54 | .910 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 491 | 18 | 0 | 2.20 | .923 | ||
| 2022–23 | HC Vítkovice Ridera | ELH | 39 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 2382 | 85 | 5 | 2.14 | .924 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 874 | 18 | 2 | 1.24 | .960 | ||
| 2023–24 | Coachella Valley Firebirds | AHL | 27 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 1547 | 64 | 2 | 2.48 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| ELH totals | 92 | 49 | 42 | 0 | 5,453 | 223 | 6 | 2.45 | .896 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 1,365 | 36 | 2 | 1.72 | .942 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Czechia U18 | U18 | 6th | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 105 | 6 | 0 | 3.46 | .908 | |
| 2016 | Czechia | WJC | 5th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 7.50 | .800 | |
| Junior totals | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 145 | 11 | 0 | 5.48 | .854 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Minnesota Selects Seven at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft". www.iowawild.com. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Historie klubu - HC Meteor Třemošná". www.hcmeteor.cz. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Profil hráče Aleš Stezka". Bílí Tygři Liberec (in Czech). Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Ales Stezka kicks off Hockey Wilderness' 2017 Top-25 Under-25". Hockey Wilderness. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Aleš Stezka". Bílí Tygři Liberec. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Sára, Robert (29 October 2017). "Lze se z první ligy probít do NHL? Mladí gólmani z Benátek tomu věří". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "TOP 100 hráčů sezony: Aleš Stezka (36. místo) | Hokej.cz - web českého hokeje". Hokej.cz. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ iDNES.cz, ČTK (20 April 2023). "Vítkovice potvrdily odchody brankáře Stezky, Kocha a Lindberga". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Stezka získal Cenu Práva pro nejlepšího gólmana extraligy: Jsem o dost klidnější brankář i člověk - Sport.cz". www.sport.cz (in Czech). 6 May 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Beg, Zaiem (2 May 2023). "Kraken sign goalie Ales Stezka to entry-level contract". Davy Jones' Locker room. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Canada beats Czechs 3-2, remains undefeated at U18 world hockey championship". HuffPost. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Tribune, Michael Russo Star. "World junior tournament offers glimpse of Wild's future". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database