The front office work for a team never stops, even when they’re in the thick of a tight playoff series. The Minnesota Wild have signed Pavel Novak to a three-year entry-level contract that starts next season. Novak spent this season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL but saw his season end last month with a first-round defeat.
Novak, 20, was a fifth-round pick of the Wild in 2020, after his first season in North America. While that season will be remembered most for the 58 points in 55 games he scored, the young forward also made an impression with an eight-game suspension for a brutal hit from behind, when he sent a Kamloops Blazers player flying into the boards. That kind of play is actually rather uncommon for Novak, who was given just 14 penalty minutes this season when he returned to the WHL after spending 2020-21 back in the Czech Republic.
A talented offensive player, he had 29 goals and 72 points in 62 games this season, while also taking a short break to attend the World Junior tournament that was ultimately postponed. Despite turning 20 last month, he will still be eligible for the event when it is held later this summer, though this time he’ll be there representing the Wild.
Novak will be eligible to play in the AHL next season and his entry-level contract will kick in regardless of where he spends the year.