Mikulas Hovorka In Advanced Discussions To Sign With NHL Team

While college free agency garners a good chunk of attention at this time of year, it’s not the only avenue that teams can take to add to their prospect pool during the spring.  Several international players are also going to be looking to make the jump to North America.  Among those is defenseman Mikulas Hovorka who, according to hokej.cz’s Marek Hedbavny, has generated interest from quite a few NHL teams this season.

The 22-year-old has been a regular in the Czech Extraliga the past two seasons with Ceske Budejovice and is coming off a decent showing this year which saw him record five goals and 11 assists in 51 games before suffering an ankle injury early in the playoffs, one that could take him out of consideration for the Worlds next month.  He’s under contract with them for two more years but since there is a transfer agreement in place between the Czech Ice Hockey Federation and the NHL, Hovorka is free to sign with an NHL team.

While Hovorka didn’t provide any specifics as to who he might be signing with, he did acknowledge in an article on his club team’s site that he’s in advanced discussions and that his preference is to sign with an Eastern team.  He also identified that there were 11 teams that he knew of that had been scouting him during the season.

Wherever he signs, Hovorka will be capped at signing a two-year, entry-level contract and there’s a good chance he’ll be starting off at the AHL level next season to adapt to the North American style of play.  But with his improvement this season and an intriguing 6’6 frame, he will be an interesting addition to the prospect pool for whichever team winds up signing him.