After spending the last two seasons with the Kraken, goaltender Ales Stezka is headed back to his native Czechia. The Extraliga’s HC Kometa Brno announced a three-year contract for the netminder on Wednesday.
Stezka, 28, was set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He was a fourth-round pick of the Wild back in 2015 but never signed with them, spending his entire professional career in Czechia until landing an entry-level contract with Seattle in 2023.
The 6’4″ netminder spent his first season on the West Coast as the No. 4 option on the depth chart and the backup in AHL Coachella Valley to veteran Chris Driedger, logging a strong 2.48 GAA, .914 SV%, two shutouts, and an 18-6-2 record in 27 appearances. While he could have been a UFA last summer as well, the Kraken liked what they saw and wanted to keep him around for another season, especially since they didn’t plan to re-sign Driedger. He accepted a rather rich two-way extension for 2024-25 as a result, paying him a $300K minors salary.
2024-25 wasn’t as smooth a campaign for Coachella Valley as a whole, particularly in the goaltending department. Stezka’s numbers regressed to a 3.07 GAA, .899 SV%, and 9-12-9 record in 26 games as he lost the starter’s crease to 21-year-old Niklas Kokko. He still got his first NHL start, though, and spent a couple of weeks on the roster while veteran Philipp Grubauer was sent to the minors in an effort to jumpstart his game. He allowed three goals on 23 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning on Feb. 23, which will likely stand as his lone career NHL appearance when all is said and done.
With some other young goalies in the Seattle system looking for more AHL time next season, there wasn’t a logical fit for Stezka moving forward. He’ll return to the Extraliga, where he was named the league’s best goalie in 2022-23 following a 2.14 GAA and .924 SV% with HC Vítkovice in 39 games, instead of pursuing another NHL contract. He has a career 2.45 GAA, .913 SV%, six shutouts, and a 49-42-0 record in 92 games in the top Czech league.