According to a team announcement, the DEL’s Kölner Haie have signed veteran forward Dominik Uher to a contract for the 2025-26 season. It’ll be Uher’s eighth consecutive season in the DEL, and his first outside the Fischtown Pinguins organization.
It’s been a decade since Uher had any relevance in North American hockey. The Frydek-Mistek, Czechia native was drafted 144th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2011 NHL Draft after a relatively productive career with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs.
Uher began playing for the Penguins organization during the 2012-13 campaign, scoring four goals and seven points in 53 games for their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He improved considerably the following year, scoring seven goals and 24 points in 68 games with a +9 rating.
Despite a relatively tepid showing with the WBS Penguins from 2015 to 2016, the Penguins called up Uher in late December of the 2014-15 season, allowing him to make his NHL debut. He went scoreless across two games, averaging 6:28 of ice time with a -1 rating.
Uher returned to his native Czechia following the 2015-16 AHL season, signing on with the Extraliga’s HC Sparta Praha. He scored 10 goals and 28 points with a +8 rating in 98 games before transferring to the DEL, where he’s been ever since.
Given that it’s been the longest stay he’s had with a team in his professional career, there’s no doubt why Uher has had the most success in the DEL with the Pinguins. Throughout his seven years with the club, Uher has scored 46 goals and 127 points in 300 games, adding another five goals and nine points in 39 playoff contests.
The off-season move we’ve all been waiting for.