The Sabres have reassigned top defense prospect Radim Mrtka to AHL Rochester to finish the season, per a team announcement. He had been on loan to his junior team, the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
Unlike most players making the jump from juniors to the AHL this time of year, Mrtka won’t be making his pro debut, or even his season debut for Rochester when he inevitably suits up. Last year’s ninth overall pick only spent a portion of the season with Seattle, playing the other half with HC Ocelari Trinec in his native Czechia, meaning he isn’t subject to the NHL’s transfer agreement with the Canadian Hockey League. As such, the Sabres had a choice during training camp whether to cut him to Rochester or Seattle.
They initially chose the former. The two-way Mrtka, who checks in at 6’6″ and 218 lbs, ended up with one assist and an even rating through only four games before Buffalo decided a full year of WHL top-pairing deployment and domination would be the better path for his development.
Mrtka’s physical dominance was on full display. Buffalo was likely hoping for more of a production jump out of him, however. After posting a 3-32–35 scoring line in 43 games for the Thunderbirds last season, he had a strikingly similar output of 1-33–34 in 43 outings this time around. He also went without a point in five games for the Czechs at the World Juniors.
Mrtka was still far and away the best defender on a Seattle blue line that didn’t have much else to offer. They’re hoping his relative lack of point production was a result of the Thunderbirds “only” scoring 3.28 goals per game, a pedestrian figure by WHL standards.
He’ll now return to Rochester as they look to wrap up a likely berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs in the coming days. An especially strong training camp could vault him into the conversation for a roster spot in the fall, but it’s more likely he’ll be heading back to Rochester before being a more serious competitor for an NHL job in 2027-28.