Image credit: HC Energie Karlovy Vary

By Marty Hastings

CZECHIA PIPELINE

Clouston says second overall import pick Zahejsky part of bright Blazers’ future

Jul 3, 2024 | 6:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Video of Vit Zahejsky scoring a Michigan goal is making rounds on social media.

The visuals are both good for ticket sales on Mark Recchi Way and a window into why the Kamloops Blazers nabbed the forward from Plzen, Czechia, with the second overall pick in the 2024 CHL Import Draft.

“He does have really good skill and is an excellent skater,” said Blazers’ head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston, who made the pick on Wednesday (July 3). “He’s getting a little bit bigger and stronger and had a good end to his season. He plays with energy and pace. I think he’ll fit in nicely to what we do here.”

Zahejsky, who turns 17 on Aug. 10, is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound, right-shot forward whose statistics with HC Energie Karlovy Vary indicate potential.

Last season, he tallied 19 goals and 39 points in 42 games as a 16-year-old in the Czechia U20 League. He added 12 points in five games while playing that season in the Czechia U17 League.

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Zahejsky recorded 27 goals and 67 points in 36 games in 2022-2023, the numbers good enough for the 15-year-old to tie for the scoring title in the Czechia U17 League.

“You can figure out who the good players are, with different draft lists and prospects’ lists, various sources, but now you have to determine who is coming,” Clouston said, noting scouting for the import draft is an agent-driven process.

“The pool isn’t extremely large of players who plan on coming. There was a connection. We were able to get real good information and intel on the player.”

Zahejsky shares agency representation with Blazers’ defenceman Matteo Koci, who was selected by Kamloops in the 2023 import draft and plans to return for his 19-year-old campaign.

Koci and Zahejsky were also roommates and teammates during the 2021-2022 season with HC Energie Karlovy Vary, despite the two-year age difference.

Clouston said Koci returned home to Czechia this spring and watched Zahejsky score goals in five consecutive post-season games HC Energie Karlovy Vary, adding a few more positive notes to the Blazers’ scouting file on the European prospect.

“We had lots of names,” Clouston said. “We kind of kept coming back to this player. There were a lot of other teams that had interest. With where we were picking, we jumped ahead of some of the teams out here we knew had interest.”

The Blazers selected defenceman Vojtech Vochvest of Czechia in the 2023 import draft, along with Koci. They traded 19-year-old Vochvest to the Prince George Cougars on May 30 in exchange for 20-year-old forward Oren Shtrom.

Zahejsky notched one goal and four points in eight games for Czechia at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and is expected to play for his country next month at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton.

Clouston said there is no doubt about the import pick’s commitment to playing in Kamloops and he expects to ice a strong group of 2007-born forwards, including Zahejsky, Nathan Behm, Tommy Lafreniere, Andrew Thomson and Zach Pantelakis.

“They all have potential to be drafted,” Clouston said. “We feel like this is a really strong age group that for the next three years can work together, develop and grow.”