Comet has chosen a replacement for Furch, awaiting Stezk’s return from overseas

The 27-year-old native of Pilsen caught twenty-seven games in the AHL for Coachella in the ending season. In them, he scored 18 victories, two clean sheets and a success rate of 91.4 percent.

He did not get into Seattle’s goal in his rookie season, which came eight years after he was drafted into the NHL by Minnesota. In the fall, he was slowed down by problems with his knee, in which doctors discovered an infection.

In the extra league, Stezka presented himself in the jerseys of Liberec, Chomutov and Vítkovice, where he made his biggest name. In the 2022/23 season, he significantly helped them advance to the semi-finals of the playoffs, made it to the national team and was named the best goalkeeper in the extra league. These performances earned him an invitation to the NHL.

However, he went to the AHL with a two-way contract. “I reckon I’ll start on the farm, where I want to claim a place. Only then can I try to deserve a chance higher. I have to be patient and I have to improve a lot of things, get used to a smaller field and a slightly different style of hockey,” he said at the time.

Now, according to information from iDNES.cz, he should return to Europe, and if that happens, he will head to Brno. There is no easy work waiting for him there either; it will be a big challenge for any goalkeeper to follow up on the excellent performances of the outgoing Dominik Furch.

In Kometa, Stezka should create a goalkeeper team with promising youngsters. Eighteen-year-old Jan Kavan has already attracted attention this season by being an excellent stand-in for Furch when he was injured, and the best goalkeeper of the first league Michal Postava from Přerov will be the third in the party in Brno.

Comet has not yet confirmed the changes in the goal area. At the moment, its boss Libor Zábranský is dealing with other concerns, he announced the takeover of the football club Zbrojovka Brno.