| Aleš Stezka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 6, 1997, Plzeň, Czech Republic |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Goaltender |
| Catches | Left |
| Playing career | 2017–present |
Aleš Stezka (born January 6, 1997) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 111th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2015.[1]
Playing career[]
Stezka played junior hockey with the regional Czech team HC Meteor Třemošná before he joined the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga (ELH) in 2010.[2][3]
Play in North America[]
In the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Stezka was selected 111th overall by the Minnesota Wild. He spent the 2015–16 season with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL and the following season (2016–17) with the Chicago Steel of the same league.[4]
Return to Czech Republic[]
After the 2016-17 season, Stezka returned to the Czech Republic, playing for Liberec, where he formed a goalkeeping duo with Roman Will.[5] During the season, he played only two games with Liberec and another twenty-seven on loan with HC Benátky nad Jizerou of the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League, where he alternated in goal with Josef Kořenář.
Stezka spent the next season (2018–19) on loan with Piráti Chomutov of the ELH and HC Slovan Ústí nad Labem of the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League. He then spent the following two seasons playing for AZ Havířov.[6] He then started playing for HC Vítkovice Ridera of the ELH, where he spent two seasons.[7] At the end of the 2022–23 season, representatives of the newspaper Právo honored him when they chose him as the best goalkeeper of the Extraliga.[8]
Seattle Kraken[]
Following the 2022–23 season, Stezka moved to North America, where he signed a 1-year, entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL), taking effect in the 2023–24 season.[9] He participated in the Kraken’s training camp, and was then sent down to the Kraken’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He achieved his first AHL shutout against the Abbotsford Canucks on January 6, 2024, in a 4–0 win.[10]
International play[]
Stezka played with the Czech Republic men's national under-18 ice hockey team during the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championship. The Czech Republic was eliminated in a 3–2 loss to Canada, in which Stezka made 22 saves.[11] The next year, he played with the Czech Republic men's national junior ice hockey team in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships.[12]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2015–16 | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 19 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1014 | 56 | 1 | 3.32 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Chicago Steel | USHL | 37 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 2154 | 82 | 4 | 2.28 | .916 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 796 | 27 | 3 | 2.04 | .812 | ||
| 2017–18 | HC Bílí Tygři Liberec | ELH | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 7 | 0 | 4.20 | .868 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017-18 | HC Benátky nad Jizerou (loan) | CZE.3 | 27 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 1397 | 113 | 0 | 4.85 | .858 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Piráti Chomutov (loan) | ELH | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 235 | 15 | 0 | 3.83 | .883 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | HC Slovan Ústí nad Labem (loan) | CZE.3 | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 1641 | 103 | 1 | 3.77 | .903 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | AZ Havířov | CZE.3 | 50 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 2928 | 125 | 4 | 2.56 | .909 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | AZ Havířov | CZE.3 | 20 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1184 | 50 | 1 | 2.53 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–22 | HC Vítkovice Ridera | ELH | 46 | 24 | 21 | 0 | 2736 | 116 | 1 | 2.54 | .910 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 491 | 18 | 0 | 2.20 | .923 | ||
| 2022–23 | HC Vítkovice Ridera | ELH | 39 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 2382 | 85 | 5 | 2.14 | .924 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 874 | 18 | 2 | 1.24 | .960 | ||
| ELH totals | 92 | 49 | 42 | 0 | 5453 | 223 | 6 | 2.45 | .896 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 1365 | 36 | 2 | 1.72 | .942 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Czechia U-18 | IIHF World U18 Championship | 6th | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 105 | 6 | 0 | 3.46 | .908 | |
| 2016 | Czechia | IIHF World Junior Championship | 5th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 7.50 | .800 | |
| Junior totals | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 145 | 11 | 0 | 5.48 | .854 | ||||
References[]
- ↑ Wild, Iowa. MINNESOTA SELECTS SEVEN AT THE 2015 NHL ENTRY DRAFT | Iowa Wild (en).
- ↑ Historie klubu - HC Meteor Třemošná.
- ↑ Profil hráče Aleš Stezka (cs).
- ↑ Ales Stezka kicks off Hockey Wilderness’ 2017 Top-25 Under-25 (en-US) (2017-09-04).
- ↑ Aleš Stezka.
- ↑ TOP 100 hráčů sezony: Aleš Stezka (36. místo) | Hokej.cz - web českého hokeje.
- ↑ iDNES.cz, ČTK (2023-04-20). Vítkovice potvrdily odchody brankáře Stezky, Kocha a Lindberga (cs).
- ↑ Stezka získal Cenu Práva pro nejlepšího gólmana extraligy: Jsem o dost klidnější brankář i člověk - Sport.cz (cs) (2023-05-06).
- ↑ Beg, Zaiem (2023-05-02). Kraken sign goalie Ales Stezka to entry-level contract (en-US).
- ↑ Rotolo, Gina (2024-01-07). Ales Stezka Collects First AHL Shutout in 4-0 Win Over Abbotsford (en-US).
- ↑ Canada beats Czechs 3-2, remains undefeated at U18 world hockey championship (en) (2015-04-19).
- ↑ Tribune, Michael Russo Star. World junior tournament offers glimpse of Wild's future.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database