Montreal Canadiens sign Michal Moravčík and David Sklenička
The Montreal Canadiens bring their search for talent to Europe as they sign Michal Moravčík and David Sklenička from the Pilsen Indians.
It started in the college system when the Laval Rocket signed Adam Plant to an AHL contract for next season. The Montreal Canadiens began bringing in players from the CHL in Hayden Verbeek and Alexandre Alain. Now it looks like the search has moved over to Europe.
Michal Moravčík and David Sklenička will both be leaving the Pilsen Indians to join the Habs overseas next season. Both are defenceman who were named and played for Team Czech Republic at the World Hockey Champions.
Moravčík is 23 and a bigger body standing at six-foot-four and 212 pounds. He put up 5 goals and 11 assists in 52 games for the Indians and added 1 goal and 2 assists at the Worlds. A scouting report for laola1 considered Moravčík as one of the better defencemen in the league.
Sklenička is slightly younger and smaller in stature. He stands at five-foot-eleven and 181 pounds. Sklenička had fewer numbers with Pilsen and the Czech Republic as well with 14 and 2 point performances respectively.
The original report mentioned the two defencemen’s skating and offensive capabilities that got them a lot of attention at the tournament. Playing for the Czech Republic was a way to display their skills and earn an opportunity in the NHL, and they did it with the Montreal Canadiens.
It’s a similar path to what Jakub Jerabek did. Marc Bergevin signed him out of the KHL, but he also played in that year’s World Hockey Championships. Jerabek started the season in the minors with Laval, but a clause in his contract required him to be called up.
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Once in the NHL, he proved that he had what it took to play but couldn’t get a consistent stint with the other blueliners Claude Julien wanted to play. He was eventually traded to the Washington Capitals. Hopefully, both Moravčík and Sklenička have a better and more fluid time with the Montreal Canadiens.
Edit: Original Report from Patrik Bexell of Habs Eyes on the Prize