The Tampa Bay Lightning signed 2016 second round draft selection and defenseman Libor Hajek to an entry-level contract Tuesday.
During the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo, the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to trade one of their highly touted defensive prospects for something different. The team shipped defenseman Anthony DeAngelo to the Arizona Coyotes for the 37th overall pick in the draft, and with that pick, Tampa Bay selected another defenseman.
That selection was Libor Hajek, an 18-year-old (at the time) Czech blueliner who was playing with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Hajek is still playing in Saskatoon, but he officially joined the Tampa Bay Lightning organization after signing a three-year, two-way entry-level contract this morning.
As usual, the financial aspects of his contract have not been disclosed, but Hajek is now a member of the organization, and he’ll likely earn the opportunity to compete with other Lightning defensive prospects looking to claim roster spots.
We have signed our 2016 second round pick Libor Hajek (@libas42) to a three-year, entry-level contract.
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 21, 2017
📝: https://t.co/Hmap4OgYSd pic.twitter.com/9liPq7qgfh
Hajek began his career with the Blades at the start of the 2015-16 WHL season, and in 134 career games with them, he’s compiled 52 points, including 45 assists over the past two seasons. In addition, the 19-year-old Czech defenseman has played internationally for his home country, including 10 games in the World Junior Classic and several others in various international tournaments.
According to the Bolt Prospects’ official scouting report, Hajek “owns a very projectable frame (6-2) and has great mobility. He can play a strong, shutdown role with some physicality. Has the raw tools to produce points, but hasn’t been able to showcase that side of his game with much success so far.”
Some of his weaknesses include filling “out his frame in order to maximize output at the NHL level” and others, according to the same report. It’s projected that he could be a nice fit for the Lightning in the future as a Top 4, two-way defenseman.
Al Murray, the Tampa Bay Lightning Director of Amateur Scouting, shared his thoughts on the defenseman during the draft, saying,
"“He’s a bigger body, a very solid two-way player … Libor Hajek was a ‘safer bet’ to be able to adapt both offensively and defensively to NHL than DeAngelo … You watch Libor Hajek play on a really weak Saskatoon team and he just plays as hard as he can every shift all night long and his coach, who has just left the team to take an assistant position in Buffalo, couldn’t say enough good things about him through the course of the year. On a weak team, he showed up and competed hard against the best players in the league every night when he could have folded his tent.”"
The Syracuse Crunch also signed Hajek to an amateur tryout contract, and he will wear No. 24 for the Crunch.
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Defenseman Libor Hajek is now a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization after signing an entry-level contract, and he’ll get the chance to develop in one of the top organizations for talent in the league. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops over the years, and we’ll see if he gets the opportunity to one day bring his talents to the NHL.