Photo: Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
In the secound round of the NHL Draft, the Capitals traded up, dealing the 44th and 74th overall picks to Buffalo in exchange for the 39th overall selection, Czech goaltender Vitek Vanecek from Bily Tygri Liberec of the Czech Elite League.
This is a surprise pick as Vanecek was not ranked highly by most, excluding NHL Central Scouting, who had him ranked eighth among European goaltenders.
There is not much we know about Vanecek: he’s 6-foot-1, weighs 189 pounds, and will begin the season on loan with HC Benatky nad Jizerou of the Czech second league.
Just like the Caps’ first-round pick, Jakub Vrana, Vanecek played for the Czech U18 team that surprisingly went all the way to the World Champs final.
