5th year right wing Petr Straka(83) decided it was time to return home after not finding a new NHL deal heading into 2017/2018 as a group 6 unrestricted free agent.
He first signed with hometown club HC Plzen of Tipsport liga but was recently traded to HC Dukla Jihlava.
Not exactly a player to put up huge numbers, he did have a fairly successful final season in Philadelphia Flyers‘ system with affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms (19-18-37) and signed a one-year extension but an early season trade sent him to New Jersey Devils, where an injury limited his time to only 38 AHL games for Albany Devils but he also failed to appear in any playoff games, so the writing was on the wall.
It’s kind of odd as in the only 3 NHL games he ever skated he logged a pair of assists and was a +1 but never received another look.
The 25-year old may be content back where he knows his hockey but could also blossom and look to another higher level overseas to continue his game.
Petr Straka (24)
Czech Republic-born rookie right wing Petr Straka(24) was originally a Columbus Blue Jackets‘ 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft (#55 overall) but went unsigned until Philadelphia Flyers stepped in with a 3-year entry level deal for the 2009/2010 QMJHL Rookie Of The Year.
In four seasons of junior hockey he was a point-per-game producer (97-111-208 in 212 contests).
He attended a pair of Blue Jackets‘ training camps but they remained under-impressed allowing him to explore other options.
The seemingly smaller than he measures, 6’ 195 lbs. forward starts his first pro season with minor league affiliate Adirondack Phantoms, where in 28 AHL games he has put up 5 goals and 10 assists with a +1 rating on a team that’s just below the playoff bubble.
At just 21-years old, he looks to be a player that has all the promise to explode on the score sheet but for now he’s maybe playing his game a bit under the NHL radar.