Today, Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga announced the signing of free agent defenseman Jakub Zboril, to a five-year deal.
Zboril, 27, is coming off of a professional try-out with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, which unfortunately didn’t end in a contract.
He split last season in between the Boston Bruins’ AHL affiliate — the Providence Bruins — and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate — the Cleveland Monsters — after being dealt by Boston alongside a pick for Andrew Peeke.
Once considered a top defensive prospect, he played in 44 games with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs in his draft year, tallying 33 points (13+20).
Thanks to his impressive play that season, the Bruins rewarded him as the first of their three first round selections in the 2015 NHL Draft.
He and the Sea Dogs would go on to reach the QMJHL finals the following season, coming up short, before winning the league in 2016-17.
At the end of his junior career, the Brno native amassed 94 points (28+66) across 144 games and three seasons in the league,
He would go on to bounce between the Bruins’ NHL and AHL team over the coming years, failing to secure a guaranteed spot on their blueline.
Once he seemed poised for a full-time role, he went down with a devastating torn ACL — after which he was never able to recoup the spot he had just won.
All in all, he played 76 games across four seasons at the NHL level, while totalling 17 points (1+15).
With his new deal being a long one, it’s quite likely that this will be the last we see of the once promising defender in North America.
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