It’s a wild day for Miroslav Holinka. On the day he starts his first NHL development camp, the Maple Leafs’ 2024 5th-round pick has also been selected by the Edmonton Oil Kings 14th overall in the CHL Import draft.
For those unfamiliar with the CHL Import draft, it is the annual opportunity for Canadian Hockey League teams to restock their available import player roster spaces from Europe. Teams have done their due diligence to ensure the players are willing to come to North America. The players are high profile draft eligible players or recent draftees looking to gain experience in North America, easing the culture shock and adjusting to the different sized rink.
Holinka getting a spot on the Oil Kings is a good opportunity for the Leafs as the organization is one of the better run clubs in the CHL and being bankrolled by the Oilers allows them to build competitive teams and sink money into quality coaches and player development personnel.
In their press release the Oil Kings stated: “The Oil Kings are proud to select Miroslav in the CHL Import Draft today,” said president and general manager Kirt Hill. “We believe this will be a great place for him to continue his development as a player in preparation for pro hockey. He is a player with a great shot and good offensive instincts. We are excited to incorporate him into our lineup this fall.”
Holinka was a different type of pick for the Maple Leafs. The Leafs haven’t drafted out of the Czech league in a long time, but Brad Treliving has had some success with players from Czechia in his draft history. As is often the case, Holinka’s numbers in the Czech pro league were underwhelming with 3 points in 16 games, typical for a young player there, but his U20 league numbers were 41 points in 29 games. For those of us who live and die by player outputs to gauge success having the 6’1 centre play in the WHL will provide a lot more context to the type of player Holinka is.
