The Edmonton Oil Kings have turned their focus to defence. The club has recently announced the commitment of Czech Republic-born defenseman Simon Kubicek for the 2021-22 WHL season.
The club originally acquired him from the Seattle Thunderbirds in a trade involving two conditional picks being swapped and forward Vladimir Alistrov heading to Washington state. However, Kubicek did not immediately join the Oil Kings.
Kubicek, born in 2001 and shoots right, will finally come to Edmonton after spending the 2020-21 season on loan to various Czech League teams. He played parts of nine games for HC Stadion Litomerice of the Czech League and recorded four points. He also played 21 games for Motor Ceske Budejovice of Czech Extraglia and had three points.
He has extensive experience playing internationally for the Czech Republic from U16 all the way to U20 tournaments. Kubicek has played at the IIHF U20 World Junior Championship for the last two seasons. In 2020-21 he played in four games for the Czech Republic, tallied two points in the tournament, and had a +/- rating of +1. At the 2019-20 World Juniors, he was named a “Top Three Player on Team” and had three points in five games at the tournament.
Kubicek has not played in the WHL since the 2019-20 season. As a Thunderbird that season, he had a breakout campaign with 27 points in 52 games. Perhaps his greatest asset was his shot. He has a rocket of a release from the blue line and the slot.
In 113 career WHL games, he has 55 points and was originally drafted by the Thunderbirds in the second round, #89 overall at the 2018 CHL Import Draft.
His talents have not gone unnoticed. The young man has certainly turned a few heads over the last couple of seasons. In fact, he was ranked by NHL Central Scouting for the 2020 NHL Draft at #136.
The Oil Kings secure a quality defender with a wealth of hockey experience at various high levels. Kubicek could be a steady presence on the backend with his seasoned resume and also be a secret weapon on the power play. He will have plenty of opportunities to be fed the biscuit from one of the many skilled forwards in the Oil Kings arsenal. Although he has been away from the WHL for some time, Kubicek comes into a prime situation in Edmonton, where he has a chance to step in right away and be an impact defenceman.
