Red Wings Sign Free Agent Defenseman Libor Sulak
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed defenseman Libor Sulak to a two-year entry-level contract.
Sulak, 23, has spent the past two seasons playing for Orli Znojmo, a Czech team that competes in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, the top professional league in Austria. In 2016-17, Sulak placed fourth on the team with 28 points (10-18-28) and a team-best plus-19 rating, adding a club-leading three goals in four postseason games. He also made his debut with the Czech Republic men's national team this year, logging one assist in two games at the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Germany and France. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound blueliner has appeared in 106 games for Orli Znojmo over the past two seasons, totaling 46 points (16-30-46), a plus-19 rating and 55 penalty minutes, in addition to nine points (5-4-9) in 22 playoff games. He was the league's rookie of the year in 2016, picking up 18 points (6-12-18) in 62 games. Sulak also has professional experience in his home country, registering four points (2-2-4) in 32 games in 2013-14 for Pirati Chomutov in the top Czech league and adding 11 points (4-7-11) for SK Kadan in 39 games between 2012-15 in the Czech Republic's second-tier league.
Prior to turning professional, the Pelhrimov, Czech Republic, native registered 39 points (19-20-39), a plus-16 rating and 50 penalty minutes in the Czech junior league for HC Havlickuv Brod and KLH Chomutov between 2010-15, helping Chomutov to back-to-back league championships in 2014 and 2015 with a combined 10 points (9-1-10) in 14 playoff games. He also spent the 2011-12 season with Tatranski Vlci in Russia's junior league, recording 11 points (6-5-11) in 50 games. In addition to his experience at this month's World Championship, Sulak skated for the Czech Republic at the 2012 IIHF World Under-18 Championship and the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship, totaling three assists and eight penalty minutes in 11 games over the two tournaments.