The success of last year’s European signings has the Edmonton Oilers getting an early start this spring in procuring young talent from overseas. The first addition this year is undersized skill defenceman Tomas Cibulka, who has played the past two seasons in Czechia’s top league for his hometown HC Motor Ceske Budejovice.

He’s a smaller defenceman (listed at 6-foot, 176 pounds in the media release) and at 21 still has room to grow as a player. Cibulka’s scouting reports are sparse, but we are told his foot speed is a positive, and the offensive numbers rhyme with the definition of an offence-first blueliner. There’s so little on this player in terms of public scouting reports that it reminds one of the time two decades ago when Oilers scouting directors would use phrases like “the area scout had a great passion for him,” which was, and is, not helpful at all.

With so little verbal in the scouting report, there’s only one area to mine. We’ll have to rely on math to estimate the value of the signing.

Czechia grads

The Oilers have been blessed with exceptional talent over the years from Czechia. The style of play from the nation varies, including unique former Oilers like Jaroslav Pouzar (who was a steamroller on skates), Ales Hemsky (a stunning puck handler with elite passing skills) and Ladislav Smid (an effective shutdown defender with size).

In recent seasons, the Czech league has gifted NHL teams with several defencemen of note, giving us an opportunity to find a direct comparable. They include Filip Hronek, who has been in the NHL for eight seasons and owns a similar skill set to Cibulka. Hronek is listed at 6-foot, 190 pounds (he’s 28) on the NHL website; David Spacek, who’s 23, is another comparable player with similar skills and some NHL experience.

When using comparables, it is important to note things that are dissimilar about each player. Hronek was a second-round draft pick in 2016 (Detroit Red Wings), Spacek a fifth-round selection in 2022 (Minnesota Wild), while Cibulka went undrafted. That makes a direct comp to both players difficult,

Comparable junior players

If we line up each of the three Czechia defencemen in the same league and the same age, can we see how much of a production gap Cibulka was looking at as a teenager? We can get close.

Hronek played his 18-year-old season with the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. He finished second in team scoring, posted more than a point per game, and his plus-15 at even strength led his team. He was selected No. 53 in the 2016 draft and delivered in his only junior season. Hronek would be in the AHL before the end of that one junior campaign, and made the NHL at 20.

Spacek played his 18-year-old season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL in 2021-22. He finished just shy of a point per game (50 points in 57 games) but was the top-scoring defenceman on the team. Spacek would record 13 points in 11 playoff games that spring. He was in the AHL at 20, and has made an NHL appearance (two games) this season with the Wild.

Cibulka was also in the QMJHL at age 18, and was the top-scoring defenceman that season for the Val d’Or Foreurs. Cibulka played for a poor team and had a better-than-average on-ice goal share at even strength compared to the rest of the team. He wasn’t close to a point per game (just 37 points in 68 games), so we have confirmation (via draft and math) that he was shy of Hronek and Spacek at 18.

Has he developed since then? If we’re going to put Cibulka in the category of a legit NHL prospect, it will require putting significant weight on late development.

Comparable players at 21

We are looking for undersized defencemen with good boots and skill, who played at 21 in Czechia and then enjoyed North American success. Using seasons from the Czech league from the last 15 years, we get this list of comparable players (age 21):

PlayerYearPts-GameNHL GP

Radim Simek

2014-15

0.49

209

Tomas Cibulka

2025-26

0.47

0

Michal Kempny

2012-13

0.27

247

Jakub Jerabek

2012-13

0.16

37

All numbers via hockeydb

It’s a small list considering the number of years considered, but the size and skill sets have some things in common, including the fact that none were drafted by an NHL team.

Radim Simek is 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, and caught on with the San Jose Sharks for five seasons beginning in 2018-19. He was more physical than the description of Cibulka, but had similar offensive success. Simek remains an effective player and is back in the Czech league in 2025-26.

Michal Kempny enjoyed a significant NHL career. He was a little bigger (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) than the rest of this group, but was an effective puck mover. Kempny helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, and should be considered the outer marker comparable for Cibulka.

Jakub Jerabek is probably the best comparable based on what little we know about Cibulka. He’s 5-foot-10, 194 pounds and was known for his mobility and puck-moving skill. Jerabek never played for the Oilers, but the club did sign him as a free agent in August 2018 (and then traded him to the Washington Capitals 42 days later).

Bottom line

Jerabek had auditions with four NHL teams, playing a total of 37 games. That’s a “tweener” defined as a player who excels at all levels but the highest league in the sport. Jerabek went back to Czechia in 2019 and has been a productive player since.

Perhaps the best recommendation for Cibulka is the Oilers’ track record in spring free-agent signings from Europe one year ago:

Josh Samanski is currently with the Oilers after a productive (8-23-31 in 45 games, 35-29 even strength goals) start in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors.
Viljami Marjala has emerged as a top skill centre in Bakersfield (49 points in 62 games) after a mediocre start.
Atro Leppanen also started slowly, but has been money (8-10-18 in his last 23 games, with a 22-16 goal share at even strength).

NHL teams are loath to credit scouts, but general manager Stan Bowman’s European scouting group would appear to include Kalle Larsson (senior director of player development) and Tobias Salmelainen (European player acquisition and development), among others.

The scouting report above on Cibulka doesn’t give us much. A search for comparable talents from past years and leagues gives us some idea about expectation (Jerabek seems the best comp), but there is much that is unknown. The process Edmonton management used to acquire Samanski and other European talents one year ago appears to be in full swing this spring. The results will start coming in around mid-October.