Max Pšenička’s life was all in Czechia before January. He was born in the country, he played hockey for his country, and he started playing for HC Plzeň in the Czech Extraliga league. In the under-20 league, Pšenička was producing at a solid pace, recording 11 points in 20 games.
In January, however, Pšenička made a decision that would change his life. After his rights were traded from the Kelowna Rockets to the Portland Winterhawks a couple of months earlier, Pšenička chose to head to Oregon, Washington to play in the Western Hockey League (WHL), leaving behind his country, his family, and everything he had known for a better chance to get drafted into the NHL.
Pšenička’s gamble paid off when he was drafted by the Utah Mammoth in the second round, 46th overall. It was an achievement that took sacrifices from Pšenička and people throughout his life, but it’s one he could not be happier about.
Pšenička’s Road to Utah
Pšenička started his 2024-25 season out in the U18 international tournament, playing for his country. In 10 games, he had six points. He then returned to Czechia with HC Plzeň’s top league team. In 16 games, he scored two goals.
Pšenička then joined HC Plzeň’s U20 team. Across 20 games, the defenseman had 11 points. Outside of the great offensive output, he played a strong defensive game as well, recording a plus/minus stat line of plus-11.
“I started playing in men’s league back in Czechia,” Pšenička said. “That was really good progress for me from the previous season. I was really excited how the season went for me.”
Pšenička’s whole life had been set in Czechia, including the most important people in his life, his mom and dad. His dad had been instrumental in his hockey career, bringing him to hockey practices no matter how early or late. They did everything, including spending every penny they could to give Pšenička the best shot at playing hockey and doing it at a high level.
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“They are the most important people in my life,” Pšenička said. “My dad did everything he could for me, drove me to practices at four in the morning or late in the night. My mom did as well. They did everything they could, put a lot of money into me, into the special trainings, or other practices outside of the club. They’re the most important people to me. They did really good work and did a great job. They’re the best people in the world.”
Despite playing good hockey in Czechia and already having NHL eyes watching him, Pšenička wanted to improve his development even further. He had pretty much done everything he could in Czechia. He set his eyes on North America, more specifically Oregon.
The Winterhawks weren’t a bad team on Jan. 10. They had lost their two prior games leading up to a matchup that evening against the Brandon Wheat Kings, but were in the thick of the playoff hunt in the middle of the season. However, that day, they became a better team when Pšenička officially signed to play with them.
Pšenička didn’t appear in a game until Jan. 24, when he helped the Winterhawks take down the Tri-City Americans. He then played 23 more games with the Winterhawks, tallying a goal and six assists for seven points. While he struggled out of the gate defensively, he eventually got used to playing in the WHL and became a key player on the blue line, having more ice time than he did in Czechia.
Pšenička’s first two weeks included getting used to living and playing in Portland. While the language barrier wasn’t an issue for him because of his excellent English, the jet lag and getting used to playing with everyone did take some time. However, the Winterhawks organization welcomed him with open arms and were nothing but kind to him.
Logan Stark was considering taking some time away from being a billet mother. She and her family had helped the Winterhawks host players for the past couple of years, including Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis and former Henderson Silver Knights forward Robbie Fromm-Delorme.
However, the Winterhawks convinced her to billet a player in January, saying that he would be a person Stark would like. That player ended up being Pšenička. Stark called the decision to be his billet mother the best she made all year. Minutes after Pšenička was drafted, he made sure Stark and her family were among the first he mentioned as people who got him to the point of being drafted.
“I need to give the credit to my billet family,” Pšenička said. “They’re awesome. They’ve supported me. I think they did a really good job back in Portland. Thank you very much to you guys. Just so amazing.”
Pšenička will be living with Stark and her family again next season in Portland. Stark made sure to mention on X that he will be getting “a massive bear hug” when he gets off the flight from presumably Salt Lake City after training camp.
I FaceTimed with Max yesterday when he had a break, and let me tell you — he is SO happy. He’s worked so hard for this and now he’s one step closer to playing in the NHL. He’s absolutely getting a billet mama bear hug at the airport in August. I’m so proud of him 🥹 https://t.co/KEYjW3Am8B
— Logan Stark (@_loganstark) June 29, 2025
The Winterhawks made the playoffs with a 36-28-3-1 record. They took down the Prince George Cougars in the first round in seven games. They then dispatched the Everett Silvertips in seven games in the second round before ultimately falling to the Spokane Chiefs in the third round. Pšenička played in all 18 playoff games, recording eight points and playing decent minutes.
When it was all said and done, despite the tough playoff loss, Pšenička said coming to Oregon was the best decision he had ever made because of the strong and welcoming culture the Winterhawks have.
“Going to Portland was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life because Portland is for me,” Pšenička said. “It was the best organization I’ve ever been to yet. Everybody’s a great person there. The teammates are awesome, amazing. The coaching staff is probably the best I’ve ever had yet. I just have to put the credit in for them. They’re amazing. The teammates, oh my God, I can’t put into words. They were so amazing to me, and they gave me a really warm welcome. I was so excited to play right away.”
Max Pšenička, Utah Mammoth (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Pšenička will be back with the Winterhawks next season, where he’ll most likely get even more ice time thanks to veterans aging and leaving the team. After a week at the Mammoth’s development camp, he and the coaching staff want him to work on two things in Portland next year: gaining more weight and also working on his two-way play.
“I had a real defensive season for the most part, back in Czech, where I was a 17-year-old, playing with men,” Pšenička said. “I’m really looking for a more offensive play style this season. So more two-way play and going to the rushes and stuff like that.”
With top ice time coming for him next season with the Winterhawks, Pšenička will be able to do exactly that. It wouldn’t be surprising if he spends the summer watching film on NHL players. He is a player who models his play after multiple NHLers as he watches a lot of hockey and tries to pick out the best part of everyone’s game. It’s something that could pay off in spades as the Winterhawks hope to make another deep playoff run with Pšenička next season.
Just Happy to Be Here
Pšenička expected the Mammoth to be interested in him in the days leading up to the draft. The two sides had spoken a lot throughout the season. However, you never know what’s going to happen, so when the Mammoth called his name, he was surprised and extremely happy.
“I had a lot of talks with Utah throughout the season, so it was a little bit expected, but I still wasn’t sure,” Pšenička said. “It was unbelievable. It was amazing to hear my name. Utah, I know, is a new team, so really good opportunity for me, and I’m really excited to one day maybe play there.”
Psenicka puts on the Mammoth jersey for the first time ever.
The defenseman played with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks last season, scoring seven points in 24 games. pic.twitter.com/f5LlwFQF3n
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) June 28, 2025
Before the Mammoth’s development camp, Pšenička had never been to Salt Lake City, but he knew of one player in particular. His fellow Czech, Karel Vejmelka, who had become the Mammoth’s starting goaltender over the past year. Vejmelka is a player Pšenička is very excited to meet one day, perhaps in the fall.
However, Pšenička made sure to emphasize that he was excited to meet everyone within the Mammoth organization, both as players and human beings, showing his genuine kindness and excitement for being drafted by the Mammoth.
Pšenička has also developed himself into a multi-sport athlete. In his spare time away from the rink, he learned how to play tennis and ping pong. Recently, he’s picked up golfing, which his Winterhawks teammates have teased him for not being good at.
“I’m really good at tennis now,” Pšenička said. “I’m really trying to learn how to play golf because I was horrible at it back in Portland. Everybody laughed at me. But I’m really good at tennis and ping pong.”
Luckily for him, there are a lot of good golfing spots in Salt Lake City, and he’ll have one of the best golfers in the NHL as his teammate, Clayton Keller.
It’s been a wild ride for Pšenička as his hockey career has taken him halfway across the globe to Portland. The rest of his career will most likely take place somewhere in North America, where he hopes to one day be a part of the Mammoth.
However, Czechia was in some way with him when he got drafted at the Peacock Theater. When it was announced that the Mammoth drafted him, the first people he hugged were the ones who sacrificed the most for him: his mom and dad. While they’ll miss him as he heads off on his own journey away from Czechia, they’re super excited that his future will most likely be in the NHL, more specifically in Utah.
“My dad was super excited to see me go to Utah,” Pšenička said. “I think they were really happy with me getting drafted.”
Pšenička might take a couple of years in Portland to develop, but he’s excited to one day head to Utah. He wants the Mammoth faithful to know that when he gets to Salt Lake City one day, he’ll be a better player than when they first met him in Los Angeles, but he’ll be the same person. A person who couldn’t be kinder and happier to wear the Mammoth crest.
“I’m just a really happy kid,” Pšenička said. “I love being kind to everybody.”
It’s the type of player that fits the culture of the Mammoth well. There’s a reason why Pšenička is a well-liked person everywhere he goes, from Czechia to Portland. There’s no doubt that fans will surely fall in love with him one day in Salt Lake City as he continues his development into a strong two-way defenseman who hopes to one day help bring a Stanley Cup to Utah.
