{"id":607433,"date":"2026-06-26T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/607433\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T06:00:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T06:00:30","slug":"la-kings-playing-options-for-vojtech-cihar-in-2026-27-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/607433\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Kings: Playing options for Vojt\u011bch \u010ciha\u0159 in 2026-27 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The LA Kings<\/a>\u2018 second-round pick from the 2025 NHL draft, Vojt\u011bch \u010ciha\u0159<\/a>, has quite a few options on where to play in this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

\u010ciha\u0159, 19, played in Czechia and the WHL (Kelowna Rockets) during a long 2025-26 season. In between, he helped Czechia win a silver medal at the U-20 World Juniors and won MVP of the tournament with 12 points in seven games.<\/p>\n

Under old CHL-NHL transfer agreement rules, 19-year-olds weren\u2019t eligible to play in the AHL unless they had a late birthday. For example, in the 2024-25 season, Koehn Ziemmer<\/a> was 19 at the start of the season and turned 20 on December 8th, 2024. By rule, he was eligible to play in the AHL that season despite being 19 at the start of it.<\/p>\n

Now, under the new CHL-NHL transfer agreement, teams are allowed to place one 19-year-old first-round pick playing in the CHL (OHL, QMJHL, and WHL) on their AHL affiliate. For \u010ciha\u0159, those rules, under the old and upcoming collective bargaining agreement, don\u2019t apply.<\/p>\n

Being drafted in the WHL by the Kelowna Rockets as a European import, \u010ciha\u0159 has quite a few options on where he could play next year.<\/p>\n

What could they be?<\/p>\n

Option 1 \u2013 Back to Europe<\/p>\n

This option is highly unlikely, so I will keep it short. \u010ciha\u0159 played in the Czech Extraliga with HC Energie Karlovy before making his way to North America in the WHL. \u010ciha\u0159 could return to his hometown, Czechia, for this upcoming season, then the AHL the following year, but that makes no sense after he joined the Kelowna Rockets this past season to improve his development. It\u2019s still an option for him and the Kings, but one that I think they won\u2019t entertain the thought of.<\/p>\n

Option 2 \u2013 Another year in the WHL<\/p>\n

Hey, why not?<\/p>\n

A full season in the WHL wouldn\u2019t hurt his development. Playing another full season in the WHL for \u010ciha\u0159 would allow him to play alongside and against his peers in a scoring role if the Kings feel he isn\u2019t physically ready to handle pro hockey in North America.<\/p>\n

Option 3 \u2013 AHL debut<\/p>\n

Lastly, professional hockey on North American soil. Remember, the CHL-NHL transfer agreement rules don\u2019t apply to him since he was drafted as a European import in the WHL draft by Kelowna.<\/p>\n

If \u010ciha\u0159 and the Kings take this path, it would be a similar one that Jakub Dvo\u0159\u00e1k<\/a> and the Kings took before the 2024-25 season. Play in Europe and transition to the WHL in his D+1 year, then play with the Ontario Reign the following year. The only difference is that \u010ciha\u0159 played for Czechia at the World Juniors in between his stops in Europe and the WHL.<\/p>\n

Having already played as a professional in his hometown of Czechia, \u010ciha\u0159 is no stranger to the pro game. If the Kings choose to go the same route they did with Dvo\u0159\u00e1k two years ago and feel \u010ciha\u0159 is ready physically and mature enough to turn pro in North America as a 19-year-old, they certainly can choose to.<\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Nick Wosika\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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