The Penguins signed undrafted Czech forward Radim Zohorna to a one-year, two-way entry-level contract on Wednesday.
Zohorna's agent said in a Czech press release that eight other NHL teams were in the mix for Zohorna, but once the Penguins showed interest, "it was practically decided. ... It was clear that there was huge respect for him from this organization."
Zohorna added in the release that he was a Penguins fan when he was a child, and owned Jaromir Jagr and Marty Straka jerseys.
"I've always liked the club, so I'm so glad I'm going there," he said. "It is a hockey city, and they've had great results in the past and in the present years."
Zohorna spoke about being anxious to meet Sidney Crosby, and said he has "no idea" how he'll react to seeing him. He added that he "will probably have to prepare an introductory sentence" for when he meets Crosby in training camp.
What kind of player did the Penguins get in Zohorna? Let’s take a look:
RADIM ZOHORNA
Position: Center/wing
Height: 6-6
Weight: 233
Age: 24
Shoots: Left
BACKGROUND
Zohorna is a native of Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic. In the last six seasons, he's played in 173 games in the top Czech league, the Extraliga, and 93 games in the second-level Czech league.
Zohorna played for HC Kometa Brno in his first four professional seasons, and was traded to BK Mlada Boleslav midway through the 2018-19 season. The 2019-20 season was the first year in which he spent the entire season in the Extraliga without any games in the Czech 2 league.
Zohorna is a two-time Extraliga champion, winning with Brno back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. He spent time on a line with Martin Erat during Brno's 2018 championship run.
Zohorna has played for the senior Czech national team in smaller international tournaments, including the Swedish Hockey Games last February. He was linemates with his two older brothers -- 32-year-old Tomas and 29-year-old Hynek. It was the first time in Czech national team history that three brothers played on the same team.
Zohorna's oldest bother, Tomas has played for the Amur Khabarovsk in the KHL for the past five seasons, and middle brother Hynek joined him there last season. Prior to joining Khabarovsk, Hynek spent a year in Finland, and played with Radim in Brno in the Czech league. Both Tomas and Hynek have represented the Czech Republic in the World Championships, and were teammates with Dominik Simon in 2019.
STATS
This season, Zohorna appeared in 56 games for Mlada Boleslav, and set career highs in goals (10), assists (12) and points (22).
In 2018-19, Zohorna scored six goals and six assists in 47 total Extraliga games, split between Brno and Mlada Boleslav. He said in his agency's press release that he did receive offers from NHL teams last summer after that season, and he was encouraged by his brother Tomas to move to the NHL, but he didn't feel ready to make the move until this summer.
In his professional career, Zohorna has recorded a total of 28 goals, 27 assists and 55 points in 173 career Extraliga games. He's scored 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in in 30 career playoff games.
STRENGTHS
Jim Rutherford called Zohorna a "smart player with good hockey sense that uses his big size to his advantage." One area where that size is an advantage is in the crease, where Zohorna is able to use his 6-foot-6 frame to effectively create screens and get redirect chances:
Even with his size, Zohorna is a strong, mobile skater. But don't expect him to use that size to fight.
"I have never fought in my life. Maybe I'm so tall that no one wants to fight with me," he told Indes.cz in 2018. "I don't even know how to do it. I don't get into it much yet, but at the worst I would go for it."
Rutherford also said that Zohorna is also capable of playing all three forward positions -- center and both wings.
Zohorna said in his agency's press release that he's comfortable speaking English, but that he's also currently taking more classes in order to get more comfortable.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Zohorna said in the press release that he isn't even thinking about ending up in the AHL.
"My goal is to do everything I can to stay on the Penguins' first team," he said. "It is clear to me that this will be a very difficult task, but I can't have a smaller (goal). I'm not thinking about going to the farm team at the moment."
Still, I can't imagine Zohorna starting the year in Pittsburgh. He'll likely begin the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but could potentially earn a midseason call up if he adjusts well to the North American game.
