SEATTLE, Wash. — June 30, 2024 — Today, the Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) announced that they have signed goaltender Ales Stezka to a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 AAV).
Stezka, 27, posted an 18-6-2 record with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023-24, finishing the year with a 2.48 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and two shutouts. He won seven consecutive games from Jan. 19 to March 9, posting a .936 save percentage during that span. Stezka ranked 12th in the AHL among qualified goaltenders in both goals-against average and save percentage. The 2023-24 season marked his first year playing professional hockey in North America.
Prior to his AHL debut, he posted 25-14-0 record with HC Vítkovice of the Czech Extraliga, the top men’s professional league in Czechia, in 2022-23 finishing the year second in the division with a .925 save percentage, 2.14 goals-against average and five shutouts. He ranked in the top five in the league in 2022-23 in save percentage (fourth), goals-against average (fifth) and shutouts (tied for fourth) among goaltenders that played in at least 20 games. He also appeared in 12 games during the postseason, finishing HC Vítkovice’s playoff run with a 6-6 record, .960 save percentage and a 1.24 goals-against average. His .960 save percentage was the best mark of any goaltender during the postseason that appeared in at least 10 games.
The six-foot-five, 203-pound netminder played six seasons (2017-18 to 2022-23) in Czechia’s top and second-tier professional leagues. In total, he posted a 49-42-0 record with a .913 save percentage, 2.45 goals-against average and six shutouts in 92 regular-season Czech Exrtaliga games. Stezka finished the 2021-22 campaign leading all goaltenders with 24 wins. In 125 regular-season games with the second-tier league, he posted a 49-74-0 record with an .897 save percentage, a 3.28 goals-against average and six shoutouts.
Prior to making his professional debut, Stezka played two seasons (2015-16 to 2016-17) in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Sioux Falls Stampede (2015-16) and the Chicago Steel (2016-17), backstopping the Steel to a Clark Cup Championship in 2017. A native of Plzen, Stezka represented his country at the IIHF U-20 World Junior Championship in 2016. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 2015 NHL Draft (fourth round, 111th overall).