Aleš Stezka (born 6 January 1997) is a Czech professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for

HC Kometa Brno HC Kometa Brno ("Comet" in English) is a professional ice hockey team based in Brno, Czech Republic. They play in the Czech Extraliga. Kometa is the most successful ice hockey club in the Czech Republic with 14 Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League ...

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

(ELH). He was drafted 111th overall by the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Playing career

Stezka played

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

with the regional Czech team HC Meteor Třemošná. He would join the Bílí Tygři Liberec of the

in 2010. In the 2015 NHL entry draft, Stezka was selected in the fourth round (111th overall) by the

. However, he would spend the 2015–16 season with the

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...

and the 2016–17 season with the

Chicago Steel The Chicago Steel are an ice hockey team that plays in the United States Hockey League since 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in ...

, both of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL). For the 2017–18 season, Stezka returned to the Czech Republic, once again playing for Liberec, where he formed a goaltending tandem with Roman Will. During the season, he played only two games with Liberec and another 27 after being loaned to

HC Benátky nad Jizerou HC Benátky nad Jizerou is an ice hockey team in Benátky nad Jizerou, Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austr ...

of the

2nd Czech Republic Hockey League The 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League (or Czech 2.liga) is the third-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic under the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. It began in 1993. Format From 1993 to 2001 the league was divided into the Western and ...

, where he alternated in goal with

Josef Kořenář Josef Kořenář (born 31 January 1998) is a Czech ice hockey goaltender for HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). An undrafted player, Kořenář previously played for the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes in the National Hockey Le ...

. Stezka spent the 2018–19 season on loan to

Piráti Chomutov Piráti Chomutov is a Czech ice hockey team from Chomutov, Czech Republic. Established as ČSK Chomutov in 1945, the team has played in Chomutov through numerous team name changes and elevations/relegations in the Czechoslovak and Czech hockey l ...

of the Extraliga and

HC Slovan Ústí nad Labem HC, hc or H/C may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Medicine * Health Canada * Hemicrania continua * Hyperelastosis cutis or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia Chemistry * Hemocyanin, a metalloprotein abbreviated Hc ...

of the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League. He would then spend the following two seasons playing for

AZ Havířov AZ Havířov is an ice hockey team in the Czech Second Hockey League (third-tier league) from Havířov. The city of Havířov was established in 1955. However the beginnings of ice hockey in surrounding villages date back to 1928, when workers ...

. He then started playing for

HC Vítkovice Ridera HC Vítkovice Ridera is a professional ice hockey team based in Vítkovice, the Moravian-part of Ostrava, in the Czech Republic, competing in the Czech Extraliga. It plays at Ostravar Aréna. The club was founded in 1928 after the merger of S ...

, where he would spend two seasons. At the end of the 2022–23 season, writers for the Czech newspaper

Právo ''Právo'' () is a Czech daily newspaper published in Prague, Czech Republic. History and profile ''Právo'' emerged in 1991 following the Velvet Revolution, when some editors of the daily '' Rudé právo'' founded a new company unaffiliated ...

honored him when they chose him as the Extraliga's best goaltender. Following the 2022–23 season, Stezka went back to North America, where he signed a one-year,

entry-level contract An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entr ...

with the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL), taking effect in the 2023–24 season. Before the season, he participated in the Kraken's training camp, and was then sent down to the Kraken's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Coachella Valley Firebirds The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 AH ...

. He made his NHL debut for Seattle against the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 23, 2025. After his lone appearance with the Kraken in the season, Stezka opted to return to his native Czech Republic as a free agent to sign a three-year contract with reigning champions, HC Kometa Brno of the ELH, on 18 June 2025.

International play

Stezka played with the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

during the

2015 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2015 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 17th IIHF World U18 Championship, and was hosted by Zug and Lucerne, Switzerland. The tournament began on 16 April 2015, with the gold medal game played on 26 April 2015. Top Division Officials The I ...

. The Czech Republic was eliminated in a 3–2 loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, in which Stezka made 22 saves. The next year, he played with the

in the 2016 World Junior Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stezka, Ales 1997 births Living people Chicago Steel players Coachella Valley Firebirds players HC Benátky nad Jizerou players HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players HC Vítkovice players Minnesota Wild draft picks Piráti Chomutov players Seattle Kraken players Sioux Falls Stampede players Ice hockey people from Plzeň