Václav Karabáček (born May 2, 1996) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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 ...

right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

who currently plays for

Västerviks IK Västerviks Ishockeyklubb (English language, English: ''Vasterviks Ice hockey club'') – commonly known as Västerviks IK or VIK – is a Professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Västervik, Sweden. They currently play in the s ...

of the

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, t ...

(Allsv). He was drafted in the second round, 49th overall, by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Karabáček played the first game of the 2014 NHL preseason with the Sabres before being sent back to the QMJHL. After playing one preseason game for the team in the 2015 NHL preseason as well, he was again sent back to juniors.

Playing career

He began his North American career with the

Gatineau Olympiques The Gatineau Olympiques are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Centre Slush Puppi ...

of the QMJHL in 2013-14 season before being traded to Baie-Comeau during the 2014-15 season in exchange for Valentin Zykov. Prior to that trade, the Olympiques had made a deal with the

Charlottetown Islanders The Charlottetown Islanders are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are members of the Maritimes Division, and play their home games at the ...

to send Karabáček there in advance of the 2014 QMJHL Entry Draft; however, complications surrounding that proposal ultimately led to Karabáček staying with Gatineau. Karabáček was expected to represent 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 ...

at the

2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships was the 39th edition of Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, played from December 26, 2014 to January 5, 2015. It was co-hosted by Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and organized by ...

, but he was cut from the team prior to the tournament for arriving late to a team meeting. Karabáček was also selected with the 36th pick of the 2013 KHL Junior Draft by

KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL Medveščak Admiral (), also known as KHL Medveščak Zagreb, is a Croatian professional ice hockey team based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the Medveščak area in centra ...

. On May 26, 2016, Karabáček marked the end of his junior career after he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres. He made his professional debut in November 2016 playing for the

Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena. ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. He was named a 2017 ECHL All-Star alternate after scoring 11 points in nine games with the team. Karabáček was recalled by the Rochester Americans on December 14, 2016. He began the 2017-18 season with the Americans, but was sent down to the ECHL's

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...

in November. Karabáček scored no goals and had only five assists in 28 games with the Cyclones, and the Sabres bought out his contract on September 20, 2018. Karabáček signed with

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 ...

for the 2018–19 season on September 24, 2018. He went scoreless in 4 games with Brno before leaving the club for rivals Mountfield HK on October 27, 2018.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karabacek, Vaclav 1996 births Living people Baie-Comeau Drakkar players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Motor České Budějovice players Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) players Czech ice hockey right wingers HC Dukla Jihlava players Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players Gatineau Olympiques players HC Kometa Brno players Moncton Wildcats players Rochester Americans players Stadion Hradec Králové players Västerviks IK players Ice hockey people from Prague Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 21st-century Czech sportsmen