Vítek Vaněček (born 9 January 1996) 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 the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

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).

Playing career

Vaněček originally played as a youth with

HC Havlíčkův Brod 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 * ...

through to the under-18 level before joining the ranks of

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Bílí Tygři Liberec (English: ''Liberec White Tigers'') are a professional ice hockey club based in Liberec, Czech Republic. The team competes in the Czech Extraliga, the highest level of play in professional Czech ice hockey. History The firs ...

in 2013. Vaněček was picked 39th overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. On 15 July 2014, he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals. In the 2014–15 season, he played two games with the HC Bílí Tygři Liberec 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 ...

and spent much of the rest of the season with

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

1st Czech Republic Hockey League The Maxa liga is the second-highest level of professional ice hockey in the Czech Republic, after the Czech Extraliga, Extraliga. It began in 1993 and is run and administered by Czech Ice Hockey Association. Until 2015, the league was known as t ...

Washington Capitals

Vaněček continued his career the following season in North America, splitting time between playing for the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston ...

and the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

, affiliates to the Capitals. Following a successful 2015–16 season with the Stingrays, he was selected to 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 ...

All-Rookie Team. In 2019, Vaněček was selected to his first AHL All-Star classic roster. Later in 2020, Vaněček would replace

Michael Sgarbossa Michael Sgarbossa (born July 25, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for HC Lugano in the National League (NL). Playing career As a youth, Sgarbossa played in the 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tourna ...

on the 2020 AHL All-Star classic roster. He would go on to be named MVP of the event after leading the Atlantic Division to a championship, only allowing two goals in four games. Vitek Vanecek in 2021

Vaněček was named as the Capitals' backup goaltender shortly before the 2020–21 season, backing up

Ilya Samsonov Ilya Alexeyevich Samsonov (, ; born 22 February 1997) is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Magnitogorsk, Russia, Samsonov made his Kontinental Hockey Lea ...

. However, Samsonov was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list in mid-January after only two appearances, and Vaněček was subsequently thrust into the spotlight for the Capitals. Vaněček started in his first NHL game on 15 January 2021, saving 30 of 31 shots and earning his first victory as the Capitals defeated 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 ...

2–1. Vaněček won NHL's Rookie of the Month for January 2021. He recorded his first NHL shutout on 15 March, in a 6–0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. When Samsonov landed in protocol again, Vaněček started Game 1 for Washington in the

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2020–21 season. The playoffs began on May 15, 2021, and concluded on July 7, 2021, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second consecu ...

. However, he was injured early in the game and had to be replaced by Craig Anderson. On 21 July 2021, Vaněček was selected from the Capitals at the 2021 NHL expansion draft by 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 ...

. The Kraken traded him back to the Capitals a week later for a second-round pick in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. Vaněček's highest save shutout came on 3 March 2022, when the Capitals beat the Hurricanes 4–0. Vanecek made 36 saves.

New Jersey Devils

For the second consecutive off-season, Vaněček left the Capitals organization after he was traded at the 2022 NHL entry draft to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

in exchange for a swap of second-round draft picks and a third-round pick on 8 July 2022. As a restricted free agent, Vaněček was later signed to a three-year, $10.2 million contract extension with the Devils on 19 July.

San Jose Sharks

On 8 March 2024, Vaněček along with a

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

seventh-round pick was traded to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

in exchange for

Kaapo Kähkönen Kaapo Kähkönen (born 16 August 1996) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kähkönen was ...

. In the season, Vaněček was hampered by injury through his tenure with the rebuilding Sharks, limited to just 18 games in posting just 3 wins.

Florida Panthers

On 5 March 2025, Vaněček was traded by the Sharks to the

in exchange for Patrick Giles.

International play

Vaněček played three games 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 ...

for the

Czech Republic men's national junior ice hockey team The Czech Republic men's national junior ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. Since 2021, the team has been officially known in English as Czechia. The team represents the Czech Republic at the Interna ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanecek, Vitek 1996 births Living people HC Benátky nad Jizerou players HC Bílí Tygři Liberec players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey goaltenders Florida Panthers players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Havlíčkův Brod New Jersey Devils players San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks players South Carolina Stingrays players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players 21st-century Czech sportsmen