Martin Nečas

Martin Nečas
Born (1999-01-15) 15 January 1999
Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams
Carolina Hurricanes
HC Kometa Brno
National team  Czech Republic
NHL Draft 12th overall, 2017
Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career 2016present

Martin Nečas (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmarcɪn ˈnɛt͡ʃas]; born 15 January 1999) is a Czech professional ice hockey centre who currently plays as a prospect to the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nečas made his professional debut with HC Kometa Brno in 2016, and played a prominent role on the team as they won the league championship. Internationally Nečas plays for the Czech Republic, and first played in an International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament in 2016. Regarded as a top prospect for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected 12th overall by the Hurricanes, and he played one game for the team in 2017 before being loaned back to Brno.

Playing career

Junior

A standout junior player, Nečas led the Czech U-16 league in scoring in 2014–15 with 91 points in 34 games, split between the junior teams of SKLH Žďár nad Sázavou and HC Kometa Brno.[1] His production decreased in 2015–16 due to missing games from injuries and illness, appearing in only 18 games, with 9 goals and 21 assists.[2] He made his professional debut with Brno in 2016, joining the senior team in the Czech Extraliga. At the conclusion of the Czech Extraliga season and prior to the start of the playoffs for HC Kometa, Nečas was loaned to SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč of the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League, the second level of Czech hockey, for their playoff series, playing in their final game.[3] Nečas appeared in 41 games for Brno during the 2016–17 season, recording 15 points.[4] During the playoffs he scored another 4 goals in 10 games, second best on the team, and helped Brno reach the final. However he was unable to play in the final as he was instead sent to the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships;[5] Brno would ultimately win the championship.[6] Nečas plans to spend at least one more season in the Czech Republic before moving to North America.[4]

Nečas selected by the Hurricanes at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

When the NHL Central Scouting Bureau released its mid-term rankings of eligible prospects for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Nečas was listed as the fifth best international skater.[7] He maintained this position on the final list released after the conclusion of the regular season.[8] Scouts considered him an undersized forward, but smart and someone who has good offensive instincts and a strong skater.[4] Following his selection by the Hurricanes, 12th overall, Nečas was later signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with Carolina on July 15, 2017.[9]

NHL

Initially it was expected that Nečas would not join the Hurricanes immediately, and instead was expected to either return to the Czech Republic, or play for the Hurricanes American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Charlotte Checkers, or the Saginaw Spirit of the major junior Ontario Hockey League (OHL), who selected him in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in 2017.[10] His play at the Hurricanes training camp, where he demonstrated his skill and earned a roster spot. The decision to keep Nečas with the team was aided due both to an injury to veteran Lee Stempniak, and that Nečas could play up to nine regular season games in the NHL before it counted against one year of his contract.[11] Though named to the roster, Nečas was a healthy scratch and only practiced with the team, and his NHL debut came October 17 against the Edmonton Oilers.[12][13] Nečas remained on the Hurricanes roster until October 23, 2017, though did not appear in any more games, when he was returned on loan to continue his development in Brno.[14]

International play

Medal record
Representing Czech Republic Canada
Ice hockey
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
2016 Czech Republic/Slovakia

Nečas first played internationally with the Czech U-17 team at the 2015 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, where he served as captain and recorded five points in five games, leading his team in scoring.[1] He again was captain for the Czechs at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, an invitational tournament, where he finished seventh overall in scoring with six points in four games, helping the team win gold.[15][16] He later made his debut in an International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournament at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he had three points for the Czechs. He also participated at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships, serving as captain of the Czech team, and had three assists in five games as the Czechs lost in the quarter-finals.[17]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2013–14 SKLH Žďár nad Sázavou Czech-U16 3629295814
2014–15 SKLH Žďár nad Sázavou Czech-U16 2524477110
2014–15 HC Kometa Brno Czech-U16 9812204 44592
2014–15 HC Kometa Brno Czech-U18 41234
2015–16 HC Kometa Brno Czech-U18 189213014 10411156
2016–17 HC Kometa Brno Czech-U20 11234
2016–17 HC Kometa Brno ELH 4178156 104048
2016–17 SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč Czech.1 10000
2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 10000
2017–18 HC Kometa Brno ELH 2498176 144596
ELH totals 6516163212 24851314
NHL totals 10000

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
2015 Czech Republic U17 54154
2016 Czech Republic IH18 42462
2017 Czech Republic WJC 51232
2017 Czech Republic U18 50334
2018 Czech Republic WJC 738110
2018 Czech Republic WC 73250
Junior totals 2610182812
Senior totals 73250

References

  1. 1 2 Willis, Jonathan (2015-11-05). "North America no problem for Czech star Necas". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  2. Woodlief, Kyle (2016-12-02). "NHL draft 2017: Active month in rankings; biggest surprises in Europe". USAToday.com. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  3. Hedbávný, Marek (2017-03-02). "Posila pro Třebíč. Proti Slavii jí pomůže Martin Nečas" (in Czech). Hockej.cz. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
  4. 1 2 3 Mahiban, Dhiren (2017-06-19). "Learning from the pros". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  5. Sport.sk (2017-04-13). "MS18: Čechom príde na pomoc aj ich vychádzajúca hviezda Nečas" (in Slovak). Sport.aktuality.sk. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  6. O'Brien, Derek (2017-04-21). "Kometa Brno wins Czech title". IIHF.com. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  7. Morreale, Mike G. (2017-01-18). "2017 Draft: Nolan Patrick tops midterm rankings". NHL.com. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  8. NHL (2017). "2017 Draft Prospect Rankings – European Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  9. "Hurricanes agree to terms with Martin Necas". Carolina Hurricanes. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  10. Alexander, Chip (2017-06-29). "Canes' top draft pick takes the ice. How did he look?". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  11. Alexander, Chip (2017-10-03). "Young enough for you? Two rookie forwards, D-man on Canes' opening-night roster". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  12. Smith, Michael (2017-10-18). "Necas Ready for NHL Debut in Edmonton". NHL.com. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  13. Alexander, Chip (2017-10-18). "Hurricanes start fast, turn back Oilers 5-3". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  14. Wells, Rosie (2017-10-23). "Hurricanes return Necas to HC Kometa Brno". NHL.com. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  15. Vavřina, Radoslav (2016-09-21). "Češi na příštím draftu: Překoná Nečas Zachu?" (in Czech). NHL.cz. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  16. O'Brien, Derek (2016-12-23). "Necas' meteoric rise". WorldJunior2017.com. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  17. Zatloukal, Tomáš (2017-04-21). "Kapitán Nečas: Měl jsem dát víc gólů, konec ve čtvrtfinále je neúspěch". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Prague. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Julien Gauthier
Carolina Hurricanes first round draft pick
2017
Succeeded by
Andrei Svechnikov
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