Slovak goaltender Július Hudáček, 36, has signed a contract through to the end of this season with Kölner Haie, the German DEL club announced on Thursday.
According to the club’s announcement, it is a response to an injury to goaltender Tobias Ancicka. The club also said that Hudáček will wear uniform number 35 and could be in the lineup as early as Thursday’s game against the Straubing Tigers.
A native of Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia, Hudáček’s professional career started in his hometown but soon to Košice and then abroad to Sweden, Russia, Czechia, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Germany. While playing for Örebro HK in the 2014-15 season, he was named top goaltender and MVP of the SHL.
Last season, he signed to play in the Czech Extraliga with Jaromír Jágr’s club, Rytíři Kladno, but the team was forced to cancel his contract before he played a game due to an enormous protest by the team’s fans, who objected to his spending the 2022-23 season in the KHL after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hudáček instead went on to play 16 DEL games for Löwen Frankfurt, where he posted a .913 save percentage and 2.64 goals-against average.
Internationally, Hudáček represented Slovakia at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship and has played 19 games in seven senior World Championships. He was the third-string goalie on the Slovak team that won silver in 2012.
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