81 Days Until Opening Night At Nationwide Arena

Some scouts considered Svozil a steal as a third-round pick back in 2021. As a teenager playing against grown men in Czechia, people could see that he was going to be a good player. 

He was drafted by the Regina Pats in the OHL Import Draft and played two seasons with Connor Bedard before deciding to turn pro before this past season. He and Bedard lit up the score sheet for Regina. Svozil had 119 points as a defenseman in the two years he was in junior. It was time for him to turn pro. 

His first year in Cleveland was interesting. The Monsters played 11 different defensemen during the season, which limited how many games each blueliner was going to play. Svozil ended up playing 57 games in his rookie AHL season, which was tied for third among all defensemen. 

He also finished third among the D core in points with 23. He doubled the output of fellow rookie Corson Ceulemans, who played in 47 games and had 12 points. Overall he finished 10th on the team in scoring and had 3 game-winning goals, which was tied for second on the team. 

In the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, Svozil had 3 points in 14 games. 

Svozil looks to be a future piece of the puzzle for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He did end up coming to Columbus after his junior season in 2023 and played a pair of games with the CBJ. In those two games, he averaged 20 minutes of ice time and was able to get an assist. 

We could see him and fellow Czech David Jiříček playing as a pair with Columbus one day, and that should excite CBJ fans. 

What do you think? Please share your thoughts on our forum.

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