Hurricanes Select Trio in CHL Import Draft

Sports stats

WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes

Hurricanes Select Trio in CHL Import Draft

July 2, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Lethbridge Hurricanes News Release


LETHBRIDGE, AB - The Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club announced Wednesday they have selected three players in the 2025 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft as they took 2008-born forward Filip Novak, 2007-born defenceman Tomas Malinek and 2007-born forward Mykolas Skadauskas.

Novak, 17, was selected in the first-round (52nd overall) by the Hurricanes. The Chomutov, Czechia, product appeared in just 14 games due to injury during the 2024-2025 season amassing 15 points (7g-8a) along with 16 penalty minutes and a plus-5 rating with the HC Sparta Praha club. Novak totaled 12 points (5g-7a) and eight penalty minutes in eight games at the Czechia U17 level while adding three points (2g-1a) with eight penalty minutes in six games at the Czechia U20 level.

The 6 '2, 200-pound left-shot forward added eight points (4g-4a) along with four penalty minutes with the Czechia U17 team at the international level. In 2023-2024, Novak racked up 44 points (20g-24a) with 59 penalty minutes and a plus-15 rating in 24 regular season games with the Sparta Praha U17 level as a 16-year-old. He also added three points (1g-2a) with four penalty minutes in seven playoff games with the Sparta Praha U20 team while adding 17 points (10g-7a) along with 37 penalty minutes in 15 international games for the Czechia U16 team.

Malinek, 17, was selected in the second-round (113th overall) in the import draft. The Praha, Czechia, product appeared in 44 regular season games with the HC Sparta Praha U20 club where he collected 17 points (4g-13a) with 24 penalty minutes and a plus-9 rating. He added four points (1g-3a) and 14 penalty minutes in nine post-season games with the U20 club. Malinek finished third in defenceman scoring for Sparta Praha U20 last year.

The 6 '1, 176-pound left-shot defenceman represented Czechia at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton where he totaled two points (1g-1a) in five games earning a silver medal at the tournament. Malinek added six points (1g-5a) with four penalty minutes with the Czechia U18 team in international play before collecting two assists in five games at the 2025 World Under-18 Championships.

Skadauskas, 17, was selected in the third-round (174th overall) by the 'Canes. The Vilnius, Lithuania, product collected 35 points (22g-13a) along with 40 penalty minutes with the IFK Taby HC J18 club in Sweden. He added 24 points (12g-12a) with 14 penalty minutes in 13 regular season games with the Huddinge IK J18 team and five points (3g-2a) with four penalty minutes in three games with the Huddinge IK J20 club during the 2024-2025 season. Skadauskas added one assist in two post-season games with the Huddinge IK J18 team.

The 6 '0, 165-pound forward represented Lithuania at the international level at both the under-18 and under-20 levels.

Skadauskas collected 10 points (2g-8a) with six penalty minutes in five games with the Lithuanian team at the D1B World U18 Championships while collecting 12 points (7g-5a) with eight penalty minutes in five games at the U20 level.

The trio of Novak, Malinek and Skadauskas also join 2024 CHL Import Draft pick and Los Angeles Kings second-round selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft Vojtech Cihar on the Hurricanes European protected list. Canadian Hockey League clubs will be permitted to carry three import players during the 2025-2026 regular season.

Season Tickets for the 2025-2026 regular season are now on sale. Premium Season Tickets are also available for an additional $250 per seat. Season Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Yates Memorial Theatre and VisitLethbridge.com Arena Ticket Centre, by calling 403-329-SEAT (7328) or online at www.visitlethbridgearena.ca. Catch up on all the latest on the Lethbridge Hurricanes by visiting the team's website at www.lethbridgehurricanes.com, and/or follow on Twitter @WHLHurricanes.

Check out the Lethbridge Hurricanes Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from July 2, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Lethbridge Hurricanes Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central