Edmonton Oilers new Czech prospect is an interesting addition

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Friday that they had signed 21 year old defenceman from the Czech Extraliga, Tomas Cibulka. He is the first prospect that the team has signed recently as many other NHL clubs have been announcing NCAA free agent signings, the Oilers have been surprisingly quiet.

Since general manager Stan Bowman took over ahead of the 2024-25 season, he has made a concerted effort to add to the Oilers' prospect pool through creative means. Signing college free agents, CHL free agents, and players from various European leagues.

It is a great way for a team like the Oilers with limited draft capital to help restock their prospect cupboards without using the NHL draft. This season alone we have seen NHL contributions from one young European player; Josh Samanski.

Now Cibulka joins the club, signing a two-year entry level contract beginning next fall. So, who is he?

Tomas Cibulka adds defensive depth

The 21 year old has spent the past two seasons playing with Motor HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga. He went back to his home country to turn pro after spending three seasons in the QMJHL with the Cape Breton Eagles and Val-d'Or Foreurs. He has been a productive and reliable piece on the backend for his club, averaging over 23 minutes a night and logging consistent playing time on both the powerplay and penalty killing units.

Cibulka also fits the bill of an Oilers prospect signing under Bowman, as he ranked second amongst U-22 skaters in Czechia. The team has seemingly made a point at targetting players who are productive players in their respective leagues, whether that be Samanski, Viljami Marjala, Atro Leppanen, Damien Carfagna, amongst others.

Cibulka is a solid addition to the Oilers prospect pool, he is a smooth skating and mobile defenceman with quick hands. He has good puck moving ability with some skills in transition, giving him plenty of value as a modern day NHL defenceman. Also given some of his defensive numbers and consistent deployment shorthanded, he may be able to add some two-way depth. A similar comparable for his NHL projection would be current Oilers defenceman Spencer Stastney.

It also seems that he is set to follow a relatively similar path to Stastney who turned pro at around the same age, signing his ELC with the Nashville Predators in 2022. He then spent the following three seasons, bouncing up and down between the Predators and their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

It seems possible that a similar scenario could play out for Cibulka in Edmonton, where he spends the next few seasons developing in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors before finally making the NHL on a full-time basis. Every path is different however but the most likely outcome in the short term is that he spends the next season or so developing in the AHL.