The fastest-rising prospect in the Blackhawks’ pipeline has signed his NHL entry-level contract.
Michal Teply, the Hawks’ fourth-round selection at last year’s draft in Vancouver, announced on Instagram on Friday that he inked his deal. The Hawks later confirmed the three-year deal with a roughly $826,000 cap hit.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Michal Teplý (@mina_teply) on
Teply, who won’t turn 19 until late May, evolved from a no-name reach of a pick to an increasingly exciting forward prospect practically overnight this season.
In his draft year of 2018-19, he recorded just two points in 15 games with his Czech team, Liberec. But he decided to jump to North America for 2019-20, joining the rebranded Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League (one of Canada’s three major junior leagues), and became an instant star.
Playing alongside Vegas first-round pick Peyton Krebs with the Ice, Teply exploded for 29 goals and 34 assists — 63 points — in 53 games, ranking second on the team and 32nd in the league. That was an incredible accomplishment for an 18-year-old rookie with no prior Canadian junior experience.
The 6-foot-3 wing also starred on the Czech Republic’s U20 World Juniors team, tallying five points in five games.
Teply slid up to No. 5 on the Chicago Sun-Times’ midseason Hawks prospect rankings — ahead of No. 7 Evan Barratt, who signed his own entry-level contract to significant fanfare last week — and likely would’ve been a first- or second-round pick in a 2019 redraft.
Friday’s contract cements that the Hawks were just as impressed by his 2019-20 campaign as the overall hockey world was.
He’ll likely still return to the WHL next season, though, as he’s ineligible to play in the AHL given his age and a long shot to make the Hawks’ 2020-21 NHL roster.
