In a bit of a surprise this afternoon, the Utica Comets announced that they had signed Canucks 2015 6th round pick Lukas Jasek to an amateur tryout:

The Czech forward had been playing for Liberec Bili Tygiri HC for the 2017-18 campaign, where he posted 8 goals and 10 assists in 48 regular season games. He followed that up with 2 goals and 5 assists in 12 playoff games. Liberec had made it to the semi-finals in the Czech Extraliga before falling 2-1 in Game 7 to Mountfield HK.

The move is a bit out of left field simply because Jasek had signed a two-year contract with Liberec last May and wasn’t really on the radar for the Comets this year because of that. But adding Jasek is a great opportunity for the Comets, Canucks, and Jasek to see where the 6th round pick is and how he might fare in North American hockey. Since he was drafted out of Europe, the Canucks do own his draft rights until June 1, 2019, and thus these games make sense as it allows a trail run without a firm deadline in the near future.

Jasek was a good value bet at the time of the draft but had unfortuantely stagnated with Trinec Ocelari, in large part due to the lack of ice time and opportunities. He moved to Liberec this summer and has shown flashes of being a legitimate prospect again with long periods of time in their top 6 and power-play. He showed particularly well in Champions Hockey League action.

With that being said, based on his statistical output this season, there is still a ways to go for the Canucks prospect:

It will be interesting to see how much of a role he will get with the Comets as they march towards the playoffs. But even if the move was a bit surprising from an outsiders perspective, it makes a lot of sense on multiple levels and thus Jasek will be someone to keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks.

Jasek arrived in Utica tonight and isn’t expected to play tomorrow. The Comets play again on April 5 and 6th, so I would expect Jasek to make his debut in one of those games.

The Comets should get some serious reinforcements over the next two weeks with Jasek joining now, Kole Lind expected to make his way there soon, and the Canucks season coming to an end which will mean that Nikolay Goldobin, Tyler Motte, and possibly Reid Boucher will make their way to Utica. Not to mention, there is also a slight chance the Jonathan Dahlen could make his way to North America too.  It all means that Canucks fans will want to keep a closer eye on the Comets during the AHL playoffs.