The Red Wings signed free agent forward Jakub Rychlovsky from the Czech Extraliga’s Liberec Bili Tygri (the Liberec White Tigers) in an attempt to add goal-scoring to the team’s portfolio. Rychlovsky is 22 years old, and he’ll probably begin the season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
This morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discusses the fact that the Red Wings haven’t had the best record signing European free agents over the past decade:
Rychlovsky will be coming to Detroit on a high. With 26 goals last season for Liberec Bili Tygri HC, the 22-year-old left shot forward was the leading goal scorer in the Czech Extraliga.
“I really like him,” Red Wings director of player development Dan Cleary said. “Quiet, strong little guy. I was friends with someone who was coaching him in Czech, so he kind of reached out. He thought it was a great signing for us.”
That’s what everyone thought two years ago when the Red Wings were signing Swedish free agent forward Pontus Andreasson. He was also coming to North America off a tide turning European campaign. During the 2021-22 SHL season, Andreasson netted 18 goals for Lulea. He’d scored 12 goals for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins in 2022-23, then head home to Sweden.
Before Andreasson, Mathias Brome scored one goal in 26 games for Detroit in 2020-21. Slovak defenseman Libor Sulak was minus-four during a six-game Red Wings stint in 2018-19. Slovak goalie Patrik Rybar, Czech goalie Matej Machovsky, Finnish goalie Jussi Olkinuora and and Finnish defenseman Oliwer Kaski never played a single NHL game for Detroit.
Why will Rychlovsky be different? Well, for one thing, he’s got wheels.
Continued; it doesn’t hurt to sign European free agents as it only costs the Wings a contract’s worth of money, but there’s no doubt that the Wings have been hit-or-mostly-miss in the player recruitment department.
Making the jump from Europe to the AHL isn’t easy, and the travel and schedule are punishing, so it takes a lot of character to “tough it out” and deal with those six-hour bus rides while playing 2-in-2’s and 3-in-3’s. Hopefully, Rychlovsky will “click” in Grand Rapids and withstand the adjustment from a 50-game schedule to a 73-game one.
