Red Wings draft Michal Orsulak 79th overall

Updated 2x at 1:03 PM: With the 79th pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Red Wings selected goaltender(!) Michal Orsulak of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.

Per EliteProspects…

Prospect profile

After being passed over last year, Michal Oršulák has made the move to the Prince Albert Raiders in hopes of a brighter spotlight and more opportunities.

It was a great decision.

Oršulák found success backstopping one of the WHL’s most competitive teams, and, as a result, put his name back on the table for draft consideration.

Oršulák can mobilize with strong push power, manoeuvring across the crease in an instant, and challenges aggressively, maximizing his coverage of the net. Recovering from his saves quickly, he jumps up to his feet in a readied stance instantly. However, he often takes a more conservative approach, letting his six-foot-four frame and positioning do the work. These aspects allow him to thrive in tight.

However, Oršulák’s composure has been inconsistent this season and spilled over into his play reading, which ranks as his weakest attribute. At the World Juniors, Oršulák flung himself to react to each passing attempt with little regard for what to do next. He was regularly exploited on the cycle, which raised concerns about his edgework, as he struggled to stop himself from sliding out of the crease.

While Oršulák is athletic, he’s quite rigid in his butterfly, and his body control must improve. As he gets beaten cleanly much more than you’d hope for as a re-entry candidate, his tracking poses a problem for his long-term projection. This is likely why Oršulák tends to play a blocking style – his tracking prevents him from truly controlling rebounds, so he instead aims to simply get in front of pucks, a style that can be limiting for some at higher levels.

Despite his strong play this season, Oršulák is likely a late-round pick, as he projects more like organizational depth than a sure thing as a re-entry candidate. That’s if he gets picked at all.

Update: From EliteProspects’ Russ Cohen:

Though Oršulák was passed over in last year’s NHL Draft, he believes he knows why.

“I think, because now I am playing in North America, [there’s more attention on me]. And last year, I played badly in some games. I didn’t trust myself. Like, in my mind, I go to the game, and now I’m feeling so good because I trust myself, and everybody on the team trusts me,” Orsulak answered. “It’s so different from last year. Now in games, I don’t feel pressure on me. I’m not nervous.” 

One of Oršulák’s idols and fellow Czech countryman, Dan Vladař, had a terrific year with the Philadelphia Flyers, and he paid attention. 

“Yeah, I watched him play. Now that I’m in North America, I can watch. I like the way he plays,” Orsulak said. 

But Vladař isn’t the only NHL goaltender Oršulák models his game after.

“I try to model my game after [Sergei] Boborovsky. To me, he’s the best, in my opinion. I like his style. The way he moves. He’s special,” Oršulák said. “I [also] like [Yaroslav] Askarov because he’s a right-handed goalie like me.”

The Hockey News’s Adam Kirszenblat…

One of the first goaltenders projected to be drafted this year is Oršulák. The 18-year-old was a brick wall during his rookie WHL campaign as he finished the regular season with a 28-4-4 record. Oršulák also led the Raiders to the WHL Final, where he posted a 13-6-1 record in 20 games. 

Oršulák was also a key factor for Czechia at the 2026 World Juniors. He posted a 3-2-0 record while claiming a Silver Medal. Oršulák also won a Silver Medal at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and has represented his country at both the U17 and U18 levels. 

One attribute that really stands out when watching Oršulák is his athleticism. His size allows him to cover most of the net, and he can move post-to-post without any issue. Oršulák also has strong recovery skills, which led to plenty of highlight-reel saves this year. 

As for positioning, Oršulák often plays at the top of his crease, which allows him to challenge shooters on breakaways as well as odd-man rushes. He plays with a ton of confidence, which allows him to dictate the play rather than waiting for shooters to make a move. Oršulák is also a decent puck handler and can quickly get pucks up to his teammates on the power play. 

 The decision to move to the WHL has paid off big time for Oršulák. His long playoff run helped him gain more exposure from scouts compared to his time last season in Czechia. Based on his body of work this year, he should hear his name called at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. 

And Moose Jaw Today’s Allan Ly:

Prince Albert Raiders’ general manager Curtis Hunt commended goalie Michal Orsulak’s performance at the World Junior Hockey Championships with Czechia. At the same time, he had mixed feelings about him winning against Canada 6-4 on Sunday in the semifinal.

“He played confidently. He probably wants one back from [Sunday] but that being said, in the end, he gets the win for his country,” Hunt said on the SportsCage. “I’m excited for him but a little bit disappointed as a Canadian.”

The six-foot-four, 220-pound goalie stopped 19-of-23 shots against Canada in the World Junior semifinal. That was the second time Orsulak faced Canada in the tournament; the first was on December 26, 2025 when Canada won 7-5 in the preliminary round. Defenceman Matyas Man is another player that represented the Raiders at the World Juniors for Czechia.

Historically, Canada lost to Czechia for the third year in a row; the other two times were in the quarterfinals: 2024 (3-2) and 2025 (4-3).

After Czechia defeated Canada, the Red and White faced Finland in the bronze medal game and won 6-3 on Monday. Later in the day, Czechia lost to Sweden 4-2 in the gold medal game.

Personally, Hunt can relate to the stress Orsulak and Man went through during the World Juniors because he won several medals at that level. Hunt was an assistant coach in 2007 and 2008 when Canada captured gold at the World Juniors. In other international tournaments, he won silver with Canada at the 2005 U18 World Juniors and gold at the U18 Junior World Cup the same year. Additionally, in the WHL, he won a league title with the Raiders in 2019 and Executive of the Year. As a player, Hunt won the WHL title and the Memorial Cup in 1985 with the Raiders.

Back in the WHL, Hunt explained Orsulak’s dedication and how he reaped success from his hard work. Prince Albert selected Orsulak with the 46th pick in the 2025 CHL Import Draft.

“We put a lot of pressure on those players when they come over, certainly between time, food, style, language, even the ice surface in some cases. Sometimes it takes those guys a year or two to acclimate and feel comfortable,” Hunt said.

Update #2: Here’s the Free Press’s Helene St. James…

The Wings added to their goaltending pipeline (Trey Augustine and Michal Postava high on the depth chart) with Orsulak, a Czech netminder who starred this past season for the Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League.

Orsulak (6 foot 4, 224 pounds) posted a 2.22 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 36 games, and had a 2.80 GAa and .805 save percentage in 20 playoff games.

He also played for Czechia’s national teams, posting a .874 save percentage and 3.19 GAA in 5 games at the World Junior Championship.

Update #3: Here’s MLive’s Ansar Khan:

The NHL scouting report said of Orsulak:

“A big pro presence that catches with his right hand — he has a very good command of his crease area — he plays an aggressive style — he challenges smartly and he shows very good reaction and recovery quickness – he’s quick and strong in his power lateral pushes –quick reflexes to flare out the pads on the low corner attempts– capable of making the big saves for his team – he’s had a very good and consistent season — very efficient crease lateral movements — square to shots and he doesn’t leave much room for shooters — good overall rebound control and he has a good catching glove.”

Orsulak joins fellow goalie prospects Michal Postava, Trey Augustine, Carter Gylander, Rudy Guimond and Michal Pradel in Detroit’s system. The Red Wings on Friday traded Sebastian Cossa, their 15th overall pick from 2021, to Utah.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

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