If there’s one thing that National Hockey League scouts go nuts for, it’s a player with size that can put up points. Even if a team already has a ton of depth at a position, if a player with size and good numbers falls into their laps at the NHL Draft, it’s hard to resist drafting them.

With that in mind, let’s talk about Radim Mrtka, a big right-shot blueliner from Czechia that spent most of this past season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League.

Scouting report

Originally from Havlickuv, Czechia – a town in central Czechia – Mrtka was born in June 2007. He’s a right shot defenceman listed at 6’6″ and 198 pounds.

Mrtka came up through minor hockey in the Havlickuv area, then moved onto HC Ocelari Trinec’s system, playing on their under-17, under-18 and under-20 teams. After two seasons with Trinec, he was selected by the Thunderbirds in the 2024 CHL Import Draft.

Mrtka has had a pretty hectic 2024-25 season. He started the season with the Czech under-18 national team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, then started the regular season with Trinec once again, playing on their under-20 and pro team. He also played on a loan with HC Frydek-Mistak, in Czechia’s second-tier pro league. Mrtka moved to North America in late November and played the full season with the Thunderbirds. Then after the T-Birds were eliminated from the WHL playoffs, he joined the Czech under-18s again for the Under-18 World Championship.

Over at Dobber Prospects, Luke Sweeney wrote this scouting report:

Mrtka has shot up boards since moving to the WHL, quashing a lot of doubt about how his game would adjust to the North American ice. If anything, Mrtka has looked even more at home in Seattle, using his reach, proactive approach, strong rush defence habits, and high-end defensive zone awareness to be a smothering defenceman. There’s a lot of runway for Mrtka, even despite his NHL ready habits and frame. He could still get a little bit stronger, which will only aid him in board battles and net front battles. If he pans out, Mrtka could blossom into a 1B, all-situations defenceman.

As part of his recent draft rankings update in April, our pal Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff provided a rundown of Mrtka’s season:

Mrtka started the year in the top pro league in Czechia. But a move to the WHL before the World Juniors was huge for his development. He’s been a big-time producer with the Thunderbirds and would probably finish with 50 points in a full season. Tack on the fact he’s 6-foot-6, a right-hand shot and quite mobile and there’s a lot to like. I could see Mrtka going in the top 10 because there are so many elements to his game that should make him an effective NHL defenseman.

Mrtka hasn’t played a ton in North America. But he’s big and shoots right. And he’s played pro already. And he’s put up numbers in the WHL already. You can understand why scouts would go gaga over him.

The numbers

After arriving in Seattle at the end of November, Mrtka played 43 regular season games with the Thunderbirds. He had three goals and 32 assists for 35 points.

Among all WHL defenders, he was 16th in points-per-game. He was fourth among first-time draft eligible blueliners in points (behind Jackson Smith, Jonas Woo and Will Sharpe), and he led them all on a per-game basis. Had he played more games, he could’ve been up around Smith in total offensive production.

Small sample size, but Mrtka had a great 43 games.

Availability and fit

Small sample size be damned, the public draft rankings love Mrtka. He appears between 7th and 15th on basically every prominent public ranking. He’s ninth on FC Hockey’s and 12th on Daily Faceoff’s. He’ll likely be the “consolation prize” for whoever doesn’t get Jackson Smith, and we’re not convinced there’s that big of a drop-off between the two of them. If the Flames want Mrtka badly, they’ll probably need to trade up.

That said, while Mrtka is very good, he’s a right shot defender and the Flames acquired three high-performing offensive-minded right-shot defenders over the past while in the form of Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz and Henry Mews. Mrtka’s quite good, but it may be in the Flames’ best interests to address other organizational needs rather than stockpile strong defencemen.

Mrtka’s going to make someone very happy on draft weekend, but it likely won’t be the Flames.