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Slovakian hockey player Michal Mrazik, once a promising NHL prospect, has unfortunately been forced to call it a career at the young age of 23 due to a serious injury.
Mrazik was a staple in international tournaments for Slovakia starting from a young age. He first represented the country in the 2017-18 season appearing in the World Junior Championships for under 18s and scored 4 points, including 3 goals as a 17 year-old. That is a very solid performance.
He would continue to represent his home nation on the international stage through the 2020-21 season, when he served as an alternate captain for the WJC under 20 team, this time putting up 3 points including 2 goals.
From that point on, Mrazik ventured into his professional career. He spent time in Europe playing in the ICE hockey league that spans four countries.
He also made a single appearance in the Swedish Hockey League before eventually coming to North America.
In his lone North American campaign, Mrazik appeared in 31 games with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL, scoring 9 goals and 13 points. He did earn a callup to the Tucson Road Runners but only played a single game.
After missing the entire 2023-24 season with an injury he has now revealed that he will not return to the sport in a professional way.
Mrazik made a post to his Instagram page on Halloween, confirming his retirement. He made sure to thank his parents, coaches, and teammates as well as his agent, who got a special shoutout.
It is sad to see a young player cut down in their prime, just as they were potentially working there way into the NHL, which every kid who plays hockey dreams about. Still though, Mrazik got much closer than the vast majority of us did, and can always be proud of that.
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