Red Wings Drafted Czechia Goalie is Not a Robot

Kevin AllenThu, Jul 9, 2026·3 min read

The post Red Wings Drafted Czechia Goalie is Not a Robot appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

If the Detroit Red Wings planted an apple tree from seeds, on the morning they drafted goalie Michal Orsulak, it would be difficult to estimate which would bear fruit first.

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The development time for an NHL goalie is usually six to eight years with the majority of young goalies making NHL debuts at age 24 or 25. It takes a minimum of seven years for an apple tree to show fruit.

That’s the practical reason why the Red Wings drafted Czechia goalie Michal Orsulak (79th, 2026) who played last season for Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League. When a tree farm loses a tree, it plants another. The Red Wings traded Sebastian Cossa and that left an empty stall in their stable of goaltending prospects. Orsulak takes that spot.

“He had a great year personally and probably more importantly, team wise,” Detroit assistant general manager Kris Draper said. “They ran through the Western Hockey League and making it all the way to the WHL Finals. We feel we have a good athlete.”

Won Silver Medal in WJC

His list of accomplishments also included helping Czechia win a silver medal at the World Junior Championships. Some teams had Orsaluk ranked as high as second among the draft-eligible goalies.

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The Red Wings saw him often because they were scouting defenseman Justice Christensen who was Orsulak’s Prince Albert teammate. They ended up signing Christensen for their Grand Rapids affiliate.

“We had a lot of eyes on (Orsulak) and we’re able to watch him play a lot,” Draper said. “And just watching the size, the compete, the way he moves, we just felt that, with where we were in the draft, we felt it was a real good pick.”

Orsaluk is 6-foot-4, 228 pounds and owned a 28-4-4 record for Prince Albert. “I think I’m an athletic goalie,” Orsaluk said. . . Every goalie is different. But if I see like myself like for the NHL I compare like most to the (Yaroslav) Askarov. “

Czech goalies are hot in the hockey world, including with the Red Wings who grew to love Michal Postava this season in Grand Rapids.

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“I think we don’t do it (like) robots,” Orsulak said. “Different styles. Everything different than the other countries. We have many goalie coaches. . . we have a good system in Czech.”

NHL scouts often view goalies differently. Sometimes they disagree on their potential. Red Line, an independent scouting review that has been around for decades, listed Orsulak as the draft’s most overrated player. RLR ranked Orsulak 215th. Wrote the publication: “Overweight, slow and not clutch.”

The Red Wings likely will give Orsulak time to prove that assessment is incorrect. But even if every scout thought Orsulak was destined for the show, the odds are against him.

Drafting goalies is always a low probability endeavor. Roughly one in five drafted goalies reach the NHL and play at least one game. Under 15% of the draftees play 25 or more games and roughly 10% play 100 NHL games.