Radim Mrtka, an 18-year-old defenseman from Havlickuv Brod, Czechia, has become the Buffalo Sabres’ ninth-overall draft pick after four years of rapid development. His journey from a small town in central Czechia to being considered a potential cornerstone for the Sabres highlights his determination and work ethic.
Mrtka grew up in a working-class family that could not afford specialized hockey training or frequent access to ice rinks. He often made use of limited opportunities at the local rink, sometimes staying late after practice or working on shooting lines at the gym. “I’ve never been to any skills camp, because we never really had money for it,” said Mrtka. “I understand, and I never asked for that. So, I just tried to do more on the ice if we had some minutes after practice, or I was in shooting lines at the gym. I just tried to do everything for me to be better.
“I just enjoyed my life, and my family just tried to keep me enjoying life, and I kind of found a love for the sport by myself.”
Buffalo’s European scout Frank Musil described Mrtka’s background: “They’re a hockey family coming from a very modest environment, a region of the country where people have to work for a living, and hockey is a big part of our culture there.” Musil added, “I believe he’s one of those players that grew up like we did in our days. He spent his time at the rink, but he also spent (it) doing other activities besides hockey, which makes him very versatile.”
By age 14, Mrtka began attracting attention from professional organizations in Czechia. He joined Ocelari Trinec’s Under-17 club in 2021-22 and progressed quickly through their system. “That was the time when the big club in Czech started to have interest in me; they maybe just saw some potential in me,” said Mrtka. “Motivation for me, and I just realized that I need to work hard to be there.”
Sabres assistant general manager Jerry Forton commented on Mrtka’s path: “We’re seeing this more and more now with all athletes: they commit to their sport full-time at a very young age,” he said. “I’m not going to say he’s the opposite of that, but yes, a little late to the game in that regard.
“But he seemed, once he was in, he was all-in.”
Mrtka played briefly with Ocelari Trinec’s professional squad before moving last fall to North America to join the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds due to limited playing time with Trinec’s men’s team. Explaining his decision, Mrtka said: “I wanted to have some experience with ‘man’ hockey … but I didn’t get a lot of minutes.” Forton added context: “The men’s league was accelerated for him… The league and the team understood he might come over to North America to challenge himself.”
During his first season with Seattle starting last November, Mrtka played 43 games and scored 35 points (3 goals and 32 assists), ranking third among WHL rookie defensemen by points per game.
Forton observed more than 20 of Mrtka’s games over the past year while Musil monitored him from Czechia as part of Buffalo’s scouting process. The Sabres see significant potential given his size and skillset. Forton noted: “When you see a kid that’s as good a player as he is right now, with that size… you start dreaming a little bit on even more upside than you would normally expect with a player that age.” Musil echoed this sentiment: “He skates very well for his size… Once he puts on weight and power, he will be somebody that will be hard to handle out there.”
At Sabres development camp earlier this month under strength coach Brian Galivan—who has developed several USA Hockey players into NHL professionals—Mrtka began focused physical training aimed at helping him grow into an NHL-ready presence.
Jason Nightingale, Buffalo’s assistant director of amateur scouting remarked: “He hasn’t had that final push of elite-level training… I think that’s something that will just help accelerate his timeline to the NHL.”
Coachability is another trait valued by Buffalo management during its draft process; Forton said about Mrtka since joining Buffalo: “You can tell the kid’s a sponge… what he’s doing to access all the different resources we have in our organization.”
Reflecting on how far he’s come since his early days skating locally in Havlickuv Brod—and looking ahead—Mrtka stated his ambitions clearly: “I want to be the best in every part of the game.”
