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WHL teams are only permitted two imports and GM Barclay Parneta plans to keep Tobias Tomik on the roster to keep his rights for 2025-26
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Published Jul 22, 2024 • 4 minute read
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Barclay Parneta, GM of the Vancouver Giants Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG
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It appears the Vancouver Giants will have one European in their lineup rather than the usual two this coming WHL season, with Slovak forward Tobias Tomik opting to play in his home country instead.
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Tomik, 16, was Vancouver’s lone selection in this month’s CHL Import Draft, picked at No. 29. Giants general manager Barclay Parneta confirmed Monday morning reports on X that Tomik wants to play this coming season in the Slovakian pro league with HK Dukla Trencin. He got into three games with that club this past year. He spent the majority of the campaign in Under-18 and Under-20 leagues there.
There’s time. Circumstances could change. Vancouver’s first pre-season game is Sept. 7. They open the regular season Sept. 20 at the Langley Events Centre hosting the Seattle Thunderbirds. Parneta does sound like he’s preparing to not have Tomik, though, and Trencin did have 17-year-old defenceman Samuel Kupec play 32 games with them last season.
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WHL clubs are only permitted two Euros on their roster and Parneta said that Vancouver plans on keeping Tomik on theirs this season if he stays in Europe to keep his rights for 2025-26 and beyond. The Giants knew there was a possibility of Tomik remaining at home this coming season when they picked him, Parneta added.
The Giants picked Vancouver Canucks forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki in the 2022 Import Draft but gave up his rights early on in the 2022-23 season when it became apparent he was staying in Sweden.
Tomik, who is listed at 6-foot and 179 pounds, isn’t eligible for the NHL Draft until 2026. That’s time on the Giants’ side, with the chance to sell Tomik on coming to the WHL and playing against other draft eligibles as a showcase.
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Tomik was one of the younger players picked in the Import Draft. He turns 17 in December. He was named a top-three player for the Slovaks at the Under-18 worlds last spring, and he had seven goals and 16 points in 10 games at the Under-20 level for Trencin.
“We’re working on this,” Parneta said. “When he’s ready, he’ll come.
“We think he’s going to be a very good player.”
Vancouver’s current roster has two Euros, but Slovak left winger Samuel Honzek is expected to play this season somewhere in the Calgary Flames’ farm system. He turns 20 in November, making him eligible to play minor pro, and he was a first-round pick, No. 16 overall, of Calgary in 2023. He got into NHL exhibition games last season, and he signed his three-year, entry-level contract with the Flames last summer.
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Czech centre Adam Titlbach, 18, is expected back for his second season with Vancouver.
Slovakian journalist and McKeen’s Hockey regional scout Matej Deraj quoted Tomik on X Monday in Slovakian as wanting to stay in Trencin despite the connection with the Giants.
Translated to English, Tomik’s full comment to Deraj read: “I am happy they were interested in me. Honzek himself gave me good information. I am looking forward to working with them, but for now I am staying in Trencin. I want to stay with the men. We’ll see what happens next.”
The Giants are coming off a 32-32-4-0 regular season, which was good enough for sixth spot in the 11-team Western Conference. They lost in five games in the first round of the playoffs to the Everett Silvertips. They lose goalie Brett Mirwald, who was their best player, to graduation, and are expecting to lose Honzek.
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Their top seven scorers from last year — when you factor in the full-season outputs of midseason trade pickups Connor Levis and Tyson Zimmer — are all eligible to return. Honzek played just 33 regular season games due to injury.
The Import Draft isn’t your typical selection process, where players are chosen in order according to talent. Teams’ picks in the Import are routinely tied to their relationships with agents and the ability to get players to report. For instance, Vancouver’s two choices in the 2004 Import Draft were Slovak defenceman Andrej Meszaros at No. 16 and Czech goalie Marek Schwarz at No. 38. That same summer, the St. Louis Blues took Schwarz at No. 17 and the Ottawa Senators selected Meszaros at No. 23 in the NHL Draft.
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Tomik is represented by the Sports Corporation, which is headed up by Edmonton-based agent Gerry Johannson and also features former Giants GM Scott Bonner. Honzek and Titlbach are both with the Sports Corporation. The vast majority of Giants’ Euros over the years have been with the company, led by Meszaros and Schwarz.
There was also Swedish winger Fabian Lysell, who had 22 goals and 62 points in 53 regular season games in his lone season in Vancouver in 2021-22. The Giants picked him ahead of the season before and opted to play one Euro short for that 2020-21 campaign when he stayed in Europe. That was, mind you, during the COVID-19 pandemic and the WHL campaign had just 22 regular season games and no playoffs.
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SEwen@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/junior-hockey/vancouver-giants-one-euro-short-this-season-slovak-import-pick-staying-home