On Wednesday (April 2), the Edmonton Oilers announced the signing of Czech centre David Tomasek to a one-year contract worth $1.2 million for the 2025-26 season.
Tomasek will join the Oilers after playing his entire professional career in Europe, most recently with Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
He turned 29 in February, shoots right, stands just over six foot and one inch tall, and tips the scales at just under 190 pounds. Here are six other things to know about Edmonton’s new addition.
Tomasek Knows All About Canada
Tomasek is no stranger to Canada, but it’s been a while since he’s skated on rinks in the Great White North — a decade, to be precise.
The Prague product played two seasons of major junior hockey with the Belleville Bulls in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). As a member of the Bulls, Tomasek totalled 13 goals and 14 assists over 58 games in 2013-14, then recorded 13 goals and 18 assists over 61 games in 2014-15.
His final time suiting up for the Bulls came during the opening round of 2015 OHL Playoffs, when the Barrie Colts swept Belleville in the best-of-four series. Incredibly, the date of that game was April 2, 2015, exactly 10 years to the day Tomasek signed with the Oilers.
He’s Played Pro in 4 Countries
After wrapping up his time in the OHL, Tomasek returned to Europe where he began his pro career back in his home country playing for Pardubice HC of the Czech Extraliga.
Following three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2016-17, with Pardubice, Tomasek jumped to JYP Jyvaskyla in Liiga where he played all of 2018-19 and the first part of 2019-20.
Tomasek then spent the majority of the next four years back in Czechia, playing for Sparta HC, with the exception of a stint in Russia with Khabarovsk Amur of the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2021-22 season. He made his Farjestad debut in 2023.
Tomasek Is a World Champion
One of the greatest occasions in Czech hockey history happened last spring, and Tomasek was right in the middle of it, playing centre for his national team that won gold at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Prague and Ostrava.
Czechia defeated Switzerland 2-0 in the final at O2 Arena on May 26 to win World Championship gold for the first time since 2010 and for the first time ever on home soil.
Tomasek played in all 10 of Czechia’s games, scoring once and picking up three assists. He won 65 of 115 faceoffs for a success rate of 56.52%, which was 10th best among all players at the championship.
He’s an MVP
After racking up 24 goals and 33 assists to lead the SHL with 57 points in the 2024-25 season, Tomasek received the Golden Helmet, awarded annually to the league’s most valuable player.
As SHL MVP, Tomasek joined some very elite company that have previously won the award, including Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Peter Forsberg and Henrik Lundqvist.
Current Oilers forward Derek Ryan is also a Golden Helmet winner, receiving the award in 2014-15 while playing for Orebro HK.
He Caught NHL Teams’ Attention
When the NHL took an extended break in February for the 4 Nations Face-Off, Edmonton general manager (GM) Stan Bowman traveled to Sweden to personally watch Tomasek.
That actually coincided with a slump for Farjestad, which dropped five-consecutive SHL games from Feb. 1 to 20. Tomasek only suited up for three of those games, totalling just one point, but obviously made enough of an impression on Bowman for the Oilers GM to extend a contract offer.
Bowman wasn’t alone in having an eye for Tomasek. There were reportedly multiple other teams interested in the veteran forward, including the Anaheim Ducks.
Tomasek Is Chasing His Dream
Farjestad’s postseason came to an end on Monday (March 31) when it lost 2-1 to Skelleftea AIK in Game 6 of a best-of-seven series.
In an article posted Wednesday on Farjestad’s official website, Tomasek expressed both sadness and frustration that he was unable to help his team succeed in the playoffs and ultimately bring a championship to Karlstad.
But despite those sentiments that he failed to achieve all of his goals with Farjestad, Tomasek said that he couldn’t turn down the offer to sign with Edmonton: “I have been given the opportunity to fulfill a dream that I would regret the rest of my life if I didn’t take.”
Will Tomasek be able to turn dreams into reality? He’ll have that chance when he attends his first NHL training camp in Edmonton next September.
