Panthers agree to contract terms with defenseman prospect

The Panthers have agreed to terms with right-shot defenseman Mikulas Hovorka on a two-year, entry-level contract beginning next season, per a team release. Hovorka had drawn interest from multiple teams throughout the season and he gets his wish of signing in the Eastern Conference.

The 22-year-old Hovorka spent the last two seasons with Motor Ceske Budejovice of the Czech Extraliga. Undrafted, the Prague native has played 90 games at the top level, recording eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points with a +2 rating and 66 PIMs. The shutdown blue-liner’s main appeal is his size – if he cracks Florida’s roster over the next two years, he would be one of the bulkier defenders in the league at 6–foot-6 and 229 pounds.

Hovorka was under contract with Motor through 2026, but the transfer agreement between the ELH and the NHL allows the Panthers to buy out his overseas contract. They did not disclose the terms of his entry-level deal.

This is the second straight year that Cats GM Bill Zito has gone defense shopping out of the ELH. He picked up Latvian blue-liner Uvis Balinskis from Bili Tygri Liberec in April last year, a low-risk signing that’s largely panned out. Balinskis logged 23 games of largely solid NHL minutes this season, has been productive with AHL Charlotte and inked a two-year extension to remain in South Florida.

Hovorka seems a likely candidate to start next season in Charlotte, especially since his game is less developed than that of the elder Balinskis. He’s still a low-risk, medium-upside acquisition for the Panthers, who will hold his rights if they choose to qualify him and make him an RFA when his deal expires in 2026.