The Slovakian forward might look to make the jump to North America this season.
The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Mile High Hockey staff. Six writers have ranked players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2024, in the Colorado Avalanche organization. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.
Kicking off the 2024 edition of the Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25 is still new-ish drafted Maros Jedlicka. The Slovakian winger who can play on both sides of the ice was picked with the Avalanche’s last draft pick at 219th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Jedlicka’s stat line may be a bit staggering above, and by all accords it is correct. Jedlicka did not play a single game with his old club, HKM Zvolen, last season. This is due to the forward suffering a pretty significant injury with the Avs during the preseason last year against the Dallas Stars.
Maroš Jedlička sa v piatok dočkal svojho 1. gólu v presilovke v tejto sezóne. So 17 gólmi je zápas pred koncom ZČ najlepší strelec HKM Zvolen Okrem spomínaného gólu si pri výhre 7:0 pripísal aj asistenciu a mal pár ďalších zaujímavých momentov:
Zdroj YT Tipos Extraliga pic.twitter.com/uvbuD8mdiJ— Peter Vretenička (@vretenicka) March 4, 2023
He went down with an upper-body injury, requiring surgery keeping him sidelined for five months and out for the season. Jedlicka looked as though he could get some playing time in North America for the very first time, as he joined the AHL-affiliate Colorado Eagles on an ATO to end last season. But, he never saw the ice in Loveland.
Jedlicka has now transferred teams and is expected to play his hockey in Czechia with HC Kometa Brno in a bounce-back year. Don’t be surprised if he is at Avalanche Training Camp, however. The 21-year-old was an impressive standout from camp and preseason last year, fresh out of the draft in the seventh round.
Maroš Jedlička (#55) má za sebou zápasový debut v drese Colorado Avalanche, v ktorom proti Vegas odohral 13:25, z toho 0:57 v PP a 0:24 v SH. Zostrihal som pár jeho momentov – zblokovaný strelecký pokus, súboje o puk, teč pred bránou či vstup do pásma: pic.twitter.com/QwxqyA2uH0
— Peter Vretenička (@vretenicka) September 26, 2023
This year will be a big watching year for him to see how he performs coming off of injury with a new team. If he comes back better than before, surely the Eagles will have their eyes on him again to get him playing time in North America. If he finds life difficult or has setbacks with injuries, his window of opportunity of ever earning a contract with the Avs might be quickly closing.