Man of the Week: Libor Sulak

KHL.ru continues its weekly column with the Czech defenseman. Sulak is currently the league’s top-scoring defenseman and one of its top scorers overall.

If Admiral is in playoffs contention, a lot of merit for the achievements is on its leading defenseman Libor Sulak. The season is still young, yet the Sailors are showing good hockey, and the Czech blueliner is scoring at a record pace further cementing his top-scorer role. Despite playing on the blue line Sulak – who also wears the ‘C’ for the Vladivostok side – is leading Admiral in scoring for the second straight year.

Last week, Sulak had one of his best games in the league when Admiral faced Salavat Yulaev on Thursday. In the middle frame, he first assisted on Alexander Gorshkov’s opening tally: while playing the point in a four-on-three stint he received the puck from Slovak Michal Kristof, then sent it to the left for Gorshkov, who one-timed it in. Minutes later, he received the puck again from Kristof and made it a 2:0 with a slapshot from the blueline.

Early years

Libor Sulak was born on Mar 04, 1994, in Pelhrimov, a town in central Czechia which gave birth to several high-profile players, including the former veteran of more than 400 KHL games, Jiri Novotny. After having his first steps in hockey with the local team, he then moved to nearby Havlickuv Brod, where he played until 2011. After several years in the Havlickuv Brod youth system, he joined the Slovak side Tatranski Vlci of the JHL. While representing the Wolves, Sulak was called up to Czechia’s U18 squad at the 2012 IIHF U18 WJC on home soil. However, the tournament was a disappointing one for the Czechs, who had to face Switzerland, Latvia, and Denmark in the relegation round. After his experience in the JHL, Sulak moved to Chomutov, where he had his Extraliga debut in the 2013-2014 season. After three years with the Pirates, Sulak moved southwards to Znojmo, then playing in the Austrian top-flight league. In his first year with the Eagles, the d-man recorded six goals and 12 assists in 52 games, and was named the league’s rookie of the year. In the next season in Znojmo, Sulak was fourth on the team with 10 goals and 18 assists, and a team-best plus-19 differential in 54 games.

Move to North America

By then, it was evident that the blueliner had outgrown the Austrian league. He was signed by the Liiga side Pelicans Lahti, but using an NHL out-clause, he joined the Detroit Red Wings organization signing an entry-level, two-year deal on May 24, 2017. However, the defenseman was re-assigned on loan to Finland by the Red Wings, joining his previously arranged club; in the 2017–2018 campaign, he led all defensemen in scoring with a career-high 32 (9+23) points. After the completion of the Liiga season, Sulak was reassigned to the Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.

He then made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings to open the 2018–19 season. He was scoreless in the Red Wings’ first 6 games of the season and then consequently re-assigned to the Griffins of the AHL. Sulak remained in the AHL for the remainder of the year, posting five goals and 14 points in 61 regular-season games.

First stint in the KHL

As an impending restricted free agent to the Red Wings, the Czech opted to return to Europe and continue his career in the KHL, securing a contract with Severstal. However, he failed to adapt to his new league, contributing just two points in 19 games from the blueline. He was then released from his contract in Cherepovets and signed for the remainder of the season in returning to the Finnish Liiga with KooKoo. After another year in the Liiga with Karpat, Sulak returned to the KHL in 2021, signing with Admiral Vladivostok.

Second KHL stint

The Czech was much more successful in his second stint in Russia – he started leading the Vladivostok side not only on the ice, but also as the team’s captain and contributed with 26 (8+18) points on the blueline, leading the Sailors in scoring. After finishing the season in Sweden with Orebro as Admiral failed to move to the playoffs, Sulak returned to the Russian Far East, and is currently leading Admiral in scoring again. Whether the Sailors will qualify for playoffs again most will be up to Sulak’s ability to keep his pace after a fantastic start of the 2022-2023 campaign.