Darryl Plandowski, the director of amateur scouting for the Utah Mammoth, was surprised to learn of Mrtka’s athleticism during his viewings.
“It’s impressive to see the body coordination for a player that size, and how well he speaks English, coming over and transforming himself right away in the Western Hockey League,” Plandowski said. “He’s right-handed, big and powerful. That’s pretty exciting for anybody who gets ahold of him.”
Utah currently holds the No. 4 pick in the 2025 draft.
Mrtka has admired former NHL forward and Czechia hockey legend Jaromir Jagr, whom he played against earlier this season. He’s also grateful for former NHL defenseman Marek Malik, who was his coach on Trinec’s Under-17 team.
“He was a pretty good defenseman and he gave me some of his experience, and I really enjoyed to play under him,” Mrtka said. “Playing against Jagr was fun. He was so strong on the puck. Our coach said, ‘Don’t even try to hit him because there’s no chance of getting the puck back from him.'”
Mrtka compares his game to that of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, who was selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
“I think it’s a fair comparison [to Seider],” NHL Central Scouting senior western scout John Williams said. “When he arrived in November, he played every situation from the get-go because [Seattle] had some injuries. For a guy who’s 6-foot-6, he moves very well, has a little bit of bite in his game, and can jump up on the rush. I think he’d be a very good [No. 2 defenseman] who can play with a really good, skilled player.
“But he can also be on a power play, can kill penalties and can just eat minutes.”
As such, Mrtka already has become reliable enough to be paired with any type of defense partner.
“I think he’s just a guy that can get the puck out of trouble and move it out of the defensive zone,” O’Dette said. “He’s always going to be in a position where he can help do that, which can take a lot of pressure off a defense partner. He’s always going to be in a position where he can defend and maybe help out a partner when there’s some mistakes because he’s got that reach, that length with his stick, and he’s really smart in the way he uses that.
“The way he plays, sometimes you forget he’s only [18]. When he fills out and matures physically, he’s going to be quite the imposing force out there.”
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