Immediately following the CHL Import Draft on July 2, the Brandon Wheat Kings said they expected not only to get defenseman Adam Hlinsky on board for the coming season but they expected him to make an immediate impact. He’ll get a chance now to do exactly that.
The Wheat Kings announced today they had signed Hlinsky to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement ahead of the 2025-26 season. Hlinsky was the team’s second selection, 95th overall, at the draft.
The Czech-born defenseman, born in 2006, has already represented his country at the U17s, Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and World Under-18s where he served as team captain. His extensive international resume already covers over 60 games.
“We want him to make an immediate impact and we think he has the ability to step in right away,” said Wheat Kings director of hockey operations Chris Moulton after the team selected Hlinsky. “It’s not that we don’t think he will develop, but we’re not drafting him for the development. We think he’s an instant impact guy. He speaks very good English, has played internationally a lot, and always plays a leadership role on every single team he plays on. This was a guy we selected to come in and make an immediate impact.”
Aside from his impressive work representing Czechia internationally, Hlinsky has played most of the past two seasons at the J20 level in Sweden. Last season, the 6-foot-even 190-pound blueliner posted 13 points in 43 games.
The Wheat Kings have all three import spots open this year as they traded last year’s import forward Dominik Petr to the Saskatoon Blades and released Adam Belusko for another opportunity.
