DULUTH — Former Minnesota Duluth goaltender Zach Stejskal is signing a professional contract to play with Hokki in Finland next season.
Located in the town of Kajaani, Hokki competes in the second-highest league in Finland — Mestis, which translates to “championship series” in English.
“I have always wanted to play in Europe, and this opportunity was too good to turn down,” Stejskal said in a text to the News Tribune. “I am very excited for the next chapter in my life. Playing here gives me a chance to make it in any of the top leagues in Europe. That is what I strive to do.”
A native of Cohasset, Stejskal backstopped Grand Rapids High School to its first Minnesota boys state hockey title in 37 years as a senior in 2016-17. He then went on to play three seasons of junior hockey in the USHL and NAHL before playing four seasons for the Bulldogs from 2020-24.
The most recent goalie to start for the Bulldogs in an NCAA Frozen Four, Stejskal played in 57 games over the previous four seasons at UMD, finishing with a .903 career save percentage and 2.78 career GAA.
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With a large recruiting class waiting to come to UMD in the fall of 2024, including a pair of goaltenders who will be in their 20s come fall, Stejskal was one of three Bulldogs seniors — along with Darian Gotz and Blake Biondi, both of Hermantown — that was not being brought back in 2024-25 despite being eligible to play a fifth season because of the exemption they received for playing in 2020-21 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a graduate student, Stejskal was eligible to enter his name into the transfer portal after the Bulldogs’ season ended on March 16 with a loss to Denver in the NCHC quarterfinals, but he waited until early April to submit his name. Stejskal, who said he did receive a couple of offers worth considering, then withdrew from the portal this week.
Stejskal, who turns 25 in December, said Friday that he went into his senior season of NCAA hockey in 2023-24 wanting to turn pro when it was all said and done. His battle with testicular cancer during his sophomore season of 2021-22 influenced that decision, he said.
“UMD was my favorite team growing up. I committed when I was 17, it was the only team I ever wanted to play college hockey for, that still stands true today,” Stejskal said. “Seeing myself in any other college hockey jersey didn’t feel right. Lastly, I knew going into this year that I wanted to be done with college hockey, and start my professional career. The struggles in my life made me grow up fast and gave me new perspectives, it only felt right to move on.”
Stejskal said he was hesitant to enter his name in the transfer portal for multiple reasons. It wasn’t just his desire to play only for the Bulldogs, or because he wanted to start his pro career.
He understands why it exists, and that entering the portal is the right move for some. But misuse of the portal by others is hurting college hockey, Stejskal said.
“I think the portal has ruined the tradition and culture of college hockey,” Stejskal said in a text conversation with the News Tribune. “Players who aren’t satisfied with playing time now search for a better opportunity instead of working harder to get in the lineup. Oftentimes this happens in season, and though it isn’t openly talked about, you kinda know who is. This creates an unstable environment in the locker room, which can distract an entire team both on and off the ice. Certainly, there are situations where it makes sense for some players to enter the portal, but all in all, I did not want to be a part of it.”
Stejskal isn't the first Bulldog this offseason to express his true feelings about the transfer portal. His coach, Scott Sandelin, called the current state of the transfer portal in hockey and all of college sports is “asinine. I’m sorry, it’s asinine,” earlier in April.
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Stejskal is one of four Bulldogs from the 2023-24 team to enter the transfer portal this offseason — but the only one to withdraw — along with Biondi, junior wing Kyler Kleven and sophomore wing Luke Johnson. Biondi is transferring to Notre Dame for his fifth year, Kleven is going to Niagara and Johnson has not announced a destination yet.
During Stejskal’s four years — from the end of his freshman season to the end of his senior year — 10 teammates transferred from the Bulldogs to another program, though three players who went into the portal in 2022 were seniors who went elsewhere for their fifth season because the Bulldogs were unable to bring them back, as was the case with Stejskal, Biondi and Gotz.
UMD has added seven transfers from the portal since 2020 and St. Cloud State senior forward Joe Molenaar will be the eighth when he comes to UMD next season.
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