Poletin Picked Twice in One Week

Tomas Poletin has taken some major steps forward in the past year.

He made his Liiga debut for the Pelicans last fall, graduating to Finland’s top professional league at the age of 17. In the spring, the Prague, CZE native captained Team Czechia at the U18 World Championships.

In a culmination of his solid season, Poletin was drafted twice in one week – first by the New York Islanders in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft (106^th overall). Four days later he was the first-overall selection in the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) Import Draft on July 2.

“Being drafted in the NHL is crazy, but being drafted twice in a week is even more crazy,” Poletin said. “I’m super happy and excited for next season, the work just started.”

The first-overall pick in the CHL Import Draft belonged to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, who saw the 6’1,” 206 lbs. winger as the best European skater available. Each CHL team – which encompasses the WHL, OHL and QMJHL, can select the rights of three players without residency in the United States or Canada.

Some notable first-overall picks in the CHL Import Draft include Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov (2017) and Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha (2014). Fellow Islanders prospect Jesse Nurmi, who was drafted by the Islanders in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft (113^th overall), was also a CHL import in 2024 (58^th overall).

There’s always a learning curve for Europeans coming to North America – notably the smaller rinks and physicality - but Poletin said it’s an asset to his hard-nosed game.

“Every time I played in North America on a smaller rink, it’s been great for me,” Poletin said. “It kind of suits my game. I’m trying to be as physical as possible, grinding for my team and being a two-way player. I like to be a leader and leave everything on the ice.”

Poletin showed his leadership offensively with two goals in the U18 World Championships while racking up 24 penalty minutes, although Czecha fell in the Quarterfinals. The left winger put up 20 points (13G, 7A) through 25 games with the Pelicans U20 team last season and played 15 games when he was up with the top club in Liiga. Poletin was ranked at #14 among international skaters by NHL’s Central Scouting going into the draft.

Following a draft party celebration with his family, Poletin headed to Islanders Development Camp where he befriended fellow Czechia native Tomas Machu, a seventh rounder in the 2021 NHL Draft (221^st overall). Poletin also got in the mix with CHL, NCAA and USHL players where they practiced, faced off in a scrimmage and bonded off the ice all week following the draft.

“It’s been a tremendous week,” Poletin said at the conclusion of camp. “Learning a lot of new stuff and meeting a lot of new people. We had a chance to meet all the guys and staff and the facility is great. I’m super happy.”