'What a week,’ another prospect proclaimed.
What a week indeed.
“I’m so excited,” a stunned Kralovic said moments after signing his first NHL contract. “I’m so proud to be part of this organization, and my feelings right now, this is just incredible."
Kralovic’s pact is a three-year deal. The 20-year-old defenseman will attend main camp this fall and begin his North American hockey career.
Tampa Bay selected Kralovic with the 90th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft last Saturday after he played 52 games of professional hockey for HC Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia this past season.
He scored six goals and 31 points while posting a plus-17 rating last season. He also represented Slovakia at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, collecting two assists.
When Tampa Bay drafted Kralovic, members of the front office hadn’t decided whether they would sign him immediately this summer. That changed after getting another extended look at his potential at this week’s development camp.
“He's got raw potential because he wasn't coached as much as he's going to be coached in the future, but he's got the skating, he's got the puck movement,” Tampa Bay director of player development JP Cote said. “He's got a lot of things that we appreciated enough to make sure that we might as well do it now because we want him to be part of this organization moving forward.”
Kralovic shared the ice this week with multiple staff members from Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. That included Crunch general manager and head coach Joel Bouchard, who has been a fan of the 6-foot-3 defenseman for months.
“For us, it's an exciting signing. I like what he brings, I like the way he plays the position. To me, it's very important. As a former defenseman in the NHL, I like the way he plays situations,” Bouchard said.
“We always can teach players how to get better, but it needs a foundation. He's got a really strong foundation,” Bouchard continued. “We had a good report on him and I watched him for a few games, and I was like, ‘Yeah…that’s good.’”
Kralovic turns 21 in August and will likely spend even more time learning from Bouchard this upcoming season.
He is already making a list of ways he can improve before then. He wants to be a better player than he is today when he arrives to his first training camp with Tampa Bay this fall.
“I think I can be better in every aspect of my game, so this summer I’ll be working on the fixes, and I want to be ready for camp,” Kralovic said. “Today is a big motivation for me to train harder, focus even harder.”
