In this series – Get to Know – learn more about the newest Utah Mammoth players and who they are on and off the ice!
On the first day of Free Agency, Vitek Vaněček signed a one-year contract with the Utah Mammoth. Fresh off his first Stanley Cup win, Vaněček brings depth to the roster. Learn more about one of the newest Mammoth players below!
The Basics
From Havlickuv Brod, Czechia, Vitek Vaněček is a left-catching goaltender who is 6-foot-2 and 184 pounds. Vaněček will wear the number 41 with the Mammoth. The 29-years-old netminder was drafted 39th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals.
Off the ice, Vitek and his wife Kristýna welcomed their first child, Tobias, earlier this year. Tobais was born before Vaněček was traded to the Florida Panthers ahead of the trade deadline, so Vaněček’s son has been a part of three NHL franchises before he turns one!
The Road to the NHL
Vaněček played youth hockey and professional hockey in Czechia before the goaltender made the jump to North American hockey during the 2015-16 season. His first five seasons in the U.S. were spent between the Hershey Bears in the AHL and the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL.
Through 143 AHL games, Vaněček had a 72-44-22 record with a 2.58 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. He recorded 11 shutouts in the AHL. During the 2020-21 season, Vaněček would start his NHL journey with the Washington Capitals.
NHL Experience
Vitek Vaněček made his NHL debut with Washington on Jan. 15, 2021. In his first game, Vaněček made 30 saves to secure a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Two months later, Vaněček stopped all 23 shots he faced to record his first NHL shutout, also against the Sabres. In his first NHL season, Vanecek played 37 games, starting 36 of those contests, and recorded a 21-10-4 record. He led all NHL rookies with 21 wins, and had the second-most wins by a Capitals rookie.
After another strong season with the Capitals, Vaněček was traded to the New Jersey Devils on the second day of the 2022 NHL Draft. Following the trade, he signed a three-year contract with New Jersey. In Vaněček’s first season with the Devils, he played 52 games and had a 33-11-4 record. He helped the Devils to the postseason for the first time since 2018 and the team’s second 50-win season in franchise history. In his second year with the Devils, Vaněček played 32 games and had a 17-9-3 record before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks on Mar. 8, 2024. Vaněček made his Sharks debut during the 2024-25 season; however, he only played 18 games for San Jose before he was on the move.
Vaněček was traded to the Florida Panthers ahead of the 2025 trade deadline and served as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup throughout the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. He won his first Stanley Cup championship with the Panthers in June before signing a one-year contract with the Mammoth on July 1.
Through five NHL seasons, Vaněček has played 188 games and started 176 games with a 96-56-21 record. He has a 2.83 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. Vaněček has recorded 10 shutouts and has contributed five assists throughout his career.
International Experience
Vaněček has represented his home country, Czechia, multiple times throughout his career at the U17, U18, U19, and U20 levels. At the 2015 World Junior Championship, Vaněček played three games, went 1-2-0, had a 4.31 goals against average and a .829 save percentage. The next year at World Juniors, Vaněček played five games, recorded a 2-3-0 record, had a 2.73 goals against average, and a .881 save percentage. 2016 was Vaněček’s most recent international experience.
Mammoth Connections
Vaněček played with Liam O’Brien previously on the Hershey Bears (AHL). Although they didn’t play together in the Washington Capitals organization, Vaněček played with Nate Schmidt this past season with the Florida Panthers. With the New Jersey Devils, Vaněček played with both John Marino and Nick DeSimone.
He’s Watching You
Vaněček took the role of backup goaltender very seriously during the 2025 Playoffs. Throughout the Stanley Cup Final, he used warmups as a chance to intimidate the competition:
