Report: PWHL Ottawa re-signs Katerina Mrazova

Credit: PWHL

It looks like one of the top offensive weapons in the league is staying with the team that drafted her.

According to Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News, PWHL Ottawa managed to re-sign forward Kateřina Mrázová to a standard player agreement (SPA). The deal reportedly came right before the exclusive window that allows teams to re-sign or extend players’ contracts prior to the opening of free agency.

Mrázová made an immediate impact in the league during Ottawa’s inaugural season. After being drafted by the team in the eighth round of the first-ever PWHL Draft, the Czech scorer flourished under her national team head coach, Carla MacLeod.

The Kolin native missed just one game during the regular season, also having to miss the IIHF Women’s World Championship in April after getting injured during a pre-tournament game in March. Nevertheless, Mrázová was a key offensive weapon during Ottawa’s second-half push for the playoffs. She finished with six goals and 18 points in 23 games, ending up second on the team behind captain Brianne Jenner. The 31-year-old was red-hot heading into Women’s Worlds, scoring 14 points in nine games.

Prior to playing in Ottawa, Mrázová played seven games for Färjestad BK in the Swedish second league this past season, scoring 35 points in seven games. In 2022-23, she played for the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation, her second stint with the franchise. The former Minnesota-Duluth standout also played for Brynäs IF in the SDHL, helping her team advance to the finals in 2021 and 2022, coming up short both times. Mrázová is also a Clarkson Cup champion, winning the CWHL title with the Boston Blades in 2013.

Mrázová’s tenure on the international stage dates back to the inaugural IIHF Women’s Under-18 World Championship in 2008, making her debut on the Czech senior national team the following year at the age of 16. She was a big part of Czechia’s bronze medal victories at the 2022 and 2023 Women’s Worlds.

PWHL free agency is officially underway as of Friday.