For the third time in three years a North American junior league drafted a Hungarian player. In 2014 the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL drafted Tamás Láday out of Fehérvár with the Sioux Falls Stampede taking Csanád Erdély also from Fehérvár. With Zsombor Garát being drafted from MAC Budapest.
There were a number of NAHL teams looking at Zsombor Garát but in the end the Austin Bruins took him with their first round pick. The NAHL teams were looking at defence as Zsombor was the sixth defenceman taken in the draft with two goalies also being drafted.
Garát started the season out playing for Seacoast Prep in Exeter New Hampshire, once the season ended he came back to Hungary to finish the season with the U20 team of MAC Budapest so he can graduate from high school. He had 48 points in 58 games at Seacoast and won the Hungarian U20 title with MAC when he came back. Zsombor made the Hungarian national team and participated in the A-Pool World Championships last month in St.Petersburg.
“I had an old friend that I was able to meet up with out here in the U.S.” said Garát after being drafted, “We were talking online, he had called around and talked to a number of NAHL teams and he said that Austin was really interested but I did not want to sign a tender. I figured that I would wait to be drafted and to give my chance more teams to take me.”
There was a second Hungarian taken in the 2016 NAHL draft. Horka Székessy was taken in the second round by the Bismarck Bobcats. Horka came up through the EC Bad Holz youth system. Horka’s older brother Huba had played three seasons in the NAHL.
The Greater Metro Hockey League (GMHL) based out of Toronto, had the Northumberland Stars take Barna Czakó. Czakó is forward who spent last season with Vasas U20, in the Austrian league he had 31 points in 37 games with 31 point in 16 games in the Hungarian U20 league.
