Detroit Red Wings
Mrtka Likely to Continue to Worship Red Wings Seider From Afar
Detroit defender a role model
Top NHL draft prospect Radim Mrtka makes no bones about the fact that he tries to pattern his game after Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.
“My favorite players are Victor Hedman and Moritz Seider,” Mrtka told reporters during the recent NHL Draft Combine. “I would like to be like them.”
If the Czech defender is to continue his admiration of Seider after Friday’s draft, it will like be as an NHL opponent. The Red Wings are certainly among the teams that covet Mrtka. However, it’s unlikely that he’ll still be on the draft board when Detroit steps up to make its first round selection at 13th overall.
That’s the thing about 6-foot-6 mobile defenders who can skate and move the puck. They don’t last long on draft day.
Certainly, his coach with Trinec in Czechia, former NHL defenseman Marek Malik, isn’t expecting that Mrtka will be waiting long to hear his name after Friday’s first round gets underway.
“You want to have 10 players like that on the team,” Malik told Czech website iSport. “The first thing that catches your eye is Radim’s size and height. At the same time, he is also very mobile and agile.
“Guys of that height have problems with agility, but he tolerated this limit very well, he worked on it.”
Red Wings Among Many Teams Covering Czech Defender
Buffalo, Philadelphia, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers and Detroit are all teams that reportedly covet tabbing Mrtka with the club’s first-round pick. Of the five other teams on this list, all but the Rangers are picking before the Red Wings in the first round. One of them is bound to take Mrtka before he’s sliding to Detroit.
“I would say that I am a two-way player who does everything for the team to win,” is Mrtka’s scouting self assessment.
Radim Mrtka on playing Jagr and Mrtka shows his personality pic.twitter.com/tlltbMcUjL
— The Prospect Don (@TheProspectDon) June 8, 2025
Listening to Malik’s projection for the player, Mrtka definitely does sound like someone with Seider-like tendencies.
“Radim has great discipline both on the ice and in terms of work ethic,” Malik said of Mrtka. “He fulfills his duties himself. You don’t even have to tell him anything.
“He knew from the beginning what professional habits are.”
