The Detroit Red Wings revealed on Monday that they have signed Jakub Rychlovský, a forward, to an entry-level two-year deal.
Rychlovský participated in the Czech Extraliga in Czechia for the entire 2023–24 season with BÃlà TygÅ™i Liberec. The 22-year-old scored 46 points, including a league-high 26 goals, and had a plus-8 rating in 51 games. In the Czech professional league, he became the youngest player to lead in scoring.
Rychlovský led the team in shooting percentage (19.6) and had nine power-play goals, ranking second on the team. Along with three short-handed goals and five game-winning goals, he also finished first.
In nine playoff games for Liberec, the five-foot-ten goal striker added seven points (two assists and five goals). Rychlovský finished 10 postseason games in 2022 with five points (four goals, one assist).
Since the 2019–20 season began, Rychlovskþ has played 190 games for Liberec and totaled 80 points (39 goals, 41 assists).
The native of Vrchlabi has represented Czechia a few times on the international scene. In five games during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, he recorded one assist while playing for Czechia. In addition, he participated in the 2019 IIHF World Under-18 Championship and the World Junior A Challenge.
Rychlovský became an undrafted free agency and signed with Detroit.
In 2023–24, the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. The Wings were certain to make the playoffs out of the Eastern Conference after signing players like Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
However, they were placed on the bubble with a seven-game losing skid in March and a poor 5-3-2 season finale. Even though Detroit pulled off a stunning comeback victory in their penultimate game, they were unable to secure a wild-card spot as the Washington Capitals won a tiebreaker. The New York Rangers swept Washington in the opening round.
