Interview with 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Vaclav Nestrasil

Earlier this year, I talked with Vaclav Nestrasil and his parents to learn more about him as a player and a person

Vaclav Nestrasil, a projected late-2nd or early-3rd round draft pick in the 2025 NHL draft, has continued to rise up the ranks as the season progresses. So far this season, playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, has scored 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points in 57 games. But that isn’t what’s made his season impressive.

Last year, he played 11 USHL games, where he failed to score. He played a maximum of 7:26 in a single game in those contests. He averaged 5:29 time on ice in that span. This year, in the 29 games played from September to December 2024, he scored 16 points and averaged 13:42 time on ice per game.

Since the turn of the calendar year, his ice time rose to 16:16 per game, and he has scored 24 points in the 28 games played in that span. His surge up the boards stems from his consistent effort and hard work to earn more ice time as the season has worn on.

It’s also fair to point out the fact that, in that same span, he has played less than 60 minutes on the powerplay out of the 455 minutes total played. Meanwhile, his teammate, Ivan Ryabkin, who joined Muskegon at the beginning of January, has scored 25 points in a 24-game span while playing 17:20 average ice time per game. Additionally, he’s played just shy of 65 minutes of ice time across the 416 total minutes played in that span. So, his powerplay ice time makes up ~15% of his total minutes, while Nestrasil’s powerplay time makes up ~12% of his time.

This isn’t to downplay Ryabkin’s impact, as he has been listed as a 1st round prospect for much of this season (he is currently in the late-1st, early-2nd range), but instead, it’s to shine a brighter light on just how good Nestrasil has been playing and why he continues to rise up draft boards. With FCHockey’s most recent ranking, he was placed 52nd overall. On top of this, Nestrasil’s committed to playing NCAA hockey with UMass Amherst and will be playing there next season. This is due in large part to how impressed UMass head coach Greg Carvel has been of Nestrasil’s performance.

Recently, I got the opportunity to interview the 6’5” and 190-pound winger from Praha, Czech Republic, alongside his parents, Vaclav Nestrasil Sr. and Lucie Nestrasilova. We talked about his path to the USHL, how he grew up and fell in love with the sport, and the ups and downs of his career. There is no video this time, due to a bit of a language barrier and a request. Below is the transcript, which has been modified for clarity.

Interview transcript:

(The titles for each quote will be KP for me, Jr. for Vaclav Nestrasil Jr., Sr. for Nestrasil’s father, and LN for Nestrasil’s mother, Lucie)

KP: For Junior, what is your first hockey memory? The first time where you realized that this is the sport you loved?

Jr.: I don’t know if I have a memory in my mind. I have a ton of pictures because of my mom, she loves to take pictures, so ever since I was very young, the walls in our apartment were full of black marks because of the puck because I was playing when I was one or two. So probably not one memory but definitely a ton of pictures. Even when I couldn’t really walk, I was playing hockey.

KP: So just an early start, the marks on the wall from shooting the puck a lot?

Sr.: I will have to say that we have four sons, all hockey players. When Vaclav Jr. was born, I hated hockey. Really, I hated hockey! Because all my sons were in trouble with hockey, especially Andrei who played in the NHL. At that time [when Vaclav was born] he was in the East Coast Hockey League [ECHL] without perspective. The oldest son had just finished his hockey career, and my third son was in trouble too and — I hate hockey. When we waited for Vaclav [to be born] I wished to have my first girl. Because I had three boys, my wish was to have a girl. When we heard from the doctors that we are having another son, I wished to have a boy, for example, who will love —

LN: Music! Piano!

Sr.: Music, art. No chance Kyle. No chance! When we were with Vaclav in the mountains, he was two years old, maximum. We tried to enjoy the mountains with him. We were on a hill and we tried…

Jr.: Skiing. They wanted to ski but I loved hockey, so I played hockey all the time.

Sr.: And he saw a hockey rink while on this hill. And he cried a lot. “I want to go there, I want to go there!” I told myself, okay, we will try it for five minutes and he will fall a lot of times on the ice, and he will cry and it will be for five, ten minutes. No chance Kyle, no chance! One and a half hours! I had to be on the ice with him and he was absolutely happy. It meant I had to start visiting hockey stadiums again because he was absolutely happy at the hockey stadium. We started with his hockey career when he was three and a half. I remember that one time we were in a hockey stadium and he had practice with boys the same age as him. After one hour, this practice finished, but Vaclav told me “No, I don’t want to go home, I will be here again with the older boys.” It meant that he was on the ice for another hour with older boys. When he finished the second practice he told me “No, I don’t want to get off the ice, I will be here with another group of boys.” The oldest. He was absolutely crazy for hockey. And he is the reason why I am at a hockey stadium again because when he visits hockey stadiums, he was really, really happy. That was our memories, because he was a crazy boy for hockey.

KP: So he was born for it, there wasn’t just one moment where he fell in love with the game, it’s just always been there.

Jr.: Probably.

Sr.: Yep!

KP: For Senior, you’ve raised four boys now, one of them being Andrei Nestrasil who went to the NHL as you mentioned. With raising them, when did you realize that Junior could be a special hockey player? I’m assuming it’s when he stayed on the ice with all the older kids, too, but was there another moment where you thought he could be something really special?

Sr.: I’m not sure if this moment exists. But for me, the most important thing was that he loved hockey a lot. Second, he is a little bit emotional, like mom. I remember his first game, he scored maybe six goals, but at the end, he hit the post and he lied on the ice—

LN: Collapsed!

Sr.: —and collapsed. He was crying a lot because he didn’t score his seventh goal. I told myself, okay, maybe he will be a hockey player. He was absolutely crazy!

KP: Is it the same moment for you, mom, was it the same moment where you realized he was a special hockey player or was there a different moment for you?

LN: For me, it started when he was one and a half years old, all the time in the morning he’d wake up at six-o-clock and he’d take the net — he was one and a half years old, really small guy.

Sr.: He woke up very, very early. At five, at six a.m.

LN: Yeah, he took his small net and took his hockey stuff, everything. We wanted to sleep, and he would, all the time, play hockey. Our apartment was broken, the whole apartment, so we have a house now. Because it wasn’t possible to live there! So, I feel a lot of emotion for him and feelings about hockey, about everything, he really, really loved to stay in those hockey arenas. Whenever he went to a hockey arena, he absolutely loved it, all the time. He never wanted to go to school —

Sr.: My wife, too!

LN: [Laughs] He hated to go to kindergarten, to school. He wanted to stay all the time at the hockey arena. It was since he was one and a half years old, I think. Do you agree Vaclav?

Jr.: Yeah

Sr.: It was a shock for me because when we’re sleeping and at five a.m. some big noise woke me up and I was in shock! When he saw me [after I woke up] at the door, he was absolutely happy [and he said], “You’re going to play hockey with me?” At five a.m.! Absolutely crazy.

KP: Learning how early you fell in love with the game, for Junior, who was your favorite player, it could be NHL or back home in Czech Republic, who was your favorite player who you try to model your game after?

Jr.: It changed a lot throughout my youth. Probably my first favorite player was probably Patrick Kane, his hands and stuff. I remember watching Pavel Datsyuk, his shootout clips on youtube and all that stuff, I loved that. Growing up, I shifted when I was 14, I really liked Jack Eichel. Loved his skating, his stride is just insane. Right now I’d probably say Nathan MacKinnon or Tage Thompson. You know, Tage Thompson is obviously a big kid, righty, insane hockey player. Kinda grew into his game a little bit slower but yeah, probably those two, Nathan MacKinnon or Tage Thompson.

KP: And favorite hockey team? If you want to share that?

Jr.: Well, I don’t have a favorite hockey team. I liked Colorado a few years ago, around when they won the Stanley Cup, not as of right now. I still like them, but not as a favorite team.

KP: And for Senior, was it his first time skating when you mentioned he was crying about the rink and he wanted to go, you said only for a couple of minutes and he stayed the whole time?

Sr.: Probably, yeah.

LN: Yeah, I’m sure.

Jr.: I think that was the first time, yeah.

KP: From a parents perspective, what was the biggest challenge with helping Junior get to where he is today? What was the hardest part about it?

Jr.: That’s a good question!

Sr.: Big challnge was when he was 13 and the doctor told us he had to stop hockey for one year. It was absolutely shocking for everyone in our family, especially for Vaclav. We had to be strong.

Jr.: I have to explain it. It was an injury in my knee. Some part of my knee cap popped out and I couldn’t properly skate so I had to stop for like a year.

Sr.: In this time, he grew up very, very quickly. It was absolutely crazy. Then the next year, he had a lot of problems with his body and those two years was absolutely horrible for the whole family. But now we are happy because he plays and when he plays in the USHL, when he’s committed to UMass, it is an absolute shock to us. It was a really difficult time for us. Two years without hockey.

LN: In that time, he learned to work with himself. He had some mental coaches, a skills coach, he worked with physiotherapy. Learned a lot about nutrition. In those two years he didn’t play hockey, but he had a huge growth, you see, he is 6’5” today. So it was a horrible time, but it was a very important time for himself. For him to grow. He was very talented when he was young, and this was part of his life and he had to stop doing too many things to go back to playing hockey, and he knows now so many things which he needs to know to do for himself. It was a very important time for him.

Sr.: He had to learn a lot of things outside of hockey.

LN: Yeah, to stay professional. Because when he plays hockey and has only talent, maybe it doesn’t do much for growth. Vaclav do you agree?

Jr.: I do yeah [laughs]

LN: Very, very hard, and he changed teams in the Czech league, so there were too many changes and too many… it’s not easy in Czech to change teams.

Sr.: It was a really stressful time for everyone.

KP: Going through that stressful time, for Junior, for all the young players out there, younger kids than you, who are hoping they can take that next step, as you have to play in the USHL, do you have any advice for those young players? Like what it takes, the hard work, whether it’s in the offseason or on the ice practicing, any advice for those young kids?

Jr.: Yeah, and you said it. It’s definitely the hard work; that’s the most important part. Maybe not looking at anyone else. That’s another part. Don’t compare yourself to anybody else. Every path is different, every guy will have a different route, and yeah, work hard. Try to work harder than everybody else and lock in on yourself more than other guys. That’s probably it.

KP: For you this summer, you have the chance to get drafted into the NHL. It’s still a long way out, and you’re probably not trying to think about it too much, but what are you most excited about when it comes to the draft in the summer?

Jr.: Probably just the experience of it. Just feeling it, just living the dream I’ve always wanted to. I would probably say that, yeah, living the dream.

KP: And having a brother in Andrei who has gone to the NHL, has he helped you with preparing for it? How has he helped you?

Jr.: Not really with preparing for it, but he definitely helped me a lot in the last, like, three, four months. Probably since the start of the season. But yeah, we talk a lot and we discuss a lot. Lots of things about hockey. I definitely think he helped me the most the last four months. Obviously, he experienced it, he went through it, so I’m glad I can have somebody on my side that already went through it and can help me.

KP: For Senior and mom, do you guys have any advice for Junior for the draft? What’s one piece of advice that you want to give to him as he takes that next step in his career?

Sr.: Oh wow, that’s a very difficult question. No, I am proud of him a lot because he is successful for me in this moment. Does not matter if he will be second round, third round. It does not matter to me. Because two years ago, I did not believe that he would have a chance to be drafted. Now, we are in a situation where we speak about second round, third round. Wow. That’s absolutely a huge success for him, and I am proud of him. No, any advice, we are in contact every week. Sometimes I watch his shifts in games, sometimes I send him some advice. To be very aggressive without the puck. But no, I am absolutely happy he committed to UMass. To play NCAA is absolutely a dream for me. Now, we will discuss when he will play NCAA, whether it’s next season or after one more year. Both is absolutely huge success for him. No advice.

KP: Moving onto the next round of questions, which are more fun. More directed off the ice, things you like away from hockey, things you like that maybe has to do with hockey but more so just preferences. For example, what’s your favorite brand of stick? Is it CCM, Bauer, what is your preference for that?

Jr.: That’s a good question. We play with Bauers, I think the whole USHL is sponsored by Bauer, so I have Bauers now. The good thing about it is, at UMass, that’s a CCM school, so I might have to switch. But, yeah, I’ve been playing through my childhood with probably every single stick, like Warrior and all that. I like Bauer a lot. I’ve kind of been sticking to that for the past three years, so probably Bauer right now.

KP: Favorite things to watch outside of hockey? Like, when you’re home relaxing, what is your favorite TV show or movie? It could be a movie from Czech Republic from when you were growing up or it could be a show you’ve liked since moving to America. But what is that show or movie you like to watch when you’re at home?

Jr.: To be honest, I don’t watch movies at all. The only time I watch movies is when I’m in an airplane and I have to spend some time. But what I do the most is probably watch soccer. Me and my dad, we are huge soccer fans. Our team in Prague is just, that’s my love. I love watching that. I watch every single game; I watch the standings. So probably not a movie, more like soccer. That’s my passion, yeah.

KP: Who’s your go-to club?

Jr.: It’s called Slavia Prague. It’s our hometown club.

KP: What about music? What’s your go-to for music?

Jr.: The only time I listen to music is usually pre-game, and that’s usually a playlist that the boys make. So, I kind of just go with it, just listen to the vibes. I don’t have a specific artist I would say, just go with it, and listen to whatever the boy’s play.

KP: Going to the US from the Czech Republic, having played in both countries, what is the difference in terms of the atmosphere of the crowd?

LN: Everything! [laughing]

Jr.: I would say, if you talk about crowds, people, it’s kind of hard for me to answer because I never played in front of a big crowd in Czech. But I obviously know the crowds for the pros. I would say it’s basically the same, like there’s a few differences, I’ll probably have to answer that question in a few years when I actually experience US hockey. I don’t really know.

KP: Now to your teammates, who is the funniest teammate in the locker room?

Jr.: Oh, that’s a good question. We have so many funny… I have to think about it. It’s hard to say one guy. Our locker room is so nice, we stick together so nicely, so basically everybody is funny. Every guy has his own jokes and can say his own things. I wouldn’t say one guy, I’d say the whole team. It’s so fun to be around them.

KP: Last question here for off-ice stuff, if you weren’t a hockey player, what do you think would be your career outside of hockey?

Jr.: Outside of hockey, if I couldn’t play hockey or coach it at all, I would probably be a designer. I like to design things, I like to wear kind of special clothes, and I like to show [that off]. Or even build houses, I like to — you know, just to design or even having a clothing brand. Something like that. That would definitely — I would be interested in that.

KP: For Senior now, what’s something that nobody really knows about Junior from just watching him play that you want people to know about him?

Sr.: About his character or hockey?

KP: Personality-wise.

Jr.: That’s a good question, I wouldn’t know that! [laughs]

Sr.: A few days ago, he had some conversation with a psychologist and no one knows that he has ADHD, like mom! But he grew up with me and no one knows it but this woman was very clever and told him, you have ADHD. And that’s maybe a secret that no one knows about him.

KP: Between the three of you, who do you guys think is the better skater?

Jr.: [laughing] Well, my parents —

LN: Andrei, all the time in his life, everybody said that he could not skate, that he will not play hockey because he is not a good skater. So, when Vaclav was small, all the time he went to an ice arena to do skills for skating because it was —

Jr.: Well, you asked about us three, but she mentioned my brothers as well. Yeah, kind of to her point, about my brothers since she included them, my brother was never a really good skater and she kind of mentioned that. But like, I had skill practices ever since I was so young so she kind of means that I am a better skater than my brother [laughs]. Of the three of us, right now, in a meeting, my dad never played hockey, my mom never played hockey, so it would probably be me as well. [Laughs]

Sr.: Because we had Andrei and his hockey story, with NHL and Russia and Czech Republic, we have knowledge because of him, of what is the most important thing for a hockey player. Andrei was an excellent hockey player, except for his skating. If he was a better skater, he’d be playing in the NHL until now. But without that skating, it’s a small chance for him. We knew that we had to be focused on skating from childhood, and we found teachers for Vaclav, best in the Czech Republic.

Jr.: It’s still definitely not good. It will be way better. [Laughs]

KP: Last question, obviously Junior plays in the US so it’s a little bit different, but if you catch his games, how do you guys celebrate a win? Do you have any special traditions for a win, or do you just enjoy the games?

LN: It’s very nice for us, because we have jet lag from September to now. We have jet lag because of all the weekends we didn’t sleep from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. or 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. So, in the night, we’ll watch. And when he gets a goal and when they win we are noisy! [laughs] And after we sleep, we sleep all weekend. So for us, we need to relax for next weekend. We are happy, we feel good when he plays good, the team plays good, and for us, where he lives now, it’s like a dream. Like Vaclav [Sr.] told you, two years ago he didn’t play hockey. We cannot understand how he lives now, and how he grew so much like a person. He is in the US. Because I talked to him all his life and I never thought he’d grow alone, live alone, now he’s so big. This is important for us. So, okay, we are very happy, but we only see when he has a good game, a very good game, or it’s not a good game, okay, but we know it’s experience and he learns from this experience.

Sr.: We are very, very nervous every game.

LN: Yeah [laughs]. But it’s okay, we feel very good.

Sr.: We are very tired. After every game, we are very, very tired. [laughs]