Svozil named East Division Defenceman of the Year
Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced Tuesday that Regina Pats 2003-born defenceman Stanislav Svozil has been named the Eastern Division Top Defenceman for the 2022-23 season.
Svozil, 20, finished the regular season top-3 in the WHL amongst defencemen in numerous categories. He ranked first in power play assists (36), second in assists (67), second in points per-game (1.39), and third in points (78), all while playing in just 56 games. In the playoffs, Svozil recorded 13 points (4G-9A) in seven games, finishing second amongst all skaters in first-round scoring.
The Prerov, Czechia product finished the year with 24 multi-point games, including four four-point efforts. Svozil’s 78 points were the 10th-highest single season point total by a Pats defenceman in franchise history.
His 67 assists are tied for the fifth-highest all-time and his 1.39 points-per-game rank 4th all-time in Pats history. Svozil joins Connor Hobbs (2016-17) as the only two Pats defencemen in the last 25 years to reach 70+ points.
WHL Defenceman of the Year Nominees
B.C. Division – Olen Zellweger (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) – Kamloops Blazers
Central Division – Christoffer Sedoff (Helsinki, Finland) – Red Deer Rebels
East Division – Stanislav Svozil (Prerov, Czechia) – Regina Pats
U.S. Division – Kevin Korchinski (Saskatoon, Sask.) – Seattle Thunderbirds
All individual WHL Division Award winners will be eligible for the overall WHL Awards, which will be announced from Tuesday, May 2 through Wednesday, May 10. The winner of the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy awarded to the WHL Defenceman of the Year will be announced Wednesday, May 10.
