During the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo, the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to trade one of their highly touted defensive prospects for something different. The team shipped defenseman Anthony DeAngelo to the Arizona Coyotes for the 37th overall pick in the draft, and with that pick, Tampa Bay selected another defenseman.
That selection was Libor Hajek, an 18-year-old (at the time) Czech blueliner who was playing with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Hajek is still playing in Saskatoon, but he officially joined the Tampa Bay Lightning organization after signing a three-year, two-way entry-level contract this morning.