FEATURE: Nestrasil Focused on Long-Term Growth and Development

Forward Vaclav Nestrasil said he has always loved the Chicago Blackhawks and always dreamed of being a part of the organization. After receiving the news of the Blackhawks selecting him with the 25th pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, Nestrasil’s dream came true.

“I knew that Chicago wanted me… but nobody ever knows,” Nestrasil, 18, said. “When that 25th pick came, I was on the edge, and I was really happy [the Blackhawks] picked me.”

Despite only being 18 years old, Nestrasil has been on the Blackhawks’ radar since before he came to America to play in the USHL.

“[Nestrasil’s] agent is the same agent as Ryan Donato, Matt Keator, so we’ve known him for quite a while, as far back as playing in Czech when he was younger with our scout Karel Pavlik,” Blackhawks Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Doneghey said.

Nestrasil’s older brother, Andrej Nestrasil, was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with the 75th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Vaclav Nestrasil said that brother Andrej, who notched 48 points (17G, 31A) in 128 career NHL games, helped support him through the draft process along with his parents.

“My parents supported me so much, even more than I could imagine,” Nestrasil said. “My brother was a huge [help] because he kind of went through [the process], and he always knew what to say or how to help me, so I’m really glad I have them.”

Like many of the Blackhawks’ draft picks this year, Nestrasil has substantial size. The forward is 6-foot-6 and 185 pounds. All of Chicago’s 2025 draft picks measure at 6-foot-1 or taller.

Not only is Nestrasil big, but he’s an athlete too. At the NHL Scouting Combine, Nestrasil ranked fourth among participants in VO2 max, a measure of aerobic fitness and capacity, while the Blackhawks’ top draft pick, Anton Frondell, ranked first. Nestrasil also placed 10th in wingspan at 79.25 inches.

“I think it’s a good draft class. I know most of the guys. It was a pretty big draft class in terms of size,” Nestrasil said. “I think Chicago knows what they’re doing, and they have a plan. I like the guys and they’re definitely nice people and that’s the most important part.”

Nestrasil, a native of Prague, Czechia, spent the 2024-25 campaign playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

“I love the USHL. I love Muskegon,” Nestrasil said. “They gave me everything. They prepared me for this and all of the organization, everything they gave me, the coaching staff, and it’s a really good league.”

Nestrasil collected 42 points (19G, 23A) in 61 regular-season games with the Lumberjacks last season. He ranked fourth on the team in goals with 19, fifth in points with 42 and sixth in assists with 23. He joined the Lumberjacks’ roster toward the end of the 2023-24 season, skating in 11 USHL games before his solid 2024-25 campaign.

Nestrasil also totaled 13 points (7G, 6A) in 14 postseason games, helping Muskegon to a Clark Cup Championship. Before playing in America, Nestrasil was a part of HC Sparta Praha’s 17U team where he logged 8 points (5G, 8A) in 12 games for Czechia’s U17 national team.

“[Nestrasil] came over last year and played 15 games in Muskegon, and then it happened to coincide when Sacha Boisvert was there, so we were able to talk to Sasha a lot about him,” Doneghey said. “And then as you watch him at the end of last year, and then we see him in the fall classic this year in September to kick off the year in the USHL, he put 15 pounds on and he just took off.”

Nestrasil’s journey to the NHL will likely take some time, but the Blackhawks are optimistic that his skill set will translate into a strong NHL player once he develops further.

“He’s a cerebral player. He does have to get stronger, but that’ll come with maturity. Like he’s [about] 6-foot-5, 180 something pounds,” Doneghey said. “It’s still all coming together for him, but with his brain and his hands, he's got the ability to play up the lineup.”

“You like the physical attributes, a big, athletic guy that can really move,” Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson said. “I think he's got some talent and really good hockey sense. And again, a raw package that is going to go to college, so he’s going to be in a situation where he's going to play against some older players and challenge himself, and a good development situation there. I think there's a lot of similar things we liked with Mason [West] that are why we really like [Nestrasil] and so, again, I think there’s a really high upside to his tools.”

Nestrasil is committed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which posted a 21-14-5 record this past season during the 2025-26 campaign.

“I love the fact that [Nestrasil is] going to UMass,” Doneghey said. “I had a lot of conversations with Greg Carvel, who was there. He was the same coach that coached Cale Makar when he was there, and they’ve turned out a lot of good pros. So we believe in their program and playing hockey east and the strength program.”

Since Carvel became the University of Massachusetts Amherst's head hockey coach in 2016, the program has developed current NHL players Mario Ferraro, Zachary Jones, William Lageson and, most notably, Cale Makar.

“I like UMass because I believe in their coaching staff,” Nestrasil said. “I know that they can develop players really nicely, and I believe that they want to work with me a lot. I like coach Carvel. I think he’s going to be hard on me, but that’s exactly what I need, and I think it’s a good path for me.”

Nestrasil knows it might be a while before he makes his NHL debut, but he is excited for the journey ahead of him.

“[I’m looking forward to] the process,” Nestrasil said. “I think it’s going to take some time, but I know [the Blackhawks] want to develop me.”