Regina Pat defenceman Stanislav Svozil may be competing against some of the best players in the game this spring. It was announced on Thursday, Svozil was one of five players who were added to the Czechia squad for the 2023 IIHF World Championship.

Svozil is recently coming off a stint among the professional ranks. On April 13, he made his NHL debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The defenceman collected an assist in the contest against the Penguins. The 2003-born defenceman also played a game with the Blue Jackets AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters where picked up a pair of assists.

This past season with the Pats, Svozil  finished among the top leaders in a number of categories for Western Hockey League (WHL) defenceman. He ranked first in power play assists (36), second in assists (67), second in points per-game (1.39), and third in points (78).

Czechia’s camp begins on Monday April 24 in Brno, Czech Republic and will go on for roughly two weeks. The tournament will take place from May 12 – 28 in Finland and Latvia