Buffalo Sabres prized prospect Radim Mrtka, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, received another high honor on Wednesday.
Czech Ice Hockey announced the 6-foot-6 defenseman was on its preliminary roster for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, which begins on Dec. 26.
Mrtka has represented Czechia at numerous international competitions during his development into a top-tier prospect, but the World Juniors will be his most high-profile assignment to date.
The 18-year-old blueliner figures to take on a key role for the Czechs, who should have a shot to seriously compete for a medal in the event, which is being hosted in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area of the United States.
A strong World Juniors tournament would put Radim Mrtka on the fast track toward joining the Buffalo Sabres' NHL roster next season
Mrtka was incredibly impressive throughout the Sabres' development camp, which features the organization's young players, and training camp. He also rarely looked out of place during four appearances against NHL competition in the preseason.
Buffalo felt he did enough to warrant a handful of games with the AHL's Rochester Americans before sending him back to his junior club, the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was particularly impressed with the defender's work ethic.
"Earn is a pretty good word," Ruff told reporters in September. "Then coupled with a couple of guys being out, we've been able to take, you know, a longer look at them. But when you see what he's done since the start of prospect camp, to where we're at now is really, you know, impressed with how hard he practices and how hard he tries to play the game for his age."
Mrtka hasn't missed a beat since rejoining the Thunderbirds, for whom he tallied 35 points (three goals and 32 assists) last season while emerging as a top-tier draft prospect. He's recorded one goal and 11 helpers in 12 games for Seattle during the current campaign.
He's spent a lot of time focused on cleaning up his play in the defensive zone since returning to the WHL. He's never been afraid to deliver a big hit, but his positioning and awareness needed work, which was the main reason he was sent back to juniors for another year.
His progress remains evident, and now he'll get a chance to showcase it on the world stage.
Czechia has high expectations after finishing on the podium each of the past three years in the World Juniors, which is a U-20 competition.
All signs point to the country having a real chance to make another deep tournament run, and Mrtka should take on a key role on the blue line.
How the first-rounder performs against other elite prospects in his age bracket will continue to paint a picture about how quickly he'll reach the NHL level for the Sabres.
For now, it's still realistic to believe he can make a serious push to make Buffalo's roster in 2026-27, especially if the team ultimately moves on from Bowen Byram. That said, it could take another year of development in the AHL before he's considered ready for a full-time NHL role.
Either way, the Sabres should be excited about a future top-four defensive group of Rasmus Dahlin with Mrtka and Owen Power with Michael Kesselring.
Meanwhile, Czechia is in Group B of the World Junior Championship alongside Canada, Denmark, Finland and Latvia. Its first game is against the Canadians on Dec. 26.