Carolina Hurricanes: The Rise, Fall, & Redemption of Petr Mrazek

The story of Petr Mrazek’s redemption with the Carolina Hurricanes is one for the books.

The Canes had a storied season in 2018-19. But within the greater team epic, there are the individual stories. The 27-year old Czechoslovakian native wasn’t always the on-ice phenom we know and love today. Here we will be looking back on Petr Mrazek‘s rise to the NHL, his fall from grace, and his redemption with Carolina.

The OHL

First appearing in North American hockey at the age of 17 with the Ottawa 67’s. In the 2009-10 season Mrazek only suited up for 30 games, posting a 12-9-1 record with 2 shutouts, 3 assists, a 3.00 GAA, and .905 SV%. In the playoffs, we started to get a glimpse of what Petr was capable of. Despite Ottawa being knocked out in the second round, Mrazek was the 4th best netminder in GAA (2.39), and tied for 3rd best SV% (.928).

The 2010-11 OHL season would be Petr’s first full run with the 67’s, seeing him suit up for a staggering 52 games. In the regular season, he was 2nd for overall for GP and first for TOI at 3109 minutes. It would also be his first career 30-win season, seeing him go 33-15-1-3, which was 2nd overall in wins. He was also ranked 1st in SV% (.920) and 5th in GAA (2.84). This stellar second year earned him a spot on the OHL’s third All-Star Team.

Petr would go on post his first consecutive 30-win season with the 67’s in the 11-12 season, logging a 30-13-6 record with three shutouts. He would help lead the Ottawa 67’s to the Eastern Conference Finals, appearing in 17 of the team’s 18 games. At the end end the team’s Memorial Cup run, he had a 2.59 GAA and .929 SV%. But the best was yet to come, despite another sensational season.

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

The 2012 IIHF WJC would prove to be when Petr Mrazek hit the radar. He would suit up for six games with the Czech Ice Hockey Association’s U20 Men’s team. While the Czech National Team would be eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Final Round, Mrazek would have a 3-3-0 record. More impressively, one of those wins was a shutout, and he’d boast a 2.49 GAA and .928 SV%.

During their 5-2 victory over Team USA, Petr Mrazek would stop 52 of 54 shots that December afternoon. This lead to him being named to the IIHF All-Star Team that year, as well as being named the best goaltender. As mentioned by the Bleacher Report, several of Petr’s now signature celebrations came to the forefront in the Czech Republic’s victory over Team USA. The most recognizable of which can be seen below by NHL GIFs.

Grand Rapids Griffins and the first Detroit appearances

The 2012-13 regular season saw Petr Mrazek starting to play within the Detroit Red Wings development system. He logged a total of 45 games between the ECHL’s Tolledo Walleye (3 GP) and the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins (42 GP). During this span Petr would log a 23-16-2 record with a single shutout, a 2.33 GAA, and .916 SV%. He would go on to start all 24 playoff games.

It would be the first time the Griffins would win the AHL’s Calder Cup. Petr was instrumental, going 15-9-0 with four shutouts, a 2.31 GAA, and a .916 SV%. Three of his four shutouts were road wins, with the fourth in a 7-0 victory over the Houston Aeros. He ranked 1st in games played, 1st in wins, 3rd in GAA, 4th in SV%, 1st in shutouts, and 1st in time on ice.

Petr would get his first NHL start on February 7th, 2013 versus the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings would defeat the Blues, 5-1. He would only appear in one other game during the 2012-13 NHL season. February 17th in Detroit’s loss to the Minnesota Wild in which he would have a 3.00 GAA and .875 SV%.

Petr would again play primarily in Grand Rapids in the 2013-14 season, where he would again shine. He would log 22 wins, 3 shutouts, record a 2.10 GAA, and a .924 SV% in 32 games with 1829:52 of ice time. He would also appear in nine games for Detroit, with six starts. He would record 2 shutouts, his only two wins that season, a 1.74 GAA, and .927 SV%.

Career best, and worst

Starting with the 2014-15 season, the Red Wings began seeing more of Petr in the net as both the Wings’ starting and backup goaltenders were plagued with injuries during the season. He would continue to show his talent during this time period, going 16-9-2 with 26 starts in 29 games. With a goals-against average of 2.38 and a .918 SV%, Petr was on track to go full-time in Detroit’s net.

The 2015-16 season saw Petr on the full-time roster for Detroit, along with Jimmy Howard. Petr would take on the starting role for this season, playing in 54 games with 49 starts. Of those 49 starts, Hockey-Reference.com lists him with 31 quality starts (a .633%). It would be his last good career year in Detroit, with a 2.33 GAA and .921 SV%.

The 2016-17 season is when things began to unravel for Mrazek. He was still Detroit’s starting goaltender, appearing in 50 games in the season, and starting 44 of them. Of those games, Petr only registered 18 wins, a single shutout, a 3.04 GAA, and a .901 SV%. 19 of those 44 starts are listed as quality starts, showing a very sudden slide in performance from the previous season.

With his sudden downturn, Petr is relegated to the backup role, with Jimmy Howard taking over the starting role for 2017-18. He suits up for 22 games, starting 18 of them, and goes 8-7-3 with 3 shutouts. A 2.89 GAA and .910 SV%, with 7 quality starts shows he’s on the uptick again. However, Detroit trades Mrazek to Philadelphia in February in return for two conditional draft picks.

Petr Mrazek’s Stint in Philly highlights fall

In the latter months of the 2018 season, Petr Mrazek was traded over to the Philadelphia Flyers. A team who was in playoff contention, unlike the Detroit Red Wings. It was a good move for Petr’s career, as he had begun to bounce back from a career low year in 2016-17. With Flyers starter Brian Elliott and backup Michal Neuvirth both out for much of the season’s remainder, he pulled starting role.

In his first start as a Flyer against Columbus on February 22nd, Petr registered his first win. He allowed only one goal in 20 shots for a .950 SV%. He would follow up with a win against Ottawa, allowing 3 goals on 28 shots. Not the best performance for a newly minted team starter, but still a win. Then proceeded to shutout the Canadiens on the 26th. 3 wins in 3 straight starts.

His first loss as a Flyer would come on the 1st of March, and hard. Against his future club no less. 4 goals against on 35 shots, a .886 SV%. He would only break above a .900 SV% two more times in the remainder of the regular season when starting. In 17 games played, he was 6-6-3 with a 3.22 goals-against average and a .891 SV%.

With only 4 quality starts, Petr’s time with Philadelphia was already over. The consistency he had as a netminder for Detroit only two years prior had seemed to evaporate. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, it was clear that a qualifying offer wouldn’t be tendered. His tempter may have had a little to do with it as well.