This was Tobias Pitka’s turn to watch and learn. One of the rare players selected in their first year of eligibility for the world junior hockey championship, the Victoria Grizzlies forward didn’t dress for quarter-finalist Slovakia during the recently-completed 2025 tournament in Ottawa after playing in all four exhibition games.
“It was still a great experience, and an honour to play for your country in any role, and will really help me out for next year’s world junior championship when I will try again,” said Pitka.
“I try each year to get better and better.”
The six-foot-four Pikta has returned to the Grizzlies (18-9-4), who play tonight in Duncan against the Capitals (19-10-3) in a key B.C. Hockey League game, and Saturday at The Q Centre against the Powell River Kings (7-22-3).
Pitka is committed to Boston College of the NCAA and got to chat with several of his future Eagles teammates after Slovakia played against the American team in an exhibition game prior to the world junior tournament. Six Boston College players — James Hagens, Gabe Perreault, Ryan Leonard, Drew Fortescue, Teddy Stiga and Aram Minnetian — were members of the gold-medallist U.S. team.
“That was certainly a big opportunity for me to play them,” said Pitka.
Pitka, who also represented Slovakia at the U-18 level, has seven goals, nine assists and 16 points in 21 games this season for the Grizzlies. The 18-year-old from Poprad had five goals and 14 assists for 19 points last season in Victoria and was selected MVP of the BCHL Top Prospects game.
“Anytime you get to play for your national team is an honour. Tobias is turning into a complete 200-foot player and that is being recognized, which is great for him,” Grizzlies GM and head coach Rylan Ferster said of his Slovakian recruit.
“He is so important for us with his face-off draws and is a big part of our power play. But he can play in every situation.”
Pitka was recruited by the Grizzlies out of South Kent School in 91原创icut, which has produced players such as NHLers Shayne Gostisbehere, Shane Pinto, Zachary Jones and Joel Farabee. Ferster is friends with the South Kent coach, which helped him land Pitka.
Pitka is from an emerging hockey nation that won bronze at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics led by Juraj Slafkovsky, the Slovak selected first overall in the 2022 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens.
“It isn’t often things like that happen and that was a big year for Slovak hockey,” said Pitka.
He hopes to make some big moments of his own on the ice for his country as he grows into his body. But it’s back to club play now.
“I will continue to try to be a hard-working player on our Grizzlies team that I believe has what it takes to go deep in the playoffs and win a championship,” said Pitka.
Pitka is the fifth Grizzlies player to play in the world junior championship tournament. Jamie Benn won gold with Canada the last time the tournament was held in Ottawa in 2009 and forward Alex Newhook took silver with Canada in 2021 at Edmonton. Power-forward Matthew Wood, a native of Nanaimo who was BCHL top rookie and leading scorer when with the Grizzlies, placed fifth with Canada last year in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the Nashville Predators first-round NHL draft pick was eligible to return but was among a number of controversial cuts in the 91原创 selection camp in Ottawa as Canada again tumbled to fifth place. Former Grizzlies defenceman Richard Baran, the NCAA Arizona State Sun Devils-committed blue-liner now in the USHL, played for Slovakia in this year’s world juniors.
