On Monday morning, Flyers prospect David Kaše signed a two-year contract with HC Sparta Praha back in his native Czech Republic, according to a release by the Czech club earlier today which was later shared on Twitter by Flyers reporter Bill Meltzer.
The 24 year-old Kaše was a fifth-round draft selection of the Flyers in 2015 under former general manager Ron Hextall. Kaše spent the majority of his time within the organization in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Kaše played 110 games with the Phantoms, recording 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points in that span.
Before coming over to North America, Kaše played two seasons with Piráti Chomutov of Chance Liga, the Czech Republic’s second-tier league. He scored four goals and six assists in 62 games between 2015 and 2017 before moving to Sweden for the 2017-18 season.
Kaše played the 2017-18 season with Mora IK, who were members of the Swedish Hockey League at the time. Kaše posted nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 44 games, a true breakout year for the Kadan, Czech Republic native that saw him make the jump overseas for the next season.
He played the entire 2018-19 season with the Phantoms, scoring eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 40 games in his first North American season. Those were solid numbers for the rookie, on top of getting adjusted to the smaller ice surface and different style of play here.
Kaše made his NHL debut with the Flyers on December 17th, 2019 against his older brother Ondrej and the Anaheim Ducks in Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center. David would score his first, and to date, only NHL goal on a deflection from a Travis Sanheim point shot, and it would stand as the game-winner as well in a 4-1 Flyers victory.
Kaše has suited up for only seven NHL games, all with Philadelphia. He played in six games in 2019-20 and made one appearance in Alain Vigneault’s lineup this past season, and his goal remains his lone point at the NHL level.
Kaše’s 2020-21 season saw him begin with HC Energie Karlovy Vary of the Czech Extraliga, scoring 25 points in 27 games before joining the Phantoms for 19 games and the Flyers for one game. Kaše scored three goals and six assists for nine points in his 19 games with Lehigh Valley. That helped them to a second-place finish in the North Division behind their intrastate rivals in the Hershey Bears. They ended with a fifth place finish in the entire American Hockey League as well.
Kaše will become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this offseason. The Flyers can maintain his NHL rights by extending him a qualifying offer, which would make him remain Flyers property while playing overseas.