Karel Vejmelka

This Season So Far

The 2026-27 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.

Last Season

64 appearances — among the heaviest workloads in the league — 38-20-3, a 2.75 goals-against average and a .8961 save percentage with 2 shutouts.

His career figure across 262 games is .8987.

Over his last 10 appearances, .879 on 223 shots.

The Physical Game

6-4, 221, and he plays a big, calm, positional game. He is square and patient and does not chase, and the size covers a good deal of the low ice without him having to move to it.

The puckhandling is better than average and useful on a club that gets forechecked less than most.

Rebound control is the weakest part and it is where the goals come from.

The Mental Game

He was a career backup in the Czech league until 25, arrived in Arizona to play behind one of the worst rosters in the league, and has now had 2 consecutive seasons of 30-plus wins.

The Intangibles

Utah conceded 163 goals at 5-on-5 against an expected 156.8 — its goaltending finished 6 goals worse than the chances it faced, on a club that was 53.1 per cent in both attempts and expected goals.

That is the whole story of this team. They out-chance opponents comfortably, they finish 7 goals better than expected, and they give 6 of it back in their own net.

38 wins on a .8961 is a team result, not a goaltending one.

He is 30, and the difference between Utah being a playoff club and a good one is about 15 goals of netminding.