Milwaukee, WI–The Predators announced today that the team has signed goaltender Tomas Vomacka to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Vomacka closed out his junior season at the University of Connecticut by being named to the watch list for the Mike Richter Award – given annually to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men’s hockey – and by earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Star Third Team. He played in all 23 of the Huskies’ games in 2020-21, suiting up for 1333:43, the fourth-most minutes played among NCAA goaltenders, while going 10-11-2 with a 2.84 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and one shutout. Vomacka faced 682 shots against this season, the most out of Hockey East goaltenders, and made 622 saves, the fourth-most nationally.
Originally drafted in the fifth round (154th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound goaltender appeared in 71 games across three seasons for UConn, posting a 32-33-5 record, 2.88 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and two shutouts. Prior to a career-high 15-win sophomore campaign in 2019-20, Vomacka received Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman in 2018-19, earning the starter role by recording a 2.32 goals-against average and .922 save percentage, which was the fourth-highest among Hockey East netminders. Vomacka played two seasons of junior hockey in the U.S. before enrolling at UConn – he won 24 games for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in 2017-18 and was named the NAHL’s South Division Goaltender of the Year in 2016-17 as a member of the Corpus Christi Ice Rays.
Internationally, the Trutnov, Czech Republic, native won gold at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and skated for his country’s U-16, U-17 and U-18 teams from 2014-17.