(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Gustafson

European talent

Red Deer Rebels select two players in CHL Import Draft

Jul 2, 2025 | 11:12 AM

The Red Deer Rebels have selected a forward and a defenceman in the 2025 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft to add to the team’s depth.

On Wednesday morning, the Rebels selected Czechia forward Matej Mikes in the first round, 19th overall and Slovakian defenceman Matus Lisy in the second round, 80th overall.

Mikes, from Karlovy Vary, Czechia, suited up last season in Finland for Roki Rovaniemi at the U18 and U20 levels. With the U18 squad, he had seven goals and two assists for nine points in six games. Meanwhile, for the U20 team, he notched four goals and six assists for 10 points in 28 games.

Mikes also represented his country on the international stage multiple times including at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Standing at six-feet three-inches tall and 205 pounds, he was ranked 71st overall among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft but was not picked.

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Meantime, Lisy, from Bratislava, Slovakia, suited up for HK Nitra, a professional hockey team in his home country where he recorded one goal and five assists for six points in 27 games.

He also played for HK Nitra’s U20 team where he scored three goals and 25 assists for 28 points in 19 games. He added 10 points in 11 playoff games.

Standing at six-feet one-inches tall and 181 pounds, he represented Slovakia on the international stage at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship.. Lisy was ranked 73rd overall among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting prior to the NHL Draft and was not drafted.

Red Deer also had a third round selection in the Import Draft but decided to pass on it.

As part of a new rule change by the Canadian Hockey League, all teams including in the WHL, will be allowed up to three import players on the roster.

With Czechia forward Samuel Drancak already on the Rebels roster, Red Deer’s two newest draftees could potentially be on the roster on opening night after Red Deer released Russian forward Gleb Semenov from the club.

Last summer, the Rebels drafted Finland’s Kasper Pikkarainen in the 2024 CHL Import Draft but following a knee injury he was released by the team mid-season. He appeared in just one game.