Rochester Americans General Manager Randy Sexton announced on Tuesday afternoon that forward Matej Pekar has been assigned to the Amerks. In 33 games with the Barrie Colts of the OHL he had 36 points (14G+22A), 38 penalty minutes, and finished with a plus-7. He’s 19 years old from the Czech Republic that has spent two seasons playing hockey in North America. In 2017/2018 he played 56 games with Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL where he had 54 points (14G-40A). The Sabres drafted him 94th overall in the 4th round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Per the release below, it remains to be seen if he’ll be ready to play since he’s coming off of a long term injury. His season was cut short back in January after breaking his collar bone. The Amerks have 12 regular season games remaining, if he has his legs under him there’s a good chance there’ll be a game that Chris Taylor tries to get him into.

Pekar is a fast forward that likes to play hard and irritate his opponents. At Sabres development camp over the summer Pekar said, “I love it, I love it. I love to be the annoying guy, the annoying rat that gets under guys skins.” He took a big hit from Dahlin at the camp, mixed things up with Mittelstadt, and made his presence known all over the ice. He signed his entry level contract at the start of the season.

The Sabres believe he has the skills and traits of a pro hockey player and now he’ll get to prove them right.

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Here’s the team release:

Rochester Americans General Manager Randy Sexton announced today that the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned forward Matej Pekar to the Amerks.

“We’re pleased that Matej will be joining us in Rochester as part of continuing his development process,” said Sexton. “He is coming off a long-term injury, so whether he plays games remains to be seen. More importantly, he’ll have the opportunity to immerse himself in the pro hockey environment, which we believe is a critical component of any young player’s development.”

Pekar, 19, recently completed his first season with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), recording 36 points (14+22) in 33 games. The 6-foot-0, 175-pound forward posted nine multi-point games during the 2018-19 campaign, which included five three-point games. He opened the slate with a season-long six-game point streak where he totaled 10 points (5+5) from Sept. 20 to Oct. 6.

Prior to joining the Colts, the Turnov, Czech Republic, native spent the 2017-18 season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (UHSL), where he finished second on the team with 54 points (14+40) in 56 games, earning USHL Rookie of the Year honors. Pekar’s 40 assists, which led all Lumberjacks, ranked fourth in the USHL while his 54 points were tied for 12th-most in the league.

Internationally, Pekar has represented the Czech Republic on multiple occasions, most recently at the 2019 IIHF World U-20 Championship. He was also a member of the 2018 U-18 team and helped the Czechs to a second-place finish at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Pekar was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the fourth round (94th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.

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