Forward Dalibor Dvorsky, who is considered a top pick for the upcoming National Hockey League (NHL) draft, is reportedly set to sign a new contract in Sweden’s Elite League.

This was reported by the Swedish daily Expressen on Monday.

The 18-year-old is reportedly set to continue at IK Oskarshamn. Dvorsky has played for Skelleftea AIK in Sweden for the past two years. In 38 games for that club in 2022–2023, he scored six times and provided eight assists for 14 points.

The Slovakian, who plays at center, is a good friend of Montreal Canadiens player Juraj Slafkovsky. Many have raised the possibility that the CH will select him with the fifth overall pick, but logic would dictate that Dvorsky would be selected later in the first round of the 2023 auction.

“I can’t predict where I’ll be fished,” he told Journal de Montréal colleague Jean-François Chaumont in early June.

“But I expect to come out around that rank (CH’s). I would like to be in the top 10. I think that’s great. Above all, I want to find a team that believes in me. That’s the most important.”

The possibility of Dvorsky signing a deal in Sweden shouldn’t dampen a Bettman Circuit team during the draft, which will be held June 28-29 in Nashville. In fact, it’s not uncommon for young European players to have an escape clause in their NHL contract. This allows them to return to the old continent if they fail to break the formation of the team that chose them.