Jakub Brabenec (born 11 September 2003) is a Czech professional ice hockey who is a forward for HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga. He previously played for the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL), as well as HC Stadion Litoměřice and SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč of the Chance Liga, and the Charlottetown Islanders and Sherbrooke Phoenix in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Playing career Brabenec began his career with the youth teams of HC Kometa Brno in his hometown of Brno. Having already played at senior level on loan at second-tier HC Stadion Litoměřice during the 2019–20 season, he made his Czech Extraliga debut with Brno aged 16 on 18 February 2020, scoring the opening goal of the game against Mountfield HK of Hradec KrálovéKometa zvládla boj o šestku. Hradci Králové dal gól šestnáctiletý Brabenec [Kometa managed the fight for sixth. Hradec Králové conceded a goal from a sixteen-year-old Brabenec], Česká televize, 18 February 2020 (in Czech) (he became the joint-fourth youngest scorer in the league's history – future NHL man Pavel Zacha first found the net at exactly the same age in 2013).Kometa získala půdu pod nohama, trefil se i mladíček Brabenec [Kometa gained ground, and youngster Brabenec also scored], iDNES.cz, 19 February 2020 (in Czech) Soon afterwards that season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the playoffs cancelled. He was a first-round pick by the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, but due to complications of the pandemic he did not move to Canada at that point,Jakub Brabenec – 2021 NHL Draft Prospect Profile, Eugene Helfrick, The Hockey Writers, June 19, 2021 instead he remained with Brno and made 23 regular season appearances in the 2020–21 Czech Extraliga season, though only provided one assist, and had a short loan with SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč. In the 2021 NHL entry draft, Brabenec was selected in the fourth round (102nd overall) by the Vegas Golden Knights.VGK Sign Forward Jakub Brabenec to Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract, Vegas Golden Knights / NHL.com, 10 December 2022
He completed his move to Charlottetown ahead of the 2021–22 QMJHL season and contributed 83 points across 73 appearances in the regular season and playoffs as the team from Prince Edward Island enjoyed one of their strongest campaigns, reaching the President's Cup finals for the first time, though they lost out to the Shawinigan Cataractes.Cataractes capture QMJHL title with OT win over Islanders, SportsNet / The Canadian Press, June 11, 2022 He was awarded the RDS Cup as the league's Rookie of the Year and the Michel Bergeron Trophy as Best Offensive Rookie.Jakub Brabenec named QMJHL Rookie of the Year, QMJHL, May 30, 2022 In December of that year he agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with Vegas Golden Knights.Brabenec inks ELC with Golden Knights, Matt Tidcombe, Canadian Hockey League, December 11, 2022
Brabanec began the following season at Charlottetown, but in January 2023 they decided to capitalise on his value after a strong showing at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and traded him to the Sherbrooke Phoenix in a player-plus-draft-picks trade deal.Charlottetown Islanders move Jakub Brabenec in QMJHL trade, Jason Simmons, Saltwire, January 6, 2023 The Phoenix advanced to the playoffs semi-finals but were eliminated by the Halifax Mooseheads despite winning the first two games of the series on the road.Mooseheads defeat Sherbrooke to advance to Q league final, Paul Palmeter, CBC News, May 8, 2023 Ahead of the 2023–24 season Brabanec attended the Vegas Golden Knights training camp but was sent to local farm team, the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL, along with compatriot Jiří Patera, a goaltender who already played two NHL games for Vegas.Gólman Patera a útočník Brabenec se přesunuli z Vegas na farmu [Goalman Patera and striker Brabenec move from Vegas to farm], České Noviny, 1 October 2023 (in Czech)
Following three seasons in Vegas' organization, Brabenec returned to Czechia, signing a two-year contract with a third-year option to return to Kometa Brno on 18 May 2026.
International play
Brabenec represented the Czech Republic at the 2021 IIHF World U18 Championships where he appeared in five games and made four assists.
He was named in the original Czech Republic squad for the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships which originally began in December 2021 (he played in two matches with one assist), but those results were annulled due to the COVID-19 cancellation of the tournament, and when it was replayed in August 2022 he did not take part. He again represented the Czech Republic at the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey ChampionshipsJakub Brabenec před bojem o zlato: Ještě není konec, chceme to urvat [Jakub Brabenec before the fight for gold: It's not over yet, we want to grab it], Tereza Žáková, hokej.cz / HC Kometa Brno, 5 January 2023 (in Czech) where he recorded one goal and six assists in seven games and won a silver medal (he was named his team's MVP in the overtime loss to Canada).
Family His father Kamil Brabenec was a professional ice hockey player who made 15 international appearances for the Czech Republic and played domestically for teams including Kometa Brno, as well as for clubs in Sweden, Slovakia and Italy. He was on the Brno coaching staff (and had not yet officially retired as a player) when his son made his senior debut with the team in 2020.Kamil Brabenec, EliteProspects.com
Jakub's grandfather, also named Kamil, was an international basketball player for Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 80s;Brabenec Kamil, Menšíkova jedenáctka (in Czech) his aunt and elder sister also played that sport at a high level.Doma mluvíme moravsky. Holky někdy nevěděly, co říkám, směje se Brabencová [We speak Moravian at home. The girls sometimes didn't know what I was saying, laughs Brabencová], Patrik El-Talabáni, Deník.cz, 16 May 2018 (in Czech)
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2019–20 HC Kometa Brno ELH 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 2019–20 HC Stadion Litoměřice Czech.1 10 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2020–21 HC Kometa Brno ELH 23 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2020–21 SK Horácká Slavia Třebíč Czech.1 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2021–22 Charlottetown Islanders QMJHL 58 17 47 64 8 15 5 14 19 14 2022–23 Charlottetown Islanders QMJHL 28 8 17 25 16 — — — — — 2022–23 Sherbrooke Phoenix QMJHL 26 10 25 35 10 14 2 7 9 12 2023–24 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 48 6 7 13 16 — — — — — 2024–25 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 62 9 13 22 12 — — — — — 2025–26 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 62 12 19 31 34 6 0 0 0 0 ELH totals 25 1 1 2 4 — — — — —
International play Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2019 Czech Republic U17 6 0 0 0 0 2021 Czech Republic U18 7th 5 0 4 4 2 2023 Czech Republic WJC 7 1 6 7 10Junior totals 18 1 10 11 12
Awards and honours Award Year QMJHL Rookie of the Year (RDS Cup)2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year (Michel Bergeron Trophy) All-Rookie Team
References
External links