Far across the Atlantic, already knew of the 鈥� propensity for producing NHL-calibre defenseman.

So when the Western Hockey League club selected the Czech-born rearguard this summer in the 2017 CHL Import Draft, Zabransky was quick to commit to his new career path in North America.

鈥淥f course, 91大黄鸭 is one of the best places in Canada,鈥� said Zabransky, 17. 鈥淢y agent, he told me this is the best place for defencemen, there are lots of good defense coming from here, so that was a quite easy decision for me.鈥�

Zabransky brings with him some strong hockey bloodlines, rooted both at the elite level in Europe and in the NHL.

His dad鈥攁lso 鈥攑layed 40 games in the NHL in the 1990s with the St. Louis Blues, while his uncle, , played with five big-league North American teams, including three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.

The elder Zabransky, who owns and coaches the HC Kometa Brno team in the Czech Republic, was able to provide some direction for his son in making a choice, but ultimately it was young Libor鈥檚 decision.

Between his childhood goal of playing in the NHL and the potential pressures of staying at home to play, Zabransky had two more concrete reasons for taking the Canadian major junior route.

鈥�(We) talked about what鈥檚 best for me. My dream is to play in the NHL,鈥� said Zabransky. 鈥淚 think I can learn here a lot, the Canadian style of hockey, because it鈥檚 very different in Czech. It鈥檚 more physical here.

鈥淚n Czech, the mentality is different,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f I play there, they look at me and say, 鈥極h, he鈥檚 the son of the owner.鈥� The other reason (for coming to Canada) is it鈥檚 the best league for juniors in the world.鈥�

A 6-foot-1, 180-pound skilled defenceman at both ends of the ice, Rockets head coach Jason Smith expects Zabransky鈥攇iven a little time to adjust鈥攚ill make a successful transition to the the North American game.

鈥淔irst of all, he鈥檚 very competitive and he knows the game well,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淗e can transport the puck and shoot the puck, and he鈥檚 able to defend as well. There will be a learning curve with the North American ice and the heavier schedule in his first full season, but he has all the tools. He鈥檚 excited about the challenge.鈥�

Zabransky, the Rockets 51st choice in the CHL import draft, is joined in 91大黄鸭 by one of his teammates last season on the Kometa Brno junior team. Forward Marek Skvrne, 18, was the Rockets鈥� second choice, 111th overall and is competing with Tomas Soutsal for the club鈥檚 second import slot.

Zabransky, who was injured this summer playing for the Czech team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial U18 tournament, has returned to full health in time for this Friday鈥檚 WHL season opener at home to the Kamloops Blazers.

One month into his move, Zabransky couldn鈥檛 have asked for a much better introduction to Canada and the Okanagan.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to play first game,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verything is perfect for me here, my billet, the coaches, the guys in the locker room are good. I like them and they are nice to me and the other Czech (Marek Skvrne). We are both excited.鈥�