Top Ten Boston Bruins Prospect Profiles: No.10 Vashek Blanár
Boston Bruins On SI is starting a new series which will take a look at the Top 10 prospects in the organization.
No. 10 on the list is 2025 fourth-round draft pick Vashek Blanár.
Quick Facts:
Position: Left-shot Defenseman
2025-26 Team: HV71 U20 (Sweden U20)
2026-27 Team: HV71 (Sweden)
College: Massachusetts (commit for 2027-28 season)
Draft: 2025 Round 4, No. 100 overall
Height: 6 feet 5 inches
Weight: 192 lbs
Nationalities: Czechia, United States
NHL ETA: 2029-2030
Age: 19
About:
Blanár is poised to return to North America in the fall of 2027 for the first time since moving to Czechia at the age of four, when he’ll join the UMass Minutemen after one final season in Europe. The Colorado-born defenseman has made multiple stops in Czechia and Sweden, including appearing in three games for HV71 in the SHL, the top league in Sweden, and making the Czechian roster for the World Junior Championships. While he was a scratch in each game at the 2026 World Juniors, he’ll be eligible once again in 2027 and looks to secure a spot with a strong showing as a full-time member of HV71’s senior team.
Don Sweeney opted to make a bet on Blanár’s upside when he selected the defenseman in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft, but Blanár quickly showed why he was worth the relatively modest gamble. The Czechian has been able to start to fill out his 6-foot-5 frame and has shown offensive upside that is rare for blueliners of his size, recording 15 points in 30 games for HV71’s U20 side and six points in 16 youth international games for Czechia. In addition to being able to move the puck, Blanár is a fluid skater, giving him an opportunity to outplay expectations if the rest of his game develops and will be given every opportunity to succeed as he possesses the rare combination of NHL size and offensive upside.
#NHLBruins Vashek Blanár scored his first national team goal as Czechia U20 beat Slovakia 5-2 in today’s #FiveNations action. pic.twitter.com/1icO1oQI6X
— Czech Prospects (@CZprospects) November 8, 2025
The weaknesses in Blanár’s game are glaring and will be tested in the SHL this season. While he has established a reputation as an offense-first defenseman, the Czechian will still need to develop on the defensive side to round into a player that can contribute at the NHL level. Blanár has taken strides in this aspect of his game since being drafted but it's been evident even at the U20 level in Sweden that he struggles to help control his team’s defensive zone, with HV71 struggling to keep opponents off the scoreboard during his shifts. The defenseman has all the tools physically to get up to an acceptable level defensively, having the length and speed to potentially make it difficult on opposing attacks, but the game still has not slowed down for the teenager yet. There are flashes of defensive ability, but too many occurrences where he is caught out of position and is a half-step slow to react. If Blanár doesn’t learn to process and react to the game quicker, he will consistently get exposed at the SHL and NCAA level over the next two seasons.
Professional hockey in North America is still a long way off for Vashek Blanár as he gets set to take the leap to Sweden's professional levels for the 2026-27 season for HV71 and join UMass the following season to test himself in Hockey East. Expect Blanár to spend at least two seasons in Amherst before potentially turning pro, with a chance to play in Boston or Providence in the spring of 2029. Blanár is the definition of a high ceiling, low floor prospect who remains a long way from being even AHL ready but has the upside to be a middle-pair defenseman who could play on a power-play unit.
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Chris Vogel contributes to both Boston College and Boston Bruins On SI, and is also play-by-play broadcaster for ACC Network Extra and Hockey East on ESPN. He’s a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and got his master's degree at Boston College, where he served as the radio voice of Boston College Women’s Hockey on WZBC 90.3; the flagship radio network of Boston College Women’s Athletics. He’s the host of the “All Things Hockey” podcast, and covers women’s college hockey for College Hockey On SI.