Spokane Chiefs select goaltender Lukas Parik, defenseman Matvei Startsev in import draft

The Spokane Chiefs selected goaltender Lukas Parik with the 43rd overall pick and defenseman Matvei Startsev with the 103rd during Thursday’s 2019 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.

Parik, a 2001-born goaltender from the Czech Republic, was selected in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He posted a 2.85 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 32 games with Bili Tygri Liberec of the Czech Under-19 league.

Standing 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, Parik also played five games with the Czech national under-18 team, earning honors as a top-three player on the team.

Ranked third among European goalies headed into last weekend’s NHL draft, Parik was selected by the Kings with the 87th overall pick.

Startsev, a 2002-born defenseman from Russia, posted three goals and six assists in 13 games while wearing an “A” as an alternate captain with Mosvka Russia of the Russian U18 league. He competed in nine playoff games, recording eight penalty minutes.

He also played 25 games with the same club’s U17 team, tacking on four goals and eight assists.

The pick marks the second consecutive year the Chiefs have chosen a player from Russia. They took defenseman Egor Arbuzov last season. Prior to last year’s draft, the Chiefs hadn’t picked a Russian since 2001.