Thunderbirds ink another pair

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- The Carolina Thunderbirds, a proud member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League and 2019 Commissioner’s Cup champions, have announced Ondrej Misovic and Jan Krivohlavek have signed on for the upcoming season.

Misovic, a product of Ilava, Slovakia, is a sizeable presence standing at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds.

“Misovic is a big, smooth-skating, stay-at-home defenseman that has experience in the SPHL. We expect him to come in and clear out the front of the net and make that outlet pass to our highly skilled forwards,” said Jimmy Milliken, general manager of the Thunderbirds.

Starting his professional career with the Wichita Jr. Thunder, Misovic played three seasons of juniors in the Western States Hockey League, two in Wichita and one with the Valencia Flyers.

In 2017, Misovic joined the Cornwall Nationals in the FPHL and played a career-high 26 games in Cornwall, logging 13 points (1g, 12a). At the end of the season, he played three games with both Watertown and Port Huron.

The Slovak began last season with Danville before going to the SPHL’s Quad City Storm. Misovic skated in 19 games for Quad City before being released and finishing the season with the Elmira Enforcers.

“Ondrej Misovic played in the League before he is a solid defender, who can also put up points,” added Carolina head coach Andre Niec, “we want to bring in a lot of ‘D’ to camp and see who makes the roster.”

Carolina acquired the rights to Ondrej Misovic on July 1, in a trade that also netted Dustin Henning and Jiri Pargac from Columbus in exchange for Jiri Pestuka, Jay Croop and Seth Gustin. Henning was then traded to Watertown for George Holt hours later.

Krivohlavek, a center from Havirov, Czech Republic, broke into professional hockey with SK Horacka Slavia Trebic in the Czech Two Liga in 2012.

“Krivohlavek is a strong center who can dish the puck and set up plays. You can never go wrong with skilled centerman in this league,” continued Milliken, on the new forward.

In 2013, he played four games in the Czech One Liga with HC Kometa Brno before returning to Slavia Trebic, earning 22 points (14g, 8a) in his most productive professional season to date.

After another season of Czech hockey with HC Slovan Usti nad Labem, Krivohlavek spent a season in England with the Sheffield Steeldogs before playing his last two seasons in France.

With Albatros de Brest last year, Krivohlavek played 33 games including nine playoff contests in the FFHG Division-I league in France.

“Jan Krivohlavek is a player that has played in high leagues before and I think he could be a good asset. He is a very good two-way center, I am sure he will help our team be successful,” remarked Niec.

The Thunderbirds are getting closer to free agent camp on October 11-13 in Greensboro. Carolina’s camp will send two players to main camp with Battle Creek and five players will be invited to main camp with the Thunderbirds. More information can be found about the camp on the team website.

Carolina also put the new 10-game rivalry ticket pack on sale last week. In this new ticket package, fans can keep their same seat for 10 of the biggest games this season against Carolina’s biggest rivals. To get yours today or to secure your half-season or full-season tickets, call the Thunderbirds front office at 336-774-4625.

⚡-THUNDERBIRDS-⚡

The Carolina Thunderbirds are proud members of the Federal Hockey League, now in its tenth season. The Thunderbirds are looking forward to their third season of play and one where they hope to defend their 2018-19 Commissioner's Cup Championship. The Thunderbirds welcomed in nearly 95,000 people to their home, the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex, during their championship run shattering their old team attendance record in the process. Season tickets for 2019-2020 are available now by calling 336-774-4625.