Pittsburgh drafted d-man Tomas Galvas in the 2nd round (54th overall), the third time he has been through the draft despite entering his third season playing in Czechia’s top professional league. Yesterday, the Penguins made Galvas just the third player from the 2026 draft class to sign with his new team (the other two being Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg), a three-year deal with an annual cap hit of $1,007,500.
Galvas is listed at 5’10” and 168 pounds. In spite of starring on both the international stage and professionally over the course of several seasons, in the size-obsessed world of the NHL the lack of a large frame frequently deters teams from selecting smaller players. Apparently, Galvas’ performance against physically mature NHL-caliber players at this year’s World Championship, where he averaged 14 minutes of ice time per night and more than held his own defensively, was enough to convince the Pens to be the team finally giving Galvas an opportunity to showcase his skillset in North America.
