Tomáš Zelinka

Tomáš Zelinka (born August 31, 2001) is a Czech professional ice hockey forward and captain of the Halifax Heartthrobs of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He was selected in the first round, 18th overall, by the Philadelphia Bells in the 2019 NAHL Entry Draft.

Early Life
Zelinka was born on August 31, 2001 in Tabor, Czechia to Radim, a truck driver, and Aneta, a nurse. As a kid, he would skate over patches of frozen ice in his backyard and frequently played street hockey with the other children in his neighborhood. He did not have any formal training until he was 9, when he started playing with his local team in the Novice Division. At 10, Zelinka was scouted by a youth hockey coach and began playing in the A1 Youth Division with the Prague Parrots (Czech: Pražské papoušky). Because the Parrots were based in Prague -- an hour away from his hometown -- Zelinka would often have to take the train to Prague on school days and stay with his relatives in the city in order to train with the team.

In 2015, Zelinka's younger brother, Leo Zelinka, was born. The same year, Zelinka's youth ice hockey team won the Regional Czech Youth Hockey Championship. In 2017, after his success in youth hockey, Zelinka moved to Sweden in order to play with the Junior Swedish Ice Hockey League (Swedish: Junior Svenska Ishockeyligaen). From 2017–2019, Zelinka played with the Hjortar HC, impressing NAHL scouts with an average of 1.04 PPG.

Philadelphia Bells (2019 - 2020)
Zelinka made his professional debut for the Bells' UHL (United Hockey League) affiliate, the Morgantown Marauders, on October 5, 2019, in a home game against the Rockford Rebels. On October 11, 2019, he scored his first professional goal. Zelinka played his entire first season with the Marauders until the 2019 NAHL playoffs, when he was called up as a black ace. Zelinka played in three games of the five game second-round series against the Colorado Horseshoes, chipping in with two assists.

Arizona Sunshine (2020 - 2021)
On October 6, 2020, Zelinka reportedly requested a trade to the Arizona Sunshine in exchange for Olle Sjöström, Brady Wheeler, and a 2022 fifth-round pick (Noah Shields).

Halifax Heartthrobs (2021 - present)
On June 29, 2021, the Halifax Heartthrobs acquired Zelinka in exchange for Jimmy Deneault and a 2023 second-round draft pick (Semyon Kuzmin).

In 2022, it was announced that Zelinka had signed a four-year $14 million contract with the Heartthrobs.

Personal Life
Zelinka's younger brother, Leo, was assigned female at birth and came out as transgender in 2028, when Tomáš was 26. After a lengthy legal battle, Zelinka obtained legal guardianship of his brother and Leo moved permanently to Halifax, Nova Scotia.