Josh Kestner’s career continues in the Czech Republic.
Josh Kestner has represented TPS in Finland and last season Lukko. Elmeri Elo / All Over Press
American striker Josh Kestner will join HC Sparta Praha, who plays in the Czech premier league, the club says on its website.
Kestner, 29, represented SM league club Rauma Lukko last season and played 48 regular season matches with an output of 10+14.
– Josh is an excellent goal scorer and a dominant player who has more potential than he has shown in the previous two seasons. We believe that he will become the leader of our team, the head of the sports department of Sparta Prague Tomáš Divíšek stated in the club’s press release.
Kestner, who hails from Alabama, shone as a star of the SM league in the 2020–2021 season, when he scored 24+25=49 power points in 59 regular season matches in the Turku Palloseura shirt.
He moved from TPS to KHL and Admiral Vladivostok.
In his career, Kestner has also played in the AHL and ECHL, where he won the series championship in the ranks of the Toledo Walleye.
Among other things, an experienced attacker will play in Sparta Praha’s shirt next season Vladimir Sobotkaformer SM league star Erik Thorell and the Finnish Center Jani Lajunen.
Sparta Praha was third in the regular season last season, but the season ended in the quarterfinals.