Jakub Škarek (born 10 November 1999) is a Czech professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was formerly a prospect in the system of the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, with whom he played two

(NHL) games. He was selected 72nd overall by the Islanders in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Škarek originally began his playing career as a forward, however, he switched to goaltender when he was 10 years old because his team's goaltender missed a practice and the team needed a replacement. Škarek made his professional debut with his youth club,

Dukla Jihlava HC Dukla Jihlava, founded in 1956, is an ice hockey team in the Czech Republic. It won the Czechoslovak Extraliga title 12 times: six consecutive championships beginning in 1967, then in 1974, four consecutive championships beginning in 1982, a ...

, before making his

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

debut on loan with Sparta Praha during the 2016–17 season as an 18-year-old. Returning to Dukla Jihlava after backstopping the club to promotion to the Czech Extraliga for the 2017–18 season, Škarek made 21 top flight appearances in posting a .913 save percentage. In order to continue his development, he left Dukla Jihlava for a higher level of competition, joining the

Lahti Pelicans The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga, Finland. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi ...

of the Finnish

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

for the 2018–19 season on 2 May 2018. Škarek's potential was noticed and he was selected in the third round, 72nd overall, by the

in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. On 4 July 2018, Škarek was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Islanders, with the agreement to continue his contract with the Lahti Pelicans. On 16 November 2020, the Islanders loaned Škarek to

Peliitat Heinola Heinolan Peliitat (''formerly Heinolan Kiekko'') is an ice hockey club based in Heinola, Finland. The club is made up of 11 teams with the top team playing in the 2. Divisioona, the 4th tier of ice hockey in Finland. They play their home games i ...

of Finnish

Mestis Mestis (from , meaning 'Championship series', stylized as MEST1S) is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division ...

until the commencement of the training camp for the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season. On 9 May 2025, Škarek returned to Finland, signing a one-year contract that included an option for a second year with

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

. Two months later, he was signed by the

Personal life

Škarek was born into a family of athletes, with his mother, Eva, competing in basketball and high jump, his father, Josef, competing in football, volleyball, triathlons, and mountain climbing, and his sister, Tereza, throwing javelin. In addition to his native Czech, Škarek can speak English, as well as some Russian, Slovak, Swedish, and Finnish.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skarek, Jakub 1999 births Living people Bridgeport Islanders players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey goaltenders HC Dukla Jihlava players HC Sparta Praha players HC Stadion Litoměřice players Lahti Pelicans players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Peliitat Heinola players Ice hockey people from Jihlava Worcester Railers players 21st-century Czech sportsmen