The New Jersey Devils have a large alumni section in coaching staffs around the world. In the NHL, there are more than a dozen former Devils who are assistant coaches, including John MacLean, John Madden, Jay Leach, Tuomo Ruutu, Kirk Muller, and Sergei Brylin. In college, Jay Pandolfo is one of the best coaches, leading Devils prospect Mikhail Yegorov at Boston University. However, there are a few players who went back to their home country to coach there.
This includes Marek Zidlicky, who has been coaching the Czechia Olympic team, among other national teams. He plays under Radim Rulik, and it turns out, he may be doing the same thing with a new team. The Kladno Kninghts hired Rulik and Zidlicky to lead their Czech Extraliga team moving forward.
Rytíři Kladno půjdou do sezóny 2026/2027 s nově složeným realizačním týmem. Hlavním trenérem se stává Radim Rulík. Asistenty trenéra budou Marek Židlický a Tomáš Plekanec. pic.twitter.com/SqXN1FGZC8
— Rytíři Kladno (@RytiriKladno) March 17, 2026
The press release says that Zidlicky “has long been one of the most outstanding Czech defenders of his generation.” In his NHL career, Zidlicky was one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. When he was traded from the Minnesota Wild to the New Jersey Devils in 2012, it was an underrated move that helped the Devils get to the Stanley Cup Final that season.
That season, he took a ridiculous 43 shots in 24 games and finished with nine points. He averaged 23:47 of ice time, which likely had a lot to do with the multiple overtime games the Devils played throughout that run.
Marek Zidlicky accepts a new coaching job
He wasn’t all offense on that run. He laid 54 hits and made 33 blocks during the playoffs in 2012. His performance down the stretch is why he made Pucks and Pitchforks top 50 players of all time list.
Now, he gets an opportunity to lead the next generation of Czech players. The press release mentioned his run to the Final with the Devils as a key reason why his resume speaks for itself.
Looking at Kladno’s roster, you could see an overhaul might be coming. We didn’t see much NHL talent there, with an aging roster and less value across the board. We also didn’t see any former Devils prospects at first glance.
Zidlicky’s move into coaching is not surprising, but it could be something he builds from. Eventually, he could be looking to lead the national team as its head coach, and this is a good step in the right direction if that’s his ultimate goal.