Sat 30 May 2026 - 09:00AM

ZSOMBOR GARÁT: THE LOWDOWN ON HIS RETURN

By Jono Bullard

Perhaps one of the most surprising - and incredibly welcome - re-signings of the off-season so far came in the afternoon of Saturday 23rd May when it was announced that popular Hungarian defenceman Zsombor Garát would be returning to Nottingham Panthers for a third season with the club.

An Instagram post by Garát earlier in May appeared to suggest that 2025/26 could have been his last season in black and gold. Nothing could have been further from the truth as Zsombor took to Instagram again with a simple three-word message for the Panthers faithful “Not. Done. Yet".

Budapest-born Garát came through the junior system at local side MAC, playing for the under-18 and under-20 sides as well as featuring for the Hungarian national side at both levels.

He left Hungary in 2014 to spend three seasons in the USA, first with Boston Jr Bandits of the Eastern Hockey League in 2014/15. The following season saw him with Seacoast Spartans Prep who were an independent junior team.

He also made his international debut for Hungary at the 2016 World Championship. His final season in America came in 2016/17 for Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League.

He returned to Hungary for the 2017/18 season, making his professional hockey debut for his hometown team MAC Budapest in the Erste Liga and helping the team win the Championship that season.

He went on to stay with MAC for six seasons, making a total of 289 appearances in the Erste Liga and Slovakian League with MAC in the Slovak league in 2018/19 and 2019/20. He scored 25 goals and 75 assists for 100 points in total while with the Budapest club.

The 2023/24 season saw Garát return to the United States when he signed for Worcester Railers in the ECHL. He played 63 games in Worcester, scoring two goals and 13 assists for 15 points overall.

Garát then made the move to Nottingham in early October 2024. This would not be his first experience of the Motorpoint Arena having played for Hungary in the Olympic Qualifying tournament at the venue in February 2020.

In 2024/25, Garat played 64 games for Panthers, scoring scoring goals and 21 assists for 26 points in total. He also had an assist on Mitch Fossier’s game-winning goal in second overtime in the playoff final against Cardiff Devils.

During this past season Garát played 63 games for Panthers, scoring 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points overall.

He scored the empty-net goal against HC Torpedo of Kazakhstan in the Continental Cup Final Gold Medal Game and was part of the team that won the Challenge Cup in overtime against Coventry Blaze.

In his Panthers career so far, Garát has scored 18 goals, 38 assists, has amassed 66 penalty minutes and has an incredible plus/minus of +77. He has been part of three trophy-winning teams during his two seasons

To finish the season, Garát has been playing for Hungary at the IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. He played all of the Hungarians seven games in the tournament, contributing assist. Overall, he has made 54 appearances for his country and played in eight World Championship tournaments at Division 1A and the top division.

So, Zsombor returns for a third season - expect him to continue to be one of the league’s top defenceman again in 2026/27.