Cze: Pospisil Trinec Trinket

HC Ocelari Trinec have produced six NHL draft picks with at least one player selected each year since 1999 before coming up empty at the `04 draft. The draught won't last long though as junior star Tomas Pospisil is currently rated to go around the third round this summer, while Ondrej Fiala is developing into an early-round candidate for 2006. Correspondent Rob Neuhauser scouts all of Trinec's junior prospects.

Tomas Pospisil, RW (2005)

A solid skater with OK acceleration and agility .. developing solid lower-body strength and is steadily upgrading on his balance .. uses his solid smarts and offensive instincts to generate offense .. a smooth puckhandler .. is patient with the puck, waiting for plays to develop and then making the right decision .. can set up his linemates well, but is also adept at scoring .. possesses a solid array of shots and unleashes a quick, accurate wristshot and a solid slapper with adequate accuracy .. excels in one-on-one situations and can beat the opposing defensemen with his smooth stick moves .. shows a decent commitment to physical play .. isn't afraid of performing in traffic and throwing the occasional hit .. can still be knocked off the puck at times by bigger opponents .. as an offensive-minded forward, Pospisil has to further improve on his defensive responsibility .. his intensity in the defensive zone tends to drops off and he doesn't mark his man very quickly .. shoots right .. a legitimate NHL prospect.

Ondrej Fiala, C/LW (2006)

A sturdy skater with above-average balance and lower-body strength .. possesses a powerful stride, but could use improvement in his overall speed and first-step quickness .. a combative forward .. plays a belligerent style with lots of intensity and determination .. is willing to muck in the corners and play where it hurts .. a good hitter who uses his size to his advantage .. still has some filling out left to do .. shows good commitment to defensive duties and fits the mold of a grinding two-way forward .. sees the ice quite well and is a solid tape-on-tape passer .. possesses a good variety of shots, including a heavy slapshot with adequate accuracy . on the downside, he needs to upgrade his puckhandling skills, as he doesn't have the softest hands and could make niftier moves .. a late '87-born player .. quality NHL prospect who is developing into an early-round pick in 2006.

Jakub Drabek, RW (2005)

An above-average skater with adequate explosiveness .. possesses solid agility and top-end speed to go along with decent lower-body strength .. shows solid puckhandling skills .. likes to have the puck on his stick and create, but overhandles it on occasion .. a deft playmaker with solid finishing skills, but doesn't have elite vision and misses the odd passing lane .. doesn't hesitate to shoot the puck, using his good variety of shots, though he could use better accuracy .. boasts solid leadership skills and doesn't tend to take the odd shift off .. must further develop on his average defensive awareness as his intensity dips off in his own zone .. added bulk during the offseason and this has resulted in upgraded confidence in traffic .. is willing to use his body, but could hit more often .. struggles for ice time on the Trinec junior team .. a prospect to look at late in the draft.

Petr Skatula, LW (2005)

A solid skater with deceptive bursts of speed and quickness .. displays a fluid stride to go along with decent agility and balance .. a tenacious forechecker who never takes shifts off .. battles for the puck and is willing to play in traffic regularly, although his smallish size is a disadvantage to him .. doesn't finish checks very often .. an adequate passer and a decent stickhandler, but has to work on how to deal with difficult passes .. also needs to improve on his in-close finishing skills .. possesses a solid variety of shots, though his slapshot could use better accuracy and velocity .. shows a commitment to defensive play, however, he must make further gains in this area, especially his positioning in the defensive zone .. blessed with a solid work ethic and is a player who is still steadily making small strides in his play .. might be selected late in the draft if he progresses enough in the second half of the season.

Lukas Petrek, RW (2005)

An above-average skater with good bursts of footspeed .. possesses solid agility, but is still light on his feet and needs to upgrade on his balance .. a diminutive player who can be outpowered by bigger opponents .. a tight forechecker .. blessed with smooth puckhandling skills .. possesses very good hand-eye coordination .. on the downside, he gets into trouble with his positioning as he tries to be 'everywhere' on the ice at times .. a solid passer with decent awareness of his linemates .. fires a quick wristshot, though his slapper needs refinements in terms of accuracy .. willing to battle for pucks along the boards, however, he gets outmuscled and needs to upgrade on his average defensive play .. doesn't show noticeable NHL upside at this point.

Jaroslav Barton, D (2005)

A decent skater for a big man .. doesn't have an overly smooth stride, but can effectively get to the point where he needs to be .. is blessed with adequate agility, solid balance and lower-body strength .. reliable in his own end and works hard down low .. doesn't make glaring positional mistakes and stays with his man .. is willing to use his size and punish opposing players who penetrate into his zone regularly .. fires a solid shot from the point which is tippable, but still can be more accurate .. an adequate puckhandler who uses his stick well in defensive work .. the weak point in his play is his slower reaction time on developing plays .. he misreads plays especially when asked to move the puck .. thanks to this drawback, he emerges as a decent but unspectacular passer .. getting stronger is essential for him .. an outside shot to get drafted.

Jan Byrtus, D (2005)

An adequate skater for a big man, but could use better acceleration and first-step quickness .. displays decent agility and balance .. possesses a decent offensive flair, but joins the rush only after completing his defensive duties .. solid in his own end .. plays reliably and with a low number of positional breakdowns .. not afraid of playing the puck and is an adequate puckhandler .. needs to work on the accuracy of his passes and on reading developing plays and passing lanes better in order to avoid unnecessary mistakes .. is abrupt at times when generating offense .. a player of his size should use his body to a bigger extent .. doesn't throw many hits and prefers to use his stick instead of his body .. fires a decent shot from the point and, though they aren't very hard, is adept at getting them through in most cases .. still very skinny and definitely has to add more bulk to his frame and to upgrade on his strength .. shoots right .. too many downsides which can't be overlooked when assessing his draft potential.

Ondrej Podesva, D (2005)

An average skater who needs to develop a more effective stride .. possesses solid balance, but has to work on his turns and lateral movement .. plays a simple and quite-effective game in his own end .. more of a skinny defenseman .. big opponents can cause him some trouble .. needs to add more bulk to his frame .. isn't totally soft, will throw the occasional hit, albeit his mean streak remains hidden for long periods of time .. not very effective when supporting the offense and doesn't possess the required vision to create plays .. his passing skills need to be improved, particularly his accuracy .. keeps his shot from the point hidden and has to learn how to get it through regularly .. won't be selected in the draft.

Alexander Hegegy, D (2006)

A solid skater with good straightaway speed and decent acceleration .. has to further improve on his agility and turns .. possesses a solid offensive flair and can play wing as well .. boasts decent stickhandling skills .. a solid passer, but is sometimes careless with the puck, which leads to turnovers .. suffers from the odd positional breakdown .. needs to improve on his play in his own zone and stay with his man all the way .. fires a hard slapshot with average accuracy .. willing to play the body, but needs to show his mean streak all the time .. rushes the puck many times, but sometimes tries to do too much, which creates turnovers .. needs to become more reliable and to learn how to read plays better so that he knows when to stay back and when to join the rush .. not really soft, but uses his body only to a limited extent .. a late '87-born player .. shoots right .. a fringe NHL prospect.