Cze: Pospisils Journey, Part Two

Following the success he enjoyed in his junior debut in 2003-2004, Tomas Pospisil dedicated himself to off-season workouts. He spent the summer adding bulk to both his lower and upper body and the results paid off when he got back on the ice. He became more aggressive and was willing to head into traffic regularly, a factor he lacked for much of the previous campaign. He also started to throw more effective hits and was able to keep his balance better when opponents tried to knock him off his skates.

Pospisil started the 2004-2005 junior season well and his draft stock rose after the first puck was dropped. He still had some off-games, but he was a steady offensive force for much of the first half. Trinec senior team coaches were aware of his progress and when the injury bug hit the senior squad, Pospisil was the first call-up from the junior team.

He made his senior Extraleague debut in the first week of December and managed to stick with the team as a fourth-line member for most of the remaining regular season games. He failed to register any points in the 14 senior games he dressed out for thanks to his limited ice time, but he didn't waste the opportunity and got accustomed to the elite Czech level. There were also occasions when the senior team sent him down to junior to help the juniors in important games and also to make sure his scoring touch didn't disappear.

Pospisil wasn't as aggressive as in the first half of the junior season and he played some games where he didn't get as involved physically, but he still avoided major slumps that would have sent his draft stock into a downward spiral. His patience with the puck was undisputable and he finished first in Trinec juniors scoring with 37 points (19G, 18A) in just 38 games and was a -1 with 44 PIM's.

GREAT SHOWING

The best international showing that season turned out to be the 2004 Under-18 Junior Cup, which was followed closely by NHL scouts and fans in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He shook any nerves from previous competitions and was a valuable cog on the Czech team. His squad defeated everyone on the way to the finals, meeting up against Canada there. The favorites from North America had a relatively easy time against the shabby-looking Czech squad and captured a deserving first place, but Pospisil was one of the very few Czech players to hold his own against Canada. He was also the only player to score against netminder Carey Price off a partial breakaway. In five Under-18 Junior Cup games he had 2G, 1A, was -1 and had 6 PIM's.

Pospisil wasn't selected to the roster of the Czech Under-18 team headed to the Four Nations Tournament in Slovakia because he had already been named to the Under-20 team instead, which was playing in the Swedish tournament. He struggled for ice time there and wasn't a noticeable force.

He missed the December international tournaments because his Trinec team wanted him to stay with the senior team and play in the Extraleague.

In February he rejoined the Under-18 team for the Five Nations Tournament in Sweden, but he didn't play as well as in the August tournament. The slump he was in carried over into the tournament and he really didn't battle traffic effectively, failing to create many quality offensive chances.

SCOUTING

Solid skater with adequate acceleration and agility .. thanks to his dedication to off-ice workouts he developed solid lower-body strength and is already upgrading his balance .. uses solid smarts and offensive instincts to generate offense .. smooth puckhandler and is patient with the puck, waiting for the plays to develop and then making the right decision .. possesses a solid array of shots and unleashes a quick, accurate wrist shot and a solid slap shot with adequate accuracy .. solid in one-on-one situations and can beat the opposing defensemen with his smooth stick moves .. still isn't a menace, but has made huge strides in his physical game and play in traffic .. can still be knocked off the puck by bigger opponents .. smallish size ranks among his most noticeable drawbacks in his pro potential .. needs work on his defensive awareness.

DID YOU KNOW?

Pospisil is a huge soccer fan and loves to play the game with his friends when he gets time, or even just catch a game on TV. He's also in his third year of studies at the business academy in Trinec and his favorite rock groups include Metallica and Blink 182.

THE FUTURE

Pospisil hasn't decided where to play next season. He's leaning toward coming over to North America and continuing his development in the CHL, but his situation is going to be largely influenced by whatever his future NHL employer wants him to do.