CZE: U17 Selects Reviews: Part 1

Robert reviews the top U-17 Czechs after attending the squad’s three-game series against team Finland. Top snipers Ondrej Roman and Jakub Sklenar are reviewed.

Ondrej Roman (2007), C

Underager (89-born) is standing his ground playing with older teammates .. skates effortlessly with a smooth, fluid stride .. reaches top speed quickly .. above-average agility and acceleration .. needs to upgrade lower body strength and balance .. excellent vision and hockey sense .. crafty with polished playmaking skills .. patient and intelligent with the puck; waits for plays to unfold timely feeding the linemate .. crisp, hard pin-point passes .. decent finishing skills .. nifty, elusive and likes to deke goalies in close .. possesses a quick, accurate snap shot .. has to use the slapper to a greater extent .. solid defensive awareness .. marks his man conscientiously and stays with him .. not overly aggressive; relies on smarts more than on toughness .. works hard at both ends of the ice and creates smart plays.

Jakub Sklenar (2006), RW

Had his ups and downs but did not disappoint .. a swift skater with a smooth stride .. impresses with his footspeed and ability to make sharp turns .. diminutive and is not a force in heavy traffic .. can be pushed out of scoring lanes thus needs to strengthen his lower body .. strong bursts of speed and agility .. needs to upgrade his balance .. a very good stickhandler with soft hands and polished puck control skills .. a force in one-on-one situations due to his quick feet and patented puck moves .. a decent passes who is adept at setting up his linemates accurately .. unleashes a fast and accurate wrister and snap shot, but needs to improve his slapper accuracy .. defensive awareness sometimes wanes as intensity in his own end often drops off .. has to mark his man with better energy .. creates and always a threat but lacks all-around boldness and grit.

Pavel Kubena (2006), LW

Started on a cold note against the Finns but got better with every game and showed promise .. has above-average speed .. acceleration is only okay but his stride is fluid and balance is pretty good .. agility needs work .. smooth puck skills and soft hands .. can undress opposing defensemen with his moves .. tends to overhandle the puck .. decent passer .. possesses an adequate array of shots but does not show enough of his shooting skills .. shoots with a quick release .. needs to drive the net harder and be more persistent near the scoring area .. at times struggled reaching destinations around the crease area .. gets involved along the boards and mucks for pucks .. returns to his end quickly to help out on the backcheck.

Jiri Suchy (2006), D

Powerfully-built rearguard, but is overweight .. needs to lose about 10 pounds to get in better shape .. Czech captain makes plays with above average creativity but could not avoid playmaking miscues .. skates with a powerful stride and very good balance .. impressive lower body strength .. average acceleration and top-end speed .. needs to develop quicker turns .. good puckhandling skills .. likes to control the puck and create .. shows a penchant for wildness once he distributes; takes too many risks .. possesses a heavy shot from the point but needs to use it more often .. not afraid of using his size; throws solid hits but not always consistently .. some odd positional breakdowns .. needs to keep his man ahead of him a bit better .. good leadership skills .. needs to smarten up, but aside from that he’s a very solid package.

Patrik Prokop (2006), D

Relies more on smarts than on toughness .. disappointed against the Finnish U17 selects after some strong junior Extraleague games .. skates with a swift change of pace and good lateral movements .. adequate bursts of speed; needs to improve balance .. good but not great with the puck .. distributes smartly and timely .. good vision .. shooting skills lack power .. an asset on both the pp and the pk .. very sound positionally; does not guess .. gets involved physically but must bulk up .. can’t handle biggest opponents with great effectiveness at this time.

Lukas Danecek (2006), G

Pint-sized netminder is solid but unspectacular .. does not cover much of the net .. decent movement in the crease .. agile with good athleticism and dexterity .. competitive .. shows a penchant to flop around in the crease and needs to improve his balance .. wild and guesses a lot .. nice glove hand and solid on the first shot .. needs to anticipate passing plays better .. likes to challenge the shooter .. great attitude for the game .. puckhandling is mediocre .. has no outstanding aspects to his game.