Czech Draft Update: Troncinsky Wildcard

The biggest draft wildcard to emerge early in 2005-06 is young defenseman Marek Troncinsky, another from the steel city Kladno.

Troncinsky, who missed the 2007 draft by just three days, is playing under a microscope this season as the Kladno juniors are the most scouted team among all junior Extraleague teams. And so far he has drawn serious attention with his reliable mistake-free defensive work.

Slightly obscured behind Boris Gazur and Karel Kubat on the Litvinov midget team the previous season, Troncinsky has registered impressive strides in his development every year and his smooth adjustment to the junior Extraleague has split the scouting focus between him and the well-known David Ruzicka.

Though he doesn't jump out at you with blistering skills or end-to-end raids, Troncinsky keeps however making safe intelligent decisions with the puck which minimizes mistakes. He is also a force to be reckoned with whenever opposing forwards head into Kladno's zone. A hard worker down low who is willing to play a rugged style when needed, although recent games have revealed some reserves in his game, mainly in terms of top-end speed and puckhandling skills.

Polak Back

From the recent CHL returnees, Trinec forward Marek Polak is currently doing his best to help forget his sudden return from the OHL's Sudbury Wolves.

Considered the least likely to return among a trio that included Ladislav Jindrich and Karel Kubat, Polak joined his parent Trinec junior team three weeks ago and immediately became a solid factor. He continues to show his usual chippy style of initiating lots of physical contact, and is also progressing in terms of his puckmoving ease and smoothness.

His gritty style was a nice fit on a team consisting mostly of skilled forwards who don't throw their weight around very often. Polak quickly established himself as one of the frontrunners for a possible cup of coffee with the senior team, who want to inspire the most talented players in their prospect pool.

However, even if he stands on his head back in the Czech Republic, the fact that he couldn't adapt to the OHL will definitely hurt his draft stock.

Stich In Time

Looking ahead to the 2007 NHL Draft, Plzen defenseman David Stich is holding the crown of the most promising Czech prospect at this point.

Stich, who signed a three-year contract with Plzen in mid-September, is the only 1989-born player to see spot duty in the senior Extraleague this season. However, after performing occasionally on the fourth line, he became a victim of numbers as a number of veterans were brought in to shore up a struggling lineup.

Back down in juniors, he resumed his strong association with offensive-minded overager Lukas Pulpan, a former Vancouver Giant. Stich remains a prime candidate for senior-league callup as his defensive awareness, smarts and maturity are far advanced for his age.

The scouting world is already well aware of the big rugged blueliner with excellent fitness results and a game that perfectly fits the North American style.

Stich would definitely be a strong boost to a CHL team, which makes Plzen's strategy to send him to juniors rather questionable. Since he is not playing on the senior level regularly, his agent may demand a release from his contract so Stich can pursue opportunities overseas.

Plzen management should be doing everything in their power - namely providing a senior league education - to ensure he stays in the system.