Czech: The Lukas Vantuch File
This past summer, Lukas Vantuch was finally promoted to the Liberec juniors.
He adjusted smoothly to the Extraleague during exhibition games and is now skating on the club's second line, meshing well with newcomer Jan Hruska from Brno and Vojtech Nemec.
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"Both guys are very skilled and I enjoy playing with them. We developed good chemistry and now we are looking to show it on the ice." commented Vantuch.
After enjoying a solid opening two months, Vantuch's scoring tailed off in November and December as he endured numerous 'off' games. He registered 23 points in his first 30 games this season. (30-9-14-23, plus-12, 42 PIM).
NO TURNED HEADS
Lukas began the 2004-05 international season with an appearance at the prestigious Under-18 Junior Cup, organized jointly by the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Although the event turned out to be a success for the Czechs who finished in second place boosted by enthusiastic sellout crowds, Vantuch failed to turn heads with his play.
Provided with only fourth-line duty, Vantuch struggled with the fast pace of the games. However, despite not being among the more impressive players on the team, he still managed to contribute a pair of goals, his only points in five games.
Vantuch also made the trip to Prievidza, Slovakia for the U-18 Four Nations Tournament, but unfortunately his showing in this tournament wasn't that different from his previous performances. He failed to crash the net with any kind of regularity, nor did he emerge as an intimidating presence.
WATCHING THE HEATER
At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Vantuch possesses the size to dominate games, but has so far found it difficult to take advantage of his physicality on the international stage.
Aside from his impressive frame, he is also a smooth puckhandler with soft hands and some tricky moves.
More of a passer than finisher, Vantuch is adept at finding open teammates, though he needs to develop more lethal finishing skills and learn to fire the pucks with greater frequency.
"The player I look up to the most is Dany Heatley from the Atlanta Thrashers. I really like the mix of finesse skills and toughness he brings to the game. I would call him my hockey role model," said Vantuch.
Vantuch's wristshot is quick and his slapper is relatively hard, albeit he could use a faster release as well as better accuracy. Away from the puck, he fills his duties adequately and returns promptly to his own end, but is in no way a checking specialist as he still requires some time to spot his defensive assignments.
Vantuch definitely needs to get stronger in order to become more effective. His skating is a weak point at this stage, which could be significantly improved with upgrades in lower-body strength. He possesses good skating mechanics and agility, yet needs to develop a more powerful stride as well as better balance.
He also tends to skate circles in the offensive zone instead of driving hard to the net which limits his effectiveness as an attacker. He uses his long stick and reach to effectively block passing lanes, and is willing to play the body and throw hits each game.