EUROPE [May-06]: Czech Prospects

Czech Prospect (posted 5.12.06)

by Robert Neuhauser

A look at some of the most promising Czech 1991 and 1992 born players who should compete for roster spots with the Czech Under-16 team in 2006-2007.

Adam Sedlak (2010), D

blessed with above-average size .. possesses adequate skating skills for a big man but his skating would be even better if he added some strength due to an already fluid effective stride .. adequate bursts of speed and explosiveness .. okay agility and lateral movement .. possesses decent first-step quickness .. adequate lower-body strength and balance .. could upgrade on his top-end speed .. displays average smarts and vision at both ends of the ice .. decent stickhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. stays back when asked to play defensively but has decent offensive flair when the plays open up .. handles difficult passes adequately and makes passes from both sides of the stick .. prone to occasional inaccurate passes .. possesses a decent awareness of his linemates .. plays with his head up and reacts quickly .. a composed player who doesn't panic under pressure .. adequate powerplay quarterback .. decent creativity .. needs to use his fairly hard and accurate snap shot and slap shot more .. not afraid to play physical along the boards although he doesn't always use this asset .. pinches when given the opportunity .. doesn't make positional mistakes .. spots his man quickly and stays with him .. shows an some defensive savvy and composure beyond his age .. a right-shooting defenseman .. a late '91 born defenseman.

Lukas Vrba (2009), D

an okay skater .. possesses above average first-step quickness and adequate acceleration .. needs to improve his backwards skating .. okay lateral movement .. decent turns and agility .. okay top-end speed .. possesses average lower-body strength and balance .. should keep his feet moving to be more effective with his propulsion .. decent stickhandling skills .. distributes passes from both sides of the stick, although should read the developing offensive plays quicker .. is able to speed up the pace of the play with a quick pass when feeling confident offensively .. solid accuracy of the short passes .. prone to falling back behind the play occasionally when focusing too much on offense .. willing to use his accurate slap shot, although it lacks power .. fires an accurate snap shot .. plays an active game on the powerplay unit .. prone to occasional careless play in the neutral zone .. spots his man quickly in the defensive zone .. plays a safe positional game .. doesn't make glaring mistakes when solving a one-on-one situation but often gets beaten by strength .. shows adequate aggressiveness in his own zone, but relies more on his above-average smarts and vision .. average at clearing the crease and not surprisingly needs to gain more bulk to his thin frame.

Tomas Rachunek (2009), LW

an okay skater with good footspeed, yet should upgrade his acceleration .. possesses decent agility and a low center of gravity .. okay top-end speed .. possesses good balance and lower-body strength for his age .. displays a penchant to slow down a bit when making his moves with the puck .. capable of quick puck moves .. doesn't have much trouble when having to handle a difficult pass, but still could improve on this asset .. a tricky player in one-on-one situations .. can make a quick and accurate feed .. an okay passer from the half-board area when performing on the powerplay .. boasts some creativity and awareness of his linemates .. passes and finishes scoring chances equally well .. can fire the puck with accuracy when using the wrist or snap shot .. gets his wrist shot away quickly .. unleashes a hard snap shot .. should use his slap shot more as well as improving his accuracy .. has some trouble finishing scoring chances with finesse .. doesn't play afraid and is pretty physical despite his smallish frame .. a solid backchecker .. possesses an okay defensive awareness .. decent defensive positioning and limit the options of the opposition more effectively .. spots his man quickly .. a right-shooting forward.

Robin Soudek (2009), LW

a solid skater with a good acceleration .. uses a quick choppy stride which enables him to reach top speed in a short time .. possesses above-average agility and top-end speed .. keeps his feet moving and has adequate balance and lower-body strength .. likes to look for breakaway chances .. plays a hi-octane style with lots of energy .. wreaks havoc among the opponents with his forechecking .. a decent puckhandler .. distributes passes from both sides of the stick but his hands didn't catch the speed of his legs yet .. possesses solid in-close finishing skills .. adequately smooth when challenging the opponent in one-on-one situations .. willing to fire the pucks often .. dangerous in the opposing crease .. fires a hard accurate slap shot .. unleashes a quick wrist shot with decent accuracy .. adequate vision and hockey sense, but won't ever be one of the smartest players on the team .. shows average aggressiveness .. willing to finish his checks often despite not being blessed with a giant frame .. returns back to his own zone but is inconsistent in this asset .. shows sufficient defensive awareness but should spot his man quicker .. average defensive positioning .. plays bigger than his size .. willing to abuse his body in the trench battles .. digs for the loose pucks in the corners .. looks for rebounds in the slot .. a right-shooting forward.

Roman Horak (2009), C

an above-average skater with sound footspeed and acceleration .. possesses a fluid stride .. acceptable agility and turns .. decent balance for a diminutive player but still should improve on lower-body strength .. okay top-end speed .. can carry the puck without having to slow down significantly .. nice stickhandling skills .. average with the puck in open space but is prone to losing possession of the puck in heavy traffic .. able to succeed in one-on-one situations thanks to his quick moves but should challenge the opponents to those situations more often .. a decent passer who can find the open man .. must become more patient with the puck .. decent vision and hockey sense .. displays fine close-in finishing skills .. possesses only an adequate variety of shots including an accurate wrist shot with a fast release .. quick wrist shot needs to be harder .. slap shot should be more hard and accurate .. willing to drive the net, but isn't a physical menace .. doesn't take off shifts, however relies more on finesse than on toughness .. reluctant to perform in tight traffic areas .. a solid asset to the special units .. needs to improve his defensive game and backcheck more diligently .. should stay with his player all the way .. still raw in closing the passing lanes of the opponent.

Martin Chocholac (2009), C

an okay skater .. blessed with okay acceleration and footspeed .. decent top-end speed still could be improved in order to burst into scoring chances more effectively .. decent first-step quickness .. possesses okay agility .. average lower-body strength and balance .. okay puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. corrals the passes without glaring trouble and handles the puck smoothly .. can dangle with the puck .. adept at finding an open linemate with a quick pass but tends to hold on the puck sometimes too long which hurts his playmaking effectiveness .. fairly creativity with the puck .. willing to finish the scoring chances .. boasts an adequate array of shots .. fires a quick wrist shot, but could use more pep when firing a backhand shot .. his slap shot is pretty good, just needs to use it more often .. not very willing to perform in traffic .. possesses average size .. would be more dangerous if he would pay a physical price to make plays more often .. is inconsistent in his willingness to dig for loose pucks in the corners .. returns to his own zone but needs to further upgrade on his defensive awareness .. should spot his man quicker .. average defensive positioning .. needs to improve his conditioning to be more effective in the late stages of the games .. a right-shooting forward.

Stanislav Eis (2010), LW

a solid skater with a short stride .. above-average agility and footspeed .. possesses some explosiveness .. turns well and displays first-step quickness .. should work on his lower-body strength and balance .. a deft puckhandler who likes to have the puck on his stick and perform in the offensive zone .. doesn't need to slow down when making his moves .. a decent threat in one-on-one situations .. an okay passer who is aware of were his linemates are .. reads the plays quickly .. okay vision and hockey sense .. a scoring threat .. a dangerous player with strong instincts when playing in the opposing slot .. fires the puck often .. possesses okay in-close finishing skills .. unleashes a quick accurate wrist and snap shot .. needs to improve the frequency and power of his slap shot .. isn't a defensive specialist, but returns back to help out the defense .. works hard on the penalty killing units .. a sneaky player in traffic but at this point limited by his smallish frame .. picks his spots adequately well .. doesn't play an intimidating style, but doesn't get rattled with the opponents playing his body .. doesn't take off shifts .. a '92 born underager.

Czech Republic's U16 (posted 5.3.06)

by Robert Neuhauser

Top performers

Milan Doczy (2008), D

a pretty good skater for a player of his size with satisfactory balance and lower-body strength .. adequate turns and lateral movement .. decent backwards speed .. doesn't look slow when skating straightaway, but still needs to develop bigger bursts of speed .. decent first-step quickness .. should upgrade on top-end speed .. adequate puckhandling skills .. isn't beautiful when moving the puck but his hands aren't holding him back too much .. displays occasional problems when having to deal with difficult passes on the backhand side .. okay pinching .. at his best when playing a simple game with the puck .. doesn't have elite offensive vision and subsequently isn't very effective quarterbacking a powerplay .. lacks the hockey sense needed to emerge as a two-way threat, yet doesn't make mistakes when moving the puck .. unleashes a solid hard slap shot with average accuracy .. a decent force in his own zone with his reach .. doesn't make glaring positional mistakes and plays a dependable game in the defensive zone .. spots his man quickly and stays with him .. decent strength but still needs to bulk up .. needs to learn how to make his size to his advantage more often but is willing to throw the occasional hit.

Radko Gudas (2008), D

a smallish, stocky defenseman .. a decent skater with a short stride, okay agility and lateral movement .. decent acceleration but his first-step quickness needs further upgrading .. should improve on his top-end speed .. adequate turns .. above-average balance and lower-body strength .. passable offensive flair .. likes to join the rush and support the offense, but doesn't have elite offensive vision .. tends to misread offensive plays which leads to costly mistakes .. progressed on his ability to quarterback a powerplay .. a factor when he keeps things simple and doesn't try to do too much with the puck .. can play a feisty game in the opposing slot .. a satisfactory stickhandler but corralling of difficult passes is an issue .. still could improve on passing accuracy when making a long pass .. boasts an accurate snap shot with a fast release .. slap shot should be harder .. isn't a rock in his defensive zone coverage and is prone to falling back behind plays when not reading them properly .. must improve in his positional play .. prone to taking penalties from trying to make up for a positional gaffe .. a solid physical presence despite the missing inches .. hits hard along the boards and is a decent crease-clearer .. tends to lose position when hitting .. is a high risk, high reward kind of defender that can win or lose game for his team .. a right-shooting defenseman.

Jan Kana (2008), LW

a smallish, wrecking ball .. a solid skater with okay acceleration and top-end speed .. looks flashy and quick .. solid change of pace and explosiveness .. sharp turns .. possesses above-average lower-body strength and balance .. tough to get knocked off the puck .. good stickhandling skills .. an adequate playmaker with decent vision and awareness of his linemates .. shoots and passes equally well .. a solid passer on the powerplay units, executing from the corner .. still prone to some boneheaded plays when trying to be over-creative with the puck .. very confident in his finishing skills .. possesses an okay variety of shots .. likes to let his hard slap shot go .. solid accurate wrist and snap shot .. could use a bit more hockey sense in his play, but particularly makes up for his drawback with his competitiveness and a fearless approach .. plays way bigger than his size and often hammers opponents along the boards .. can get under the skin of the opposing players with his play .. willing to fight .. digs for the loose pucks in the corners .. shows a commitment to the defensive play but hampered by occasional downs .. blocks the passing lanes of the opposition fairly well .. fast at marking his man .. an active force on the penalty killing units .. a belligerent player but prone to inconsistent shifts .. sacrifices his body to block the opposing shots .. shoots right.

Jan Stransky (2008), RW

an above-average skater with a short stride .. doesn't cover lots of ground with his stride but keeps his feet moving well .. solid agility and top-end speed .. very good acceleration which can burn defenders .. okay top-end speed .. crafty stickhandler with an above-average puck-control .. capable of good puck-deflections .. adequately patient in the scoring chances, usually looking for the finesse way to score .. possesses solid in-close finishing skills .. unleashes a quick accurate wrist shot with a sharp release, but has trouble with penetrating to the scoring chances when asked to run opponents over .. okay snap shot .. should use his slap shot to a larger extent .. an okay factor in one-on-one situations .. isn't a significant force in heavy traffic thanks to his smallish frame .. gets pushed around by bigger opponents .. shows a tendency to use his stick instead of his body in traffic .. doesn't tend to take odd shifts off .. his speed enables him to return to his own zone in time, but needs to play in position better .. prone to lapses in his defensive awareness despite backchecking aggressively .. active with the stick on the penalty killing units.

Lukas Pilar (2008), LW

an okay skater with solid acceleration .. possesses mediocre balance and lower-body strength .. strides with decent effectiveness, but could use improvement in his top-end speed and first-step quickness .. possesses an okay agility .. decent puckhandling skills .. doesn't have the softest hands, but doesn't loose possession of the puck when making a quick deke .. decent corralling of difficult passes .. adequate variety of shots .. unleashes a quick accurate wrist shot .. fires a snap shot with a fast release .. slap shot should be more accurate .. looks for breakaway chances .. a diligent forward .. willing to dig for the pucks in the corners as well as showing up in traffic despite average size/tools .. can crash the net hard .. a decent hitter who can play bigger than his size, although is inconsistent in his willingness to hit .. still needs to fill out .. displays a passable commitment to defensive duties and fits the mold of a two-way forward .. sees the ice well, however his hockey sense is average at best .. a solid passer when passing over a short distance .. his ability to make smart plays is an issue .. a decent force on the powerplay units .. a right-shooting forward.

Other players:

Dominik Furch (2008), G

smallish in stature .. plays more of a butterfly style .. a quick skater with a fast movement in the crease .. quick side-to-side movement .. okay lateral movement .. quick to recover after dropping to a butterfly .. doesn't cover lots of the net with his size but relies on his quickness to bail him out .. goes down early and is strong to beat down low .. takes advantage of his athleticism to make unorthodox saves .. should learn how to stay up for an extra moment to cover the upper shelf more effectively .. solid footspeed .. challenges the shooter .. above-average dexterity .. tough to beat on the initial shot, but lets the odd goal in through his five-hole .. could upgrade on his handling of rebounds .. solid reflexes .. should further work on his fundamentals .. anticipation of the developing plays could see upgrading .. solid fast glove hand .. doesn't move the puck very often and needs to register further progress on his stickhandling ability.

Michal Jordan (2008), D

a smallish defenseman who is likely to add more inches to his frame due to his genetics .. a decent skater .. possesses okay acceleration but still could develop a smoother stride and bigger top-end speed .. adequate hustle and acceleration .. doesn't beaten on turns and when asked to move laterally .. average balance and lower-body strength .. gets knocked off his feet by bigger opponents .. passable puckhandling skills .. more adept at corralling difficult passes using both sides of the stick .. progressing on his offensive side .. can gain possession of the offensive zone for his team thanks to his quick moves .. fires a quick accurate snap shot .. slap shot needs to be harder .. a solid force in his own zone with his defensive prowess .. above-average positional play in the defensive zone .. an okay factor to the powerplay units .. possesses an okay vision .. a useful player on the penalty killing units .. isn't very willing to throw the occasional hit and his physical play shows considerable reserves .. average crease-clearer .. okay defensive instincts and hockey sense .. plays with his head up .. spots his man quickly and stays with him .. plays a team-orientated game .. sacrifices his body to block the opposing shots .. is likely to blossom once adding more inches and bulk.

Matej Stritesky (2009), D

a smallish blueliner .. a solid skater with above-average straightaway speed and a smooth stride .. okay agility and lateral movement .. doesn't get beaten by speed .. average balance .. still should upgrade on lower-body strength .. should keep his feet moving to make proper use of his skating ability .. solid offensive flair .. looks for loose rebounds in the opposing slot .. shows decent smart when moving the puck .. above-average vision and hockey sense .. solid puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. a deft passer who knows how to find the open man .. capable of accurate outlet passes even on a long distance .. a smart player on powerplay units .. shows enough confidence to make risky plays, but can't avoid the odd glaring mistake .. prone to odd careless plays with the puck .. decent hard shot from the point should be more accurate and needs to keep it lower on the ice .. okay snap shot .. should upgrade on the play in his own zone .. can be caught off position, but makes up for those lapses with his quickness .. doesn't play afraid but possesses still the body of a child .. will be more effective when he will further develop physically .. a late '90 born defenseman .. shoots right.

Tomas Voracek (2008), D

a big sized defenseman .. an adequate skater for a big man .. should further upgrade on the effectiveness of his stride to be quicker .. heavy-footed .. average first-step quickness hurts his effectiveness .. possesses adequate acceleration .. okay balance and lower-body strength .. agility needs further upgrading, especially with regards to making sharper turns .. isn't at his best when the opponents make him moving .. should further improve on his top-end speed .. more of a defensive-minded rearguard .. above-average strength and aggressiveness .. doesn't take prisoners along the boards, looking for opponents to hammer .. an okay crease-clearer .. fairly responsible in his own end, but still suffers from an odd glaring positional gaffe, especially when hitting .. effective at clearing the puck from the defensive zone .. adequate puckhandling skills .. can't corral difficult passes effectively .. unleashes a rocket from the point, but needs to make it less telegraphed and develop better accuracy .. lacks vision and hockey sense which limits his ability to support the offense .. should be more patient with the puck .. prone to fuzzy plays with the puck when pressed by an opponent .. should get along with his teammates better.

Jan Dalecky (2008), RW

an okay skater with an above-average acceleration .. possesses decent footspeed .. okay first-step quickness .. passable explosiveness and top-end speed .. could upgrade on balance and lower-body strength .. impresses with the odd quick burst of speed but should use his quickness more effectively .. an okay puckhandler and can move the puck out of tight spaces .. shows trouble when heading with the puck in traffic but doesn't back down from doing so .. an adequate force in one-on-one situations .. unleashes a fast accurate wrist shot .. doesn't use the slapper very often .. okay accurate snap shot .. anticipates the deflections of the puck adequately well to set himself into scoring positions .. looks for breakaway chances .. shows satisfactory passing skills .. adept at finding his linemates but creativity and hockey sense don't stand out .. should be more patient with the puck when pressed by an opponent .. willing to battle in traffic but isn't much of a physical force and can get outmuscled in the corner battles .. occasionally battles in the slot .. needs to upgrade on his defensive awareness .. is willing to return back to his own end and show up, but should mark his man more quickly and stay with him all the way .. average defensive positioning .. prone to occasional off-shifts.

Ondrej Pekarik (2008), C/LW

an adequate skater for a big man, but adding more speed would make him more effective .. sub-par first-step quickness hurts his play .. adequate acceleration .. average agility .. solid balance and lower-body strength .. doesn't get knocked off his skates too often .. could use a bigger top-end speed .. an okay puckhandler .. can occasionally maneuver with the puck in tight space without loosing possession but doesn't use this asset very often .. satisfactory corralling of difficult passes .. a decent player in one-on-one situations .. a playmaking forward but limited by occasional selfish plays .. once in the offensive zone, he looks for an open teammate more than shooting the puck .. an effective force when executing from the corner on the powerplay units .. solid passing skills and creativity .. patient on a scoring chance .. could use a faster release on his wrist and slap shot .. blessed with a big body .. often battles in the opposing slot .. throws solid hits along the boards .. returns to help out the defense regularly .. starts the offensive raids from deep .. adept at shutting down the passing lanes of the opposition but should upgrade on his defensive positioning .. capable of playing both center and left wing .. average in the faceoff circle.

Tomas Vincour (2009), C

an adequate skater for a player of his size .. decent agility .. stride of average crispness .. needs to develop more explosiveness and upgrade on his footspeed and separation gear .. blessed with above-average leg strength for a kid of his age .. should keep his feet moving to be more effective .. should play a more active game off the puck in the neutral zone to set himself free for a pass .. absorbs open-ice hits well thanks to his strong balance .. a big and aggressive player .. often initiates physical contact and thrives in heavy traffic .. shows a solid defensive awareness and shuts down the passing lanes of the opposition with a strong prowess for a player of his age .. strongest assets are his soft hands and an ability to think the games faster than the opposition .. sets up smart scoring chances for his wingers from both sides of the stick .. more of a playmaking forward .. a powerplay threat .. dangerous when maneuvering close to the opposing net as he boasts strong in-close finishing skills especially a quick forehand deke .. fires hard blasts .. should further upgrade on the accuracy of his hard slap shot .. an above-average factor in the faceoff circle .. solid at taking the draws and is able to win important faceoffs in key game situations .. a late '90 born forward .. a right-shooting forward.

Jakub Vokal (2008), RW

an okay skater with a fluid stride .. satisfactory acceleration and top-end speed .. above-average agility .. capable of sharp turns .. okay footspeed .. adequate balance could still be improved .. won't jump at you with the smoothness of his puckhandling skills, but does his moves effectively .. adequate in one-on-one situations .. decent passing skills, but overlooks the odd passing lane .. likes to have the puck on his stick .. prone to holding on the puck too long and thus missing on the passing lanes .. adequate vision and hockey sense .. more of a passer than scorer .. solid variety of shots .. slap shot with an adequately fast release should be more harder .. his snap shot could be released more quickly .. needs to pick up on his defensive awareness .. returns occasionally to his own end to help out the defense but is raw in this ability .. too slow at marking his man .. needs to develop a more regular mean streak .. should initiate physical contact more often .. relies more on his finesse than on toughness .. average in traffic .. more effective on open ice where he doesn't need to use his body .. prone to inconsistent plays and occasional off-shifts .. a right-shooting forward.

Filip Stoklasa (2009), RW

a decent skater .. could pick up on his stride effectiveness .. displays an okay acceleration and footspeed .. satisfactory top-end speed .. above-average agility .. decent lower-body strength and balance .. possesses solid puckhandling skills .. likes to make many nifty dekes with the puck .. more of a playmaker .. capable of long accurate passes .. should make quicker decisions in the offensive zone .. adequately aware of his linemates .. possesses a decent portion of vision and hockey sense .. eager to gain possession of the puck .. registered a progress in his variety of shots .. uses mostly his fast-released wrist shot or hard snap shot .. accurate slap shot needs to be harder .. finds positions to shoot quickly .. average defensive play .. is willing to return back, but needs to read the plays in his own zone better .. should mark his man faster and upgrade on defensive positioning .. doesn't have the strength yet to be physically very effective but doesn't back down from the physical contact .. more strength enables him to perform in heavy traffic more effectively .. a decent factor on the powerplay units .. a late '90 born forward.

Robin Kousal (2009), LW

a decent skater with okay acceleration .. possesses satisfactory agility .. okay first-step quickness .. uses an effective stride but should pick up on his top-end speed .. should add more bulk to his lower-body and keep his feet moving all the time .. crafty stickhandling skills but shows occasional trouble with corralling difficult passes .. an okay passer with accurate feeds .. can deke opposing players but lacks strength to run them over one-on-one .. needs to be stronger on the puck .. an okay forechecker .. prefers passing to shooting .. possesses an adequate array of shots .. releases a fast wrist shot .. snap shot should be harder .. should use the slapper more often .. doesn't play an aggressive style, but doesn't back down from occasionally mucking for pucks .. should hit harder and more often .. a better asset to powerplay units than to penalty killing units .. returns back quickly, however is far from a defensive specialist .. spots his man quickly yet defensive positioning is an issue .. should pick up on his conditioning not to fade in the late stages of the games .. a late '90 born forward.