Jakub Kindl: A Blue-chip Czech

Big, skilled defensemen are at a premium in the NHL these days. Coming on draft day in 2005, NHL teams looking to boost their rearguard reserves won't need to look further than Jakub Kindl, a highly-talented Czech defenseman who projects as an early first-rounder next year.

Born in a family where tennis prevailed, Jakub Kindl didn't take a direct route to hockey right from the cradle. His parents wanted him to play some sports in his free time, but left the decision up to Jakub, and didn't push him in any way. His grandmother and his father were both hockey fans, so Kindl decided to give that sport a try. At the mere age of four, he was enrolled in the entry level team of his native city Sumperk, Czech Republic.

There was the talented kid slotted to play the forward position. Kindl had obvious talent for sports and displayed remarkable strides in his skating skills and puckhandling during the first months of on-ice practices. This convinced Kindl's first coach Novak to mold Jakub into a slick scorer.

Kindl was happy to get on the scoresheet regularly and formed a strong duo with Tomas Pospisil, a fellow 2005 eligible prospect, who is currently a member of the Trinec junior team. Kindl developed a smooth stride, which enabled him to outskate most of the opposing defensemen and create quality chances. He soon had a reputation as one of the most promising prospects in his region, and opposing teams were well aware of the lanky kid with the number 9 on his back. "9 is my favorite number. I wear it from my beginnings and consider it as my lucky number."

At the age of ten, Kindl also tried to play some organized sports other than hockey. Soccer is very popular in the Czech Republic, so he decided to play for the Sumperk soccer team for three years. "Lots of my teammates from the hockey team were playing soccer, too. I was eager to compete with them and so I entered the soccer team." Jakub Kindl registered his first individual hockey success in the 5th grade, at a tournament for 5th-graders in Ostrava at the Vitkovice facility. The Sumperk squad had a good showing there, and Jakub Kindl earned ‘Top Forward’ honors.

But soon after that, one big change occurred in his hockey career. He moved from forward to the backline. "It happened before one game against the 5th grade team of Zlin. The coach went into the locker room and asked us if someone wants to try to play another position than usual. I stepped up and said that I would like to play defense in this game and, from that point on, never played forward again."

Sumperk 5th grade head coach Ivan Alka didn't have to regret his decision. Jakub Kindl made full use of his previous experience at forward, and started to rule as a defensive anchor of his team. The forward combo of him and Tomas Pospisil had been broken up, however the club’s defense received a big boost from Kindl.

He progressed rapidly and by the 6th grade had already won his first individual award as a blueliner. At a tournament involving sixth-grade teams in nearby Pardubice, Kindl impressed with his two-way showing and grabbed ‘Top Defenseman’ honors. The annual Pardubice pee-wee tournament was one of the most successful for Jakub Kindl. He also managed to win the top defenseman award the following two seasons.

The next season, Kindl performed for the 7th grade team of Sumperk under head coach Petr Rutar. He joined the rush often and his puckhandling savvy brought him impressive offensive totals for a defender. His maturity couldn't be overlooked by coaches of the older categories, and that year Kindl dressed for four teams. Besides appearing in games for all of the 7th, 8th and 9th-grade teams, he even made his debut in the Div I midget league, a rare accomplishment for a 12-year old kid. There, he played as a three-time underager and faced some opposition who were as much as five years older.. He couldn't outmuscle them, but his smarts helped him to maintain his position on the midget team.

Jakub Kindl, nicknamed 'Kinda' or 'Kind' from his surname, stopped attending soccer practices during the 8th grade. He wanted to focus solely on hockey, as it was becoming clear that he could achieve considerable success in this sport. At that time, he also received the first offers from Extraleague teams, looking to add a talented kid to their developmental system. After some arguing with his parents, Kindl agreed on the offer from Pardubice and joined the team prior to the season when he was eligible to play in the 9th grade.

Pardubice midgets head coach Jiri Seidl promoted Kindl immediately to the midget team, where he was asked to make use of his previous Div I midget league experience and contribute right from the start. He coped with that role well and the following season, 2001-2002, he was the main defensive weapon of the Pardubice midgets. But his stay at the midget level wasn’t a long one. After nearly three months of competing at the midget level, he dressed out for his debut already on the junior level as a three-time underager, the youngest player in the junior Extraleague that season. Prior to his promotion, Kindl appeared in 29 games for the Pardubice midgets, recording 16 points for 5 goals and 11 assists, a plus-15 rating and 38 PIM’s.

Pardubice juniors head coach Pavel Marek wanted to give the 14-year old Kindl a taste of the elite junior level and also enable him to learn from the more experienced players. The team was thinking high and, in the end, they even won the junior Extraleague championship title, but Kindl was returned for the playoffs to the midget team. Still, he had enough chances to get some valuable tips and didn't look out of place against players sometimes six years older than him. In 19 games for the Pardubice junior, he registered 2 points for 1 goal and 1 assist, a plus-1 rating and 20 PIM’s.

Jakub Kindl burst onto the international stage as an underager with the Czech Under-16 team in 2001-2002. His excellent offensive prowess and poise made from him one of the anchors of the youngest junior national team. Kindl was invited to four tournaments on the Under-16 team schedule, playing two three-game series against the U-16 team of Slovakia, and two three-game series against the U-16 team of Switzerland. In those 12 games, he amassed 2 points for 2 assists and 12 PIMs. His plus-six rating ranked second on the Under-16 team, trailing only diminutive defenseman Lubomir Stach. Kindl missed the season's top event, the Four Nations Tournament, due to the fact that he was previously invited to the Under-17 team as a twice underager. U-17 team coaches Karel Najman and Jaroslav Beck wanted to put him into a trial-by-fire against players two years older than him at the Five Nations Tournament in February. Kindl was a bit overwhelmed by the pace, which resulted in zero points and minus-two rating to go along with 4 PIM’s.

Even if he had still two more years of midget Extraleague eligibility left, it was obvious that Kindl had nothing to prove at that level, and was destined to stay with the junior team, coached by new head coach Josef Palecek, for the whole season. The midget Extraleague saw his talent for a mere 3 games, where Kindl recorded a point-per-game average for 3 assists and 10 PIM’s.

In the junior Extraleague, Kindl filled more of a defensive role, focusing on his defensive duties first before jumping into the play. But he was able to impress with his reliability and, even though he couldn't avoid some lapses, he displayed strong composure. He also made strides in his toughness, showing opponents that he wouldn’t be manhandled. In 27 games for the Pardubice juniors, Kindl scored 3 points for 3 assists and 48 PIM’s.

A pleasant surprise at the finish of the season was Jakub Kindl's senior Extraleague debut. He dressed out for just one game, and is still now the only 1987-born player to have played in the Czech senior Extraleague. He hopes to receive another invitation later this season, but whether this comes true still remains to be seen.

Jakub Kindl's 2002-2003 international schedule opened with an appearance in the Five Nations Tournament of the Under-17 teams, played in the Czech Republic in late August. Health problems limited his performance to just one game, though. This was followed with a strong showing in a three-game series between the Under-16 teams of Czech Republic and Finland, the first time when Kindl played for the junior national team of his 1987 birthyear. At Christmas time, he made the trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to join the Czech Under-17 team, competing at the Four Nations Tournament. He was the youngest player to play for the Czech Under-17 team at the following tournament, the European's Youth Olympics, played in Bled, Slovenia. After that, Kindl returned to the Under-16 team once again to boost the team's defensive corps at the major event of the season, the Four Nations Tournament, played in Ylojarvi, Finland. He closed out his second international season with two showings for the Under-17 team, the first in a three-game series against the Under-17 team of Switzerland, and the latter in a three-game series against the Under-17 team of Germany. In the third game, against the Swiss team, Kindl scored his first international goal.

Playing still under head coach Vladimir Martinec on the junior team of Pardubice in 2003-2004, Kindl shows maturity beyond his age and would benefit from a stint at the senior level. The impressive blueline depth of Pardubice’s senior team makes it extremely tough for Kindl to be promoted to the Extraleague, but he wouldn't look out of place at the Div I level for sure. Despite battling a knee injury during the previous month, he dressed out for 31 games of the Pardubice juniors, scoring 16 points for 3 goals and 13 assists so far, along with 63 PIM’s. "This year we have some really skilled guys on the team. I like to play in a pair with Tomas Stepnicka, among forwards it is great to play behind Boston Bruins’ draftee Jan Kubista, Jan Stary or Kamil Vavra, who just returned from a WHL stint."

Kindl was also sent down to the midget team for two matchups in order to help the struggling Pardubice midget team, who are out of playoff contention at this point. In the 2 games, Kindl amassed 1 point for 1 assist and 6 PIM’s.

The 2003 Under-18 World Junior Cup meant a breakthrough for Jakub Kindl, whose strong composed play as an underager made the NHL scouts turn their heads. Despite being the youngest defenseman on the team, Kindl contributed to the bronze medal success with an impressive two-way performance as he led the Czech defensemen in scoring, and made no glaring mistakes in his own end. In five World Junior Cup games, Kindl averaged a point-per-game with 2 goals and 3 assists.

In November, Jakub Kindl joined the Czech Under-19 team as a twice underager to boost the team's back rows for a three-game series against Finland. This is the only tournament of the Under-19 team schedule and Kindl was again the youngest player participating. In three games, he registered one assist.

In late December, Kindl was invited to take part in the Under-18 team's winter mini-camp in Nymburk, Czech Republic, which consisted of four exhibition games against the Czech Div I league teams of Beroun and Mlada Boleslav, and two games against the Under-18 team of Denmark.

Jakub Kindl impresses with his swift skating skills and fluid stride. He shows remarkable agility and acceleration for a player of his size. At 6'3", 195 pounds,. he is still quite lanky but will be a feared player to oppose when he fills out his frame. Kindl boasts excellent vision and hockey sense, which enables him to make strong plays with the puck as well as run the powerplay effectively. He uses his reach very smartly and distributes the pucks with precise timing. Kindl plays his position quite well, but tends to suffer from the occasional breakdown in his own zone. There are signs, however, that he will get rid of these mistakes with more maturity at the senior level. He also needs to further develop the accuracy of his shooting. He possesses a fast-released slapper, but still misses the net too often. Even if Kindl doesn't play afraid, he also could use his size more to his advantage. He isn't an intimidating physical presence and will have to work on his feistiness. He can outsmart the opponents in the Czech leagues, but will have to develop more of a mean streak for North America.

Kindl doesn't have one specific NHL team he would cheer for, and treats of of them as equals. But he has three players he looks up to. "My biggest hockey role model is Niklas Lidstrom from the Detroit Red Wings. He is a terrific offensive defenseman and I like his play a lot. In the Czech Extraleague, I watch Radim Tesarik a lot and from the younger players I would mention Gatineau Olympiques' Martin Vagner. They all play a style similar to mine and are fun to watch."

Kindl has one pre-game superstition he always does before each game. "I need to have a white tape on my stick, I don't like the black tapes. As a minor superstition there is the fact that when I have a bad game, I try to avoid the things I did before that unsuccessful game."

A player fully dedicated to hockey, Jakub Kindl has hardly any time left for non-hockey activities. He visits the secondary school for business in Pardubice and this year is the second of his studies, so he also has to fill school duties. When he does some free time, he prefers to spend it with his girlfriend Nikola. As an accomplished tennis player, Kindl likes to challenge his sister-in-law who is ranked 120th on the WTA tennis rankings. Another sport he plays in his free time is floorball, he is a member of a squad called X-Team and playing in the Sumperk provincial floorball league. Kindl likes to be surrounded by music and lists the Irish legend U2 as his favourite group. As a professional athlete, he has to be aware of proper nutrition and tries to avoid any heavy foods. Kindl prefers to eat chicken steak with chips for his dinner and to drink a bottle of Fanta.

Represented by agent Jiri Crha, Jakub Kindl is eligible to be selected in the 2004 CHL Import Draft and would definitely draw interest from the teams which will make the first picks. But he isn't rushing to the CHL in any way. "When I think about it, I would say that I tend to take the European route to the NHL. But the final word hasn't fallen yet."

With his blend of size, skill and smarts, he will be a blue-chipper for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. At this point, he looks like a possible top-10 pick and a future top-four NHL defenseman. Good luck!