Jakub Kovar Profile

Jakub Kovar, G

Team: HC Ceske Budejovice Jr.

Birthdate: July 19th, 1988

Birthplace: Pisek, Czech Republic

Height: 61'

Weight: 174 lbs.

Catches: L

Season Recap: arrived from the Pisek midget team in the summer

of 2005 as the planned starter of the Ceske Budejovice juniors ..

demoted to the backup role at the beginning of the season since the '87 born starter from the previous season Alexander Salak did not move to a Div I senior team and continued playing for the Ceske Budejovice juniors .. split duties with Salak during the first half of the season .. could withstand difficult games where he was under pressure and asked to make difficult saves.

He did not play against the best junior Extraleague teams as the coaching staff preferred to start the more experienced Salak .. made the most of the starts he got against the weaker opponents and became more trusted by the coaching staff as he could show quality performances when provided with the starting role .. hampered only by inconsistency but his number of off-games was acceptable for a rookie goaltender in the junior Extraleague .. showed a solid work ethic in practice in addition, convinced the coaches to give him a larger role on the team .. progressed on his play after the Christmas break.

Was impressive during January with composure and maturity beyond his age .. replaced Salak as the starter of the junior team since mid-February .. avoided glaring off-games and maintained his starting position .. played with an upgraded confidence after the quality play at the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament in February .. put on display several reserves in his play but started to earn pro consideration since the finish of the regular season of the junior Extraleague.

Playoffs: maintained the starting role of the Ceske Budejovice juniors

over Alexander Salak .. maintained a solid level of play also during

the playoff games and with the shaky play of Michal Neuvirth clearly

emerged as the most impressive first-year draft eligible goaltender in the playoff games .. an important factor of the Ceske Budejovice juniors defeating Zlin in the preliminary playoff round .. showed a high level of focus and was effective at playing the angles .. registered solid performances in the quarterfinal series against Vsetin .. showed that he will need to upgrade on his footspeed in order to take his game to a higher-level but handled the junior shooters with poise and confidence.

International play: Did not play any international games during the

August international break .. played his second international tournament ever at the Under-18 Four Nations Tournament in Slovakia in November .. served as the backup for the first two games against Slovakia and Russia .. started the third game against Germany .. registered an above-average performance .. didn't show any nervousness and looked very poised between the pipes, but wasn't tested by many quality chances of the opponent .. pulled off a very good showing at the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament in Russia in February .. held the Czech team in the games and registered key saves .. handled pressure without problems .. showed solid tools and focus.

Under-18 WJC: Served as the backup to starter Michal Neuvirth .. stood

between the pipes in the round robin game against Russia and pulled off a decent showing despite the two allowed goals .. replaced Neuvirth after a shaky first period of the semifinal game against USA and was an important part in the Czech tying of the game .. the overtime goal he allowed after a glaring mistake of Martin Latal with the puck was not his fault.

Strengths: Possesses above-average size .. his play consists of a mix

of stand-up and butterfly style .. possesses fast reflexes and is tough

to beat on the initial shots .. angles the shots off into the corners

with above-average effectiveness .. does not tend to flop around a lot

and shows okay fundamentals .. tough to beat on the initial shot ..

boasts a decent glove hand .. possesses a solid mental toughness .. doesn't let a bad goal bother him and shows an above-average focus .. decent movement in the crease for a big man .. okay orientation in traffic .. does not allow too many rebounds .. okay anticipation of the developing plays .. willing to play the puck often .. uses his stick well to steal the puck from the opposing forwards.

Weaknesses: Possesses adequate athleticism for a big man, but still

could use more dexterity in his play .. should further upgrade on his

lateral movement despite the recent progress .. should recover from

butterfly's faster .. possesses only adequate footspeed .. passing accuracy needs further polishing in order to avoid 'adventures' when moving the puck.

Progress in play: solid .. adapted quickly to the higher demands of the

elite junior level and progressed in his maturity .. upgraded on his

playing of the angles and took this asset of his play to a higher level

.. upgraded on his ability to deliver good performances when it is

needed most .. slightly better lateral movement.

Mental side: doesn't let pressure bother his play .. possesses a

solid mental toughness and can shake off a bad goal without noticeable

problems .. a hardworking player who shows a solid attitude towards

practice .. aware of what it takes to become a professional athlete .. has his career goals set .. can get along with the other goaltender without creating problems in the goaltending duo .. doesn't show cockiness .. modest about his abilities when asked off the ice but believes in his ability when out on the ice .. willing to listen to the advices given to him by a goaltending expert .. is adequately suited for important game moments .. blessed with an above-average attitude .. doesn't suffer from off-ice issues .. keeps his regimen.

Injuries: none

Stats: HC Ceske Budejovice Jr. (reg.season) 19GP 1048MIN 486SVS

2.23GAA .9257SVP

HC Ceske Budejovice Jr. (playoffs) 5GP 304MIN 147SVS 1.58GAA .9484SVP

NHL potential: Lifted his play in the second half of the season enough

to gain pro consideration .. isn't likely to develop rapidly and fits

the mold of a potential late-blooming goaltender since he possesses

solid raw tools but needs to address a number of weaknesses, which will need patience in progress .. the new CBA with the need of taking the play to a level where the player would earn a pro contract in two years is hurting him since Kovar is more of the prototypical European 'flyer' pick which occurred under the old CBA .. possesses the potential of a NHL backup goaltender but is a long shot prospect that has a chance to blossom later .. would benefit from working regularly with an experienced goaltending coach .. a possible pick for the last round of the draft as a gamble to see whether he will be able to progress enough in two years or not to gain a contract .. can end up as a pleasant surprise pick five years from now.