Published Nov 8, 2005
Lukas Vartovnik: Background History
Robert Neuhauser
McKeen's Hockey Prospects Staff
He was red-hot to start, clicking particularly well with offensive defenseman Michal Cerny, and kept a steady point-per game pace. Displaying excellent poise while in scoring areas, he made use of his skill-set to emerge as Zlin's sniper for the first three quarters of the season, his goalscoring tailing off at the end.
His playoff showing was spoiled by an injury suffered at the end of the regular season (bruised shoulder) which limited him to just two playoff contests. Overall in 48 games for the Zlin midgets, Vartovnik amassed 40 points including 24 goals and 16 assists, along with a plus-10 rating and 44 PIM's.
In Zlin, Vartovnik only had to give up on his favorite jersey number 88, which he had worn his entire career. "I was born on March 8th, so the number 8 started to be my favorite one. When I can choose a jersey number, I always take one where the digit 8 is involved."
A lifelong Colorado Avalanche fan because of their star presence, Vartovnik began his international career in 2004-05 with the Slovak Under-16 team. Thanks to his skill level and achievements, he was a lock to make the team and was even voted captain. He took part in all international tournaments that year, including a pair of three-game series against the U-16 Czech team, another three-game series against U-16 Switzerland, plus one tournament among the national U-16 teams of Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany and Finland.
His best performance came in the final three-game series against the U-16 Czech's in April, where he ruled with a spirited offensive showing and was the most dominant player of the tournament. On the international stage, Vartovnik creates a lethal duo with Jozef Molnar from Presov, his favorite linemate.
Nicknamed 'Varta' from his surname, Lukas Vartovnik was promoted to the junior team as an underager in 2005-2006. His coach from the midget level, Zdenek Cech, was named the junior head coach and took his talented Slovak with him.