Michael Frolik Profile

Michael Frolik, LW/C

Team: HC Rabat Kladno Sr./Jr.

Birthdate: February, 17th, 1988

Birthplace: Kamenne Zehrovice, Czech Republic

Height: 6'1

Weight: 187 lbs.

Shoots: L

Season Recap: started the season on the second line of the Kladno senior team alongside his older brother Martin .. registered an acceptable first month of the season with playing time on both powerplay and penalty killing units .. filled a playmaking role .. was hit by hard luck when finishing the scoring chances which subsequently created a psychical block in his mind and negatively affected his in-close finishing prowess and a willingness to finish the scoring chances on his own .. a lesser factor in the November and December games than he was at the start of the season .. regularly outperformed by Jiri Tlusty on the senior level since mid-November but did not show any signs of laziness and resignation .. could show his strong passing skills on some shifts but often remained hidden for long periods of time .. handled the physical rigors of the senior level without problems .. registered his only multi-goal game of the season in an exhibition game against CSKA Moscow in early February, his best game on the senior level in this season .. demoted to the junior team for a short three-game stint to get readjusted to his junior linemates before the start of the playoffs .. demoted to fourth-line duty on the senior team since mid-February but saw his role expand once the Kladno senior team was out of playoff consideration and provided the youngsters with large roles .. couldn't take advantage of this larger role and didn't register any further progress in his development.

Playoffs: demoted to the Kladno junior team for the playoffs since the senior team was already eliminated from postseason play and finished the season ..played on a line with fellow 2006 eligible prospect Tlusty and overager Milan Hluchy and formed the most dangerous offensive unit of the Kladno juniors .. switched to center for the junior Extraleague playoffs, a position he did not play all season long except for two senior regular season games .. except of the final series could not show a consistent dominance on the junior level despite

showing occasional flashes of brilliance .. did not avoid longer periods of time where he was virtually invisible during the semifinals against Vsetin and was not effective in any role .. saved his junior showing with a quality play during the final series against Trinec juniors .. during this series showed a strong hustle and broke his scoring drought while showing a quality passing ability .. a strong asset is his smooth moves and agility .. a powerplay specialist as both the set-up man and the pointman depending on the situation .. played a more well-rounded game than on the senior level with a bigger effectiveness in the

defensive zone.

International play: spent the majority of the season with the Czech Under-20 team .. performed at the Under-20 Four Nations Tournament in Finland in September, registering a decent but not really impressive performance .. did not play any international games during the November international break and only practiced with the Kladno senior team .. participated in the 2006 Under-20 WJC in Canada .. didn't impress on the tournament and lacked offensive prowess but his play was particularly affected by the poor coaching of the Czech team as the

head coach could not find a good mix of his line and provide him with any role on the team .. filled more of a playmaking role and showed smooth moves but was less useful given the lack of chemistry within the line .. could not finish the scoring chances .. showed a raw play in the defensive zone .. did not play any international games during the February international break and only practiced with the Kladno senior team.

Under-18 WJC: reassigned to the Under-18 team for the Under-18 WJC .. was not really dominating with his play, but still ranked as one of the main offensive weapons of the team .. showed his impressive passing ability but was prone to overhandling the puck .. just like in the senior Extraleague Frolik did not show quality in close finishing .. displayed odd off-shifts but could display his impressive offensive skills on very good shifts as well .. returned back to his own end but showed reserves in his defensive-zone coverage.

Strengths: a solid skater with deceptive quickness .. good agility on his skates and a smooth stride .. strong balance and lower-body strength .. above-average stickhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. moves the puck smoothly even in heavy traffic .. corrals difficult passes smoothly .. can go end-to-end with the puck .. a good hockey sense and an ability to find the open man .. possesses

a sixth sense for controlling the play and finding a passing lane unseen by others .. strong playmaker .. is well aware of the position of his linemates ..a good array of shots, but prefers passing to shooting .. unleashes a quick accurate wrist and snap shot .. decent slap shot with solid hardness .. a solid force on the powerplay units .. does not get rattled with opponents playing his body .. willing to play in traffic and to battle for the puck when needed ..plays with confidence.

Weaknesses: prone to overhandling the puck while looking for the 'perfect' passing lane .. prone to odd inconsistent showings when he is not a noticeable factor .. occasional stiffness when finishing the scoring chances in close ..should further upgrade on his slap shot accuracy .. needs to step up with his defensive positioning and upgrade on defensive effectiveness in general despite his visible efforts when returning back .. should improve on his face-off ability when performing at center .. still needs to upgrade on strength and particularly on his physical game.

Progress in play: failed to progress noticeably during this season and virtually lost one year of development .. the inability to score goals on the senior level negatively influenced his confidence and thus particularly also his development.. got stuck at the point where he was one year ago despite working hard in practice .. slightly upgraded on his already good lower-body strength and balance .. uses slightly more explosiveness.

Injuries: none

Stats: HC Rabat Kladno Sr. 48GP 2G 7A 9P +/- -8 32PIM

HC Rabat Kladno Jr. 9GP 4G 11A 15P +/- +12 6PIM

Mental Make-up: shows more of an outgoing nature .. a talkative player who gets along with his teammates well .. blessed with a solid level of confidence in his abilities off the ice but occasionally does not show the same confidence on the ice especially in the scoring chances .. only rarely looses his temper .. able to recognize his personal hockey goal and work hard to achieve them .. an adequately competitive player in practice .. respects the coach and is able to play within the tactics .. shows a solid dedication to off-ice workouts and is aware of the needs of a professional athlete .. hails from a family where hockey has a long tradition .. son of a former player and coach and brother of fellow Kladno seniors' forward Martin Frolik .. his father keeps a close look on his career and prevents his son from off-ice issues .. often works out at the gym ..very media-savvy for a player of his age .. speaks adequate English and progressed in his knowledge during the recent year.

Agent information: represented by Allan Walsh (Octagon Athlete Representation)and Czech representative Josef Machala

NHL potential: his lack of progress during this season raises concerns about his pro potential yet his developmental curve should take an upward path again after Frolik leaves Kladno in the fall and will settle down in a different environment, which will give him a fresh start and motivation .. has the intangibles to blossom into a quality NHL player and should not be judged just on the performances in this season .. possesses the potential of a first-line NHL playmaking forward who can possibly also develop into a powerplay specialist but

is not a lock to completely fulfill his considerable upside .. would be

recommended to be selected in the middle of the first round .. would benefit from coming over to North America in the next season and possibly challenge for a roster spot with the NHL team's minor affiliate since his development in Kladno may not be as quick as if he would perform in North America in 2006-2007.