Michal Kazatel Profile
Team: HC Rabat Kladno Jr./Sr.
Advertisement
Birthdate: April 9th, 1988
Birthplace: Slany, Czech Republic
Height: 5'11
Weight: 198 lbs.
Shoots: L
Season Recap: filled a large role on the Kladno junior team
since the beginning of the season .. had the advantage of one full junior Extraleague season experience but wasn't an outstanding factor on the elite junior level .. served as the playmaking center of the second line .. hampered by inconsistency in the early stages of the season .. missed two weeks with an injury at the break of September and October.
Started at a point-per-game pace upon his return .. registered a solid
month of November on the offensive side as he could create smart plays and was a solid factor on the powerplay units .. was effective at moving the puck out of the corner and then making a quick pass .. didn't maintain his consistency and was prone to odd moody play when he refused to keep his feet moving and floated on the perimeter instead of battling and creating plays .. lacked regular aggressiveness .. in early November promoted to the Kladno senior team as an emergency call up and performed sparingly on the fourth line.
Signed a contract extension with the Kladno team and received further cups of coffee with the senior team on the fourth line .. didn't manage to get a regular spot with the Kladno seniors but performed more regularly since the Kladno seniors lost their playoff chance and provided the youngsters from the junior team with larger tests on the senior team .. played just three junior games since February.
Showed slightly more responsibility when playing off the puck and in the defensive zone but indicated that he won't ever become a defensively fully aware player .. played a solid game when performing
on the powerplay units but on the senior level didn't receive many
opportunities to show this ability .. his skating isn't ready for him to become a regular factor on the Czech elite senior level yet.
Playoffs: Played snake-bitten during the playoffs and wasn't effective
.. his usual lack of defensive effort wasn't outweighed by a quality
offensive performance during the semifinals against Vsetin juniors ..
couldn't deliver accurate passes and got easily blocked by the opponents .. had problems with battling himself into the final position to shoot when asked to drive the net hard .. registered more of a disappointing final series against Trinec where he didn't find a way to step up with his play .. refused to keep his feet moving and fell back behind the plays .. didn't show his smooth moves with the puck and failed to create .. lost possession of the puck in tight spaces, an asset that didn't occur with him during the regular season .. defensive awareness was better than during the previous series but still only average .. a non-factor when performing off the puck .. outplayed by linemate Martin Latal during the final series .. won the Czech junior Extraleague championship title with Kladno.
International play: Took part in the Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial in
August .. the best Czech scorer and passer didn't play so well as his
stats would indicate .. started the tournament on a decent note against
Sweden with a solid creativity .. registered a number of strong shifts
against Switzerland .. virtually a non-factor in the round robin game
against Canada .. his stickhandling skills helped him to dangle his way
through the Russian defense.
Performed adequately in the gold-medal game against Canada, but his lack of defensive play was evident all tournament long .. didn't play any international games during the November international break .. performed in the four-game series between the Czech and Swedish Under-18 teams but suffered a supinated shoulder in the second game and didn't return for the remainder of the tournament .. didn't play any international games during the February international break and only practiced with the Kladno senior team.
Under-18 WJC: didn't impress on the tournament .. looked snake-bitten
during the round robin games and wasn't able to lift his game up in the
playoff contests .. didn't show a bigger fire and determination than he
did during the junior Extraleague games .. defensive play was an issue
with him all tournament long .. couldn't show his usual creativity
which negatively affected the play of the whole offensive unit .. didn't battle in the trenches and didn't finish the checks .. would be more effective if he would fire the puck more often.
Strengths: Possesses adequate footspeed .. okay agility .. able to
execute at his highest speed .. solid lower-body strength and balance
despite smallish size .. possesses a solid vision and hockey sense .. a deft playmaker with accurate and well timed passes .. plays with his head up and looks for the passing possibilities .. possesses okay stickhandling skills .. capable of quick dekes with the puck .. moves the puck out of corners with finesse .. finishes the scoring chances adequately well thanks to his decent offensive instincts .. unleashes an above-average wrist shot with a quick release.
Weaknesses: Should improve on his first-step quickness and stride
effectiveness .. average acceleration for a smallish player .. top-end speed needs further upgrading .. average explosiveness .. needs to further improve his slap shot in terms of accuracy .. could fire the pucks more often .. prone to taking regular off-shifts .. made little strides in improving his toughness, but isn't really aggressive .. needs to further progress on his defensive play, which is sub-par at this point .. should limit the opposing player's options more effectively and return to his own zone more .. an one-dimensional player .. a non-factor when playing off the puck .. intensity drops once losing puck-possession .. should be more effective in the face-off circle.
Progress in play: Did not register a noticeable progress in his game
during this season .. slightly upgraded on his ability to dangle the puck out of tight spaces while keeping his head up and searching for a
passing lane .. finishes his checks slightly more often.
Mental side: A phlegmatic player who doesn't show noticeable fire
both on and off the ice .. very confident in his abilities .. doesn't
speak a lot on the players' bench or in the locker room .. gets along with his linemates without noticeable problems as his phlegmatic nature
doesn't create many conflicts within the offensive unit .. doesn't possess significant leadership abilities .. can adequately handle responsibility put on him .. doesn't suffer from glaring work ethic problems but isn't totally dedicated to reach a NHL career .. should upgrade on his competitiveness .. can play within the tactics adequately well and doesn't argue with the coach very often .. hails from a hockey family .. a son of a former lower-league player .. gave up on his secondary education in order to focus on a hockey career .. doesn't speak English very well.
Injuries: sprained shoulder (December, 2005)
undisclosed injury (September/October, 2005)
Previous notable injuries: broken hand (2004)
Stats: HC Rabat Kladno Jr. 31GP 8G 18A 26P +/- +5 18PIM
HC Rabat Kladno Sr. 21GP 1G 0A 1P +/- -5 4PIM
Agent information: Represented by Bobby Orr (The Orr Hockey Group) and
Czech representatives Frantisek Kaberle Sr. and Jiri Poner
NHL potential: His creativity and solid play once on the puck will
enable him to play his way out of junior hockey and perform at an elite
senior level in Europe .. shows serious areas of concern Kazatel would
need to address in his development to a NHL player and isn't likely to
register the needed improvement on all of them .. doesn't have the burning eagerness to reach the NHL, which would enable him to do all he can do to diminish his limits .. his lack of inspirational dedication will prevent him from registering the very important progress in his skating skills to pro caliber .. isn't likely to add a NHL-sufficient defensive part to his game .. not recommended to be selected in the draft.