Slovakia: Under-18 Junior Cup Coverage
August 10-15, 2004; Czech Republic/Slovakia
Slovakia
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The Slovakian boys must have been inflicted with the Chara syndrome, as only four of the country's participating players were under six feet tall and eight were 6-foot-3 or more. The size advantage, however, did little to help the unfocused squad who dropped two key matches - first against Sweden and then against Canada before losing to Russia in the fifth place game. Two core forwards Andrej Direr and Dusan Hindos were sidelined with injuries and therefore did not participate at the tournament.
Top performers
Amassed three points (5-2-1-3) and 10 penalty minutes .. an average skater with lacking agility, but adequate balance .. effective at both ends of the ice due to good vision and hockey sense .. nice hands and silky puck skills .. demonstrated a hard slap shot and a nifty wrist shot .. defensively aware and stays with is man .. should use his body more.
David Skokan, F
Scored a goal in four games (for two points), but amassed only three shots on goal .. youngest participant at the tournament (late 88) .. a fluid skater with explosive speed and sound agility .. forechecked assertively and consistently .. a very good shooter with a heavy slap shot .. uses his body in corner battles .. intense and determined on every shift .. willing to return to his own end and chip in defensively.
Jakub Drabek, F
Led Slovakia in shots at the tournament (13), amassing three points (5-1-2-3) .. above-average skater with deceptive agility and good top-end speed .. strong and smooth with the puck .. loves to create with nifty stickhandling, but tends to overhandle the puck .. has a keen playmaking eye .. determined and loves to shoot .. added essential bulk in the off-season and looks bigger and more confident .. has physical upside, but is not overpowering with his body.
Led Slovakia in penalty minutes (22) .. a skater with a powerful stride, a quick pivot step and smooth lateral moves .. so-so vision; overlooks passing lanes on occasion, but makes feeds with good accuracy .. has a hard point shot with average accuracy .. feisty and rugged .. throws his frame around and has the strength to knock guys down .. a force near the crease .. late 87-born.
Other players
Has a light stride; an effortless skater with good agility .. has soft hands and a quick stick .. maneuvers instinctively in heavy traffic and can execute at top speed .. demonstrated a nifty wrister .. not very noticeable when the puck is on his stick at times; seems to glide into obscurity .. intensity level drops off noticeably in the defensive end .. does not stick his nose enough into corner battles .. certainly strong enough to win puck battles if he chooses.
David Buc, F
Fluid skater who accelerates freely with nice speed .. tight forechecker frustrtates defenses with his speed .. shoots the puck consistently and does it well .. has a quick wrister with an excellent release .. average hands near the net .. took the body well, but did not overpower.
Matej Cunik, D
A strong technical skater with good first step quickness .. makes sharp, nifty turns and moves well forwards and backwards .. showed a good offensive flair .. supports the offense well with strong playmaking skills .. utilized consistently on the PP .. has a crisp shot from the point with good accuracy .. average positionally; defensive lapses took place occasionally .. has to work harder against opposing bodies in front of his own end .. was the most impressive offensive rearguard on Slovakia.
Diminutive but skates wonderfully with explosiveness and sharp foot movements .. always dangerous due to his ability to penetrate open lanes instinctively .. surprises with a strong slap shot and a quick wrist shot .. started to disappear when the game got physical .. very, very finesse .. showed flashes of occasional brilliance.
Michal Hrtus, F
Lanky and skates well with good balance, but average agility .. a playmaker who finds ways to find the open man .. does not shoot much .. looked completely overwhelmed in his defensive assignments .. went unnoticed for most of the tournament.
Athletic goalie did not succeed in key moments .. moves well laterally in the crease with quick legs .. flops around too much and goes down too early on most shots .. pretty strong at the angles .. tends to lose focus and was easily distracted.
A balanced skater with a strong lower body .. does not possess a quick first step .. impressed with good hand-eye coordination and puck skills .. makes hard, accurate passes with nice timing .. has to be more persistent when driving the net .. seems too passive to shoot, preferring most often to make the feed to a linemate .. defensive marking is rough .. took the odd shift off; at times lazy and daydreams .. did not make himself stand out, showing minimal intensity and interest .. could be dominant, but chose not to be.
Sub-par skater who struggles on his turns and accelerates roughly .. plays a strictly stay-at-home style .. average puck skills, but decent positional play .. does not make many mistakes with the puck .. minimal presence of vision or offensive upside of any kind .. has a very nice frame, but needs to add bulk pronto .. has a nice, long reach .. big, tall project.
Mammoth hulk on skates .. a rough skater who fell behind on numerous plays .. has to learn to learn his positional role better to avoid getting outskated .. tends to use his stick more in battles, as opposed to his body, as he has not yet mastered the timing of properly delivering body checks .. good reach, but limited puck skills .. plays a low-risk game with the puck .. tallest player in the tournament has a long way to go.
Juraj Mikus, F
Decent speed, deceptive agility .. fast enough to outskate many defensemen .. has offensive upside and desires to be in possession of the puck .. a good stickhandler who, at times, is too much in love with the puck .. shooting skills are lacking; has nothing to fool the goalies.
Erik Urgela, F
Deceptively quick with lively feet and above-average straightaway speed .. smooth with the puck .. okay vision and is fairly creative .. positions himself smartly offensively and shoots the puck crisply .. does not do much in traffic.