U-18 Junior Cup: Slovakia

Continued coverage of the U-18 Junior Cup that took place this month. McKeen's correspondent Robert Neuhauser scouts Team Slovakia, including reports on standouts Adam Bena, Julius Sinkovic, Erik Caladi and the snake-bitten Tomas Marcinko.

Top performers

Adam Bena (2006), D

Notes: tied with Marek Biro for defenseman scoring on team Slovakia, albeit with just one point .. surprise of the tournament turned heads with two-way savvy in the first game, and, despite never duplicating that effect thereafter, was still solid amongst a shaky Slovak defensive corps.

Scouting: a solid skater with an okay stride .. decent bursts of speed .. solid agility and lateral movement .. adequate lower-body strength and balance .. difficult to outskate .. compensates for his severe size deficiency with smarts and a fearless approach .. decent stickhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. possesses noticeable offensive flair .. good vision and awareness of his linemates .. makes crisp, accurate outlet passes .. solid stickhandling skills .. can maintain possession of the puck in traffic .. not afraid to be physical along the boards .. uses his body smartly against opposing players to get them off balance .. adequate pinching .. hard slap shot but accuracy is an issue .. useful as a powerplay quarterback .. somewhat inconsistent from shift to shift .. a right-shooting defenseman.

Julius Sinkovic (2006), RW

Notes: top goal scorer of the tournament (6 goals) .. led tournament in powerplay goals (3) .. tied with Erik Caladi for lead on Team Slovakia in scoring (6 points) .. finished sixth in tournament scoring .. tied with Erik Caladi of Team Slovakia in +/- (+2) .. consistently produced throughout the tournament, but seemed distracted at times about getting slashed and physically manhandled, which seemed to take away some of the lustre .. definitely an offensive dynamo.

Scouting: a solid skater with good acceleration and agility .. sound top-end speed which can burn defenders .. crafty puckhandler with above-average hand-eye coordination .. shoots the puck well, utilizing a sneaky accurate wrist shot with a sharp release .. a solid player in one-on-one situations .. keeps a cool head once in on a scoring chance .. reluctant to play through pain .. tends to worry about the opponent's slashes and dives on the ice .. should use his slap shot to a greater extent .. doesn't play a physically intimidating style even though he doesn't play afraid .. not a feared force in heavy traffic due to his smallish frame .. shows a tendency to use his stick instead of his body .. speed enables him to return to his own zone on time, but he needs to plays more soundly positionally.

Erik Caladi (2006), LW

Notes: tied with Julius Sinkovic for team lead in scoring (6 points) .. finished seventh overall in tournament scoring .. best Slovak passer (5 assists) .. finished tied with Michal Kazatel (Czech Republic) in assists .. tied with Julius Sinkovic for team lead in +/- (+2) .. tied with Kristian Krajcik for penalty minutes (14) .. one of the reasons for Julius Sinkovic's offensive outburst .. created chances with the puck but had some inconsistent stretches.

Scouting: a decent skater for a big man .. adequate agility and impressive first-step quickness .. could use a better top-end speed .. can execute without having to slow down significantly .. okay stickhandling skills but isn't terribly elusive with his moves when trying to sneak past opposing defensemen .. decent passing skills, pretty accurate but not inherently aware of linemates .. solid in-close finishing skills .. uses primarily a quick hard wrist shot .. hard slap shot lacks accuracy .. can make some use of his size, but should play gritty on a more regular basis .. tough to get moved when he decides to perform in front of the opposing net .. doesn't play scared and is showing the ability to lay an occassional good hit on the opponent .. a solid forechecker .. willing to return back to help out defense, but is still raw in that respect .. should spot his man faster and block opposing passing lanes more conscientiously.

Rastislav Konecny (2006), LW

Notes: finished fourth on Team Slovakia in scoring (2 points) .. all points came on the powerplay .. tied with Erik Caladi, Tomas Marcinko and Branislav Rehus all with one goal each on the team .. filled the role of an all-round forward conscientiously and though he didn't stand out as a star he was an important cog on the squad.

Scouting: decent skater .. long stride, adequate agility .. solid balance and lower body .. only decent first-step quickness .. shows impressive stickhandling abilities but doesn't always corral challenging passes .. sneaky with the puck in traffic but isn't a top-notch dangler .. uses the backhand side of the stick effectively to surprise the goalie .. average at best at passing .. avoids risky decisions with the puck .. hard, accurate slap shot .. adequate in one-on-one situation but not terribly explosive .. willing to forecheck .. returns back in his own end to help out on defense .. raw positionally on defense .. never scared but doesn't really crash the net as would be preferred .. willing to battle for pucks in the corners .. doesn't take odd shifts off .. shoots right.

Other players

Marek Simko (2006), G

Notes: starting netminder for the Slovakian squad was bombarded with shots game in and game out, giving up a handful of soft goals .. showed some clutch capabilities in the match against Russia.

Scouting: smallish in stature .. plays a butterfly style .. good skater .. quick side-to-side movement .. adequate lateral movement .. quick to recover after dropping to a butterfly .. doesn't cover a lot of the net .. goes down early and relies on his good quickness and athleticism to make unorthodox saves .. solid leg quickness .. challenges the shooter .. above-average dexterity .. tough to beat on the initial shot, but lets the odd goal in through his five-hole .. rebound control is shoddy .. solid reflexes .. tends to be guessive and wild at times .. should further work on his fundamentals .. anticipation of developing plays is raw .. okay glove hand .. doesn't move the puck very often and needs to show progress on stickhandling skills.

Marek Biro (2006), D

Notes: expected to be the blueline leader for Slovakia due to his experience but looked ordinary against guys his own age .. filled a predominantly defensive role .. doesn't show a lot of spirit on most shifts .. will have to bounce back big time in later tournaments.

Scouting: an average skater .. needs to develop better quickness and a more fluid stride .. gets beaten on turns and when having to move laterally .. decent balance and lower-body strength .. doesn't always keep his feet moving and gets caught flat-footed .. average puckhandling skills .. struggles handling passes on the backhand side of the stick .. is at his best when playing a simple, efficient game with the puck .. throws the occasional hit and is a decent crease clearer .. big reach .. defensive positioning is inconsistent .. doesn't have the vision to do much with the puck, especially on the powerplay .. adequate accuracy and solid velocity on the slap shot .. potential of a conservative defensive defenseman.

Kristian Krajcik (2006), D

Notes: tried to generate offense from the blueline, but in every game could not avoid making mistakes when moving the puck .. lacked a mean streak, which was clearly exposed throughout the tournament .. in general did not stand out.

Scouting: a decent skater with lively feet and good acceleration .. adequate lateral movement and pivots .. should further work on his balance .. solid puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. frequently willing to jump into the play and support the offense .. vision and offensive decision making are raw .. often tries to do too much, with one fancy move too many leading to costly mistakes .. some presence on the powerplay units .. point shot lacks hardness and accuracy .. inconsistent positionally and thinks offense too much .. has to add some muscle to his frame to be more effective down low .. acceptable toughness .. willing to punish guys along the boards but nothing stands out especially .. will sacrifice body to block opposing hosts.

Patrik Bakos (2006), D

Notes: looked promising in the early stages of the tournament with some steady defensive play but, as the tournament went on, he started to give the puck away and opponents fed on that .. needs to play with better edge .. stuck to his role .. definitely worth giving another chance but he needs to show that he can be a solid presence for a continued amount of time.

Scouting: moves acceptably for his size .. adequate lateral movement and agility .. okay acceleration and first step quickness, but overall skating needs further polishing .. well-balanced on his feet .. tends to stay back in his own end so he doesn't get outskated on transitional play .. average positional play and raw ability to read an opponent's frame of mind .. mediocre puckhandling skills .. doesn't have good hands .. knows his limitations and tries to keep things safe and not do too much with the puck .. takes his man out of the play and stays with him .. could be more punishing .. average crease-clearer .. good reach and wingspan .. limited passing skills .. doesn't support the offense much; most often than not will dish the puck off and let linemates do the rest .. pretty accurate point shot but he doesn't show a lot of it; needs to give it more pep .. will require patience in his development.

Tomas Brcko (2006), D

Notes: showed that he doesn't have the skating skills needed to be a factor against top international competition .. did nothing offensively for the duration of the tournament .. off-tournament did some harm to his stock.

Scouting: sub-par skater .. rough stride, needs better acceleration .. average lateral movement and gets beaten wide by quick forwards .. decent balance and lower-body strength .. first step quickness is not good .. average puckhandling skills .. hand-eye coordination is not there yet .. struggles dealing with difficult feeds .. defensive-minded .. stays back and doesn't rush the puck much as he lacks offensive vision .. should use his size more; not very involved in that sense .. just doesn't take the initiative to grind along the boards and in his own crease .. tries to be economical and safe with the puck but will give it up when pressured effectively .. played the point on the powerplay .. heavy slap shot with average accuracy .. needs to start showing improvement soon.

Jozef Sladok (2006), D

Notes: played a lot but did little with the time .. got burned badly by faster opponents and looked too warm and fuzzy in his own end .. occasionally tried to jump into the play but is at his best when he stays back .. not much upside to his big body.

Scouting: average skater .. acceleration and top speed require improvement .. agility and lateral movement did not impress .. adequate balance .. willing to jump into the play to support the offense but lacks the vision to avoid making turnovers .. doesn't have good hands and struggles at puck protection .. some difficulty handling backhand feeds .. overlooks odd long passing lanes, but is actually an acceptable passer when he sizes up the risks well .. must learn to get point shots through, often an issue of timing with him .. prone to dumb penalties when refusing to use his size to tie a man up .. occasionally quite decent in corner battles and around the crease but isn't always in the mood .. no mean streak .. positionally inept.

Martin Dulak (2007), D

Notes: Did not see a lot of icetime .. dependable depth player did not make many mistakes and focused mainly on defense .. doesn't appear to show much pro promise.

Scouting: Short stride, not much quickness .. lateral movement and acceleration are mediocre .. solid on his feet and has good lower-body strength .. reliable in one-on-one situations .. gets overwhelmed when having to make a split-second decision with the puck .. average passing accuracy .. timing and accuracy of his passes are lacking .. doesn't have good hands; must especially improve handling passes on the backhand .. works hard down low .. spots his man quickly .. shows some mean streak but not regularly .. tends to lose positioning when going for a hit .. doesn't show his shot very often .. late 88-born.

Tomas Marcinko (2006), C

Notes: team captain was limited to only three games due to intense stomach problems that hampered him all tournament long .. failed to create or score .. looked snake-bitten throughout the tournament .. definitely a disappointment but this is one that will be written off.

Scouting: strong and balanced on his feet but did not show elite first-step quickness and great acceleration .. effective and diligent at both ends of the ice .. fair vision and hockey sense .. pretty good hands but is at times fumbly .. hard, accurate slap shot, but doesn't use it a lot preferring to dish the puck off .. quick, crisp wrist shot .. above-average defensive awareness .. conscientious in returning back defensively and is a valuable asset on the pk .. positionally sound and dishes out hard hits along the boards .. battles in traffic but doesn't drive the net particularly hard .. shoots right.

Patrik Lusnak (2007), C

Notes: Started slowly but came on later in the tournament, although his efforts often went for naught as he failed to finish in most situations .. showed more all-around awareness than usual but remains a one-dimensional type .. not productive enough to raise his stock.

Scouting: slick, explosive skater .. excellent foot speed and acceleration .. gives opposing defensemen fits with his quickness but needs better balance as he is easily knocked off the puck .. intriguing skill set; pretty good hands and a crafty approach .. good hand-eye coordination .. elusive in one-on-one situations .. willing to shoot the puck, particularly his wrister .. not soft but isn't effective in traffic due to his lack of size .. defensively absent and uninspired .. some potential and looks better than his stat line would indicate .. late 88-born.

Branislav Rehus (2007), RW

Notes: skated on Slovakia's second offensive unit .. showed the odd slick move but was invisible for most of his shifts .. made some defensively aware plays to compensate for linemates' mistakes but it wasn't enough to impress sufficiently.

Scouting: adequate; short, quick stride .. okay agility, average first step .. lacks good top-end speed .. good stickhandling ability but hands are mediocre .. not as solid on the puck when dealing with heavy traffic .. a bit impatient with the puck .. doesn't show a lot of finish and slap shot is of only average accuracy and lacks power .. shows some defensive effort but is still raw in terms of awareness .. not physical but played appropriately in traffic .. late-88 born.

Lukas Bielik (2006), LW

Notes: third liner .. intense role player .. met expectations with chippy play but has obvious limitations on offense.

Scouting: choppy stride, okay acceleration and first-step quickness .. good agility but lacks balance .. adequate hands and puckhandling skills .. decent passer but not much vision .. lacks all-around hockey sense .. average in-close finishing skills .. tends to look for rebounds in the slot .. quick, snappy wrist shot .. slow snap shot with a slower release .. not afraid to execute in heavy traffic and takes position in front of the opposing net .. willing to finish checks but isn't a mean player .. can get his own way along the boards when inspired .. tends to wander positionally a bit .. shows defensive awareness and effectiveness but doesn't consistently contribute in that respect quite yet.

Jakub Suja (2007), C

Notes: centered the third line .. went unnoticed for long stretches .. struggled at the pivot position, partly due to his lack of playmaking skills, unable to control the play .. ordinary and didn't accomplish much.

Scouting: good footspeed and an acceptable overall skater .. isn't explosive and lacks lower body strength and balance .. above-average stickhandling skills with impressive penchant for dekes .. made some nice one-on-one moves .. shows a willingness to head into traffic with the puck .. uses his body along the boards but isn't much of a physical factor .. offensive awareness of linemates did not impress .. hands are mediocre at best; not a finisher .. marks his man slowly on defense .. intensity lags without the puck .. late 88-born.

Stefan Klimek (2006), RW

Notes: offensive raids on the wing were impressive but he was never able to finish .. all-offense .. would do much more if he had better acceleration.

Scouting: short, choppy stride .. decent quickness and acceleration but isn't very strong on his feet .. probably faster than he looks; his problem is that he doesn't know how to use his speed smartly .. more on the side of playmaking as opposed to being a sniper .. sometimes loses focus when a scoring chance presents itself .. fine stickhandler uses a short stick .. nifty, elusive moves with the puck .. average vision .. quick snap shot with some accuracy .. does nothing on offense and is weak in heavy traffic .. doesn't play scared but takes the odd shift off.

Tibor Radulay (2006), LW

Notes: fourth liner was a diligent grinder .. wasn't able to create and is at his best in a character role.

Scouting: adequate skater has good balance and is strong on his feet .. lacks quickness and great top-end speed .. stickhandling ability is a tad rough, sometimes struggling to corral a difficult pass .. decent passer but nothing too complex .. not the creative type and doesn't shoot the puck much .. sharp wrister and hard slap shot .. not much finish though .. has a mean streak which he shows in corner battles .. a feared hitter though he lacks timing when taking the body, often getting out of position .. battles for the puck in the corners .. an honest player.