U17 WHC: Lord Simko

In part two of our look at Team Slovakia we set our sights on their defense and goaltenders that represented Slovakia at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge. Goaltender Marek Simko, who could be terrific and erratic all in the same game. We have notes on Simko and a number of his teammates in part one of our two part look at Team Slovakia.

Milan Balis (2006), D

Wears an A .. must learn to move the puck quicker .. can deliver a quality breakout pass .. takes the man well on the one-on-one, although needs to improve his strength as he tends to get overpowered by bigger forwards .. willing to take a hit to make a play .. with some time, might develop in to a decent quarterbacking defenseman as he moves the puck well at the point .. once again played the man properly, unfortunately he was once again outmatched physically .. pinched in from the point .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-8).

Marek Biro (2006), D

Average skater, with his lack of an extra gear the most noticeable .. pinched in from the point on the powerplay and snapped a wrist shot over the goalie's glove and in to the top corner .. lacks vision and imagination in the offensive zone .. must become more observant on picking up the open man in front of the net .. played on the penalty-kill .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-0).

Juraj Joanidis (2006), D

Good overall speed, although he has an awkward, hunched over skating style .. has decent hands for a defender .. doesn't always make the best decisions with the puck .. gets overmatched in the physical areas of the game .. lacks elite acceleration .. wasn't able to properly take away the pass on an odd man rush .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-2).

Kristian Krajcik (2006), D

Extremely mobile and blessed with good overall speed .. has trouble handling forwards one-on-one .. more of a grabber than a hitter .. not the most solid player on his skates .. generally moves the puck crisply and on the tape .. sometimes loses position on his man in the defensive zone .. played on both special teams .. chosen player of the game versus Team Western .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-10).

Tomas Brcko (2006), D

Mediocre overall skating with limited acceleration .. was caught up the ice an was unable to recover in time to get back in the play .. will pinch in very deep on the powerplay .. scored a goal on a very stoppable shot from the blueline .. made a crisp breakout pass to start a rush .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-2).

Jozef Sladok (2006), D

Takes the pass with ease .. average overall speed and his mobility and acceleration leave something to be desired .. does try and clear the crease and displays some grit in traffic .. doesn't appear to have much hockey sense .. worked hard to tie up the man in front and did a credible job in that task .. threw a solid hit along the boards .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-0).

Andrej Simo (2007), D

Blessed with some power behind his wrist shot .. has a nice, effortless release and can pick the corners .. strong on his skates, but lacks an elite next step .. was forced in to making a poor decision that resulted in a turnover .. dished out a solid open ice hit to stand up a puckcarrier .. got very little behind a slap shot from the point .. U-17 totals (5-0-2-2-0).

Martin Dulak (2007), D

Needs to work on moving the puck with more urgency .. his passing skills are very poor .. took his team off a powerplay with hook .. uses an active stick to try and create turnovers, especially on the penalty-kill .. was beaten more than once on the outside by a quick forward as his mobility or lack thereof was clearly evident .. has a hard slap shot .. went the wrong way to pressure the puckcarrier behind the net .. lacks the strength to have much success in the dirty areas .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-4).

Peter Dubina (2007), G

Came in after Marek Simko was pulled after the first period and gave up three goals in the final two periods .. Made a decent pad save off a shot from the high slot .. went down to quickly and had the puck sail over his glove and in to the top corner .. made a nice save by stacking his pads on a two-on-one .. guessed wrong on a breakaway and was taken to the woodshed by the puckcarrier .. came in to replace Simko and only allowed two goals on 30 shots versus Team Western .. played the final 28 minutes versus the Czech's and stopped 15 of 18 shots that came his way .. U-17 totals (3-0-0-0).

Marek Simko (2006), G

Very small netminder that had difficulty with players crashing his net and was shaken up enough on a couple of occasions to force the trainer to come out .. communicates with his defense .. doesn't always hold on to shots that hit his glove .. is a bit of an adventure out of his net as his judgement and stickhandling are "Irbe like" .. came way out past the faceoff to clear the puck successfully before the opposition could gain control .. is a guesser that can be outstanding one minute and a sieve the next .. chosen player of the game versus Team USA .. recorded a shutout in a 4-0 win against Team Germany .. U-17 totals (5-1-3-1).