U17 WHC: Tenacious Tibor

Slovakia got off to surprising start at the U17 World Hockey Challenge by tying Team USA, but finished on a dismal note losing their final two games by a combined 15-2 score. One player that caught our attention was Slovak captain Tibor Radulay, who displayed remarkable courage and work habits even in blowout losses to Team Ontario and the Czechs. We have notes on Radulay and a number of his teammates.

Lukas Maslonka (2006), C

Has good mobility and acceleration .. defensively aware .. drove hard to the net .. has decent work habits without the puck, but with limited results .. played his man poorly and allowed the player to easily beat him from out of the corner and to the goal .. plays on the PK .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-2).

Rastislav Konecny (2006), LW

Displays nice hand-eye coordination, although doesn't appear to have much imagination with the puck .. his skating is average .. blasted a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle that snuck through the five-hole .. showed little interest in fighting through a checker and was easily bumped off the puck .. got nothing on a pas through the neutral zone .. must work on protecting the puck as he had the defender beaten on a mini-breakaway, but had it stripped off his stick .. plays on the powerplay .. U-17 totals (5-1-1-2-0).

Martin Sekac (2006), RW

Very mobile and can stickhandle well at top speed .. moves the puck crisply and on the tape .. needs to add some urgency to his pursuit of the puck .. displays very little interest in physical contact, either giving it or receiving it .. doesn't fight through contact .. plays on the penalty-kill .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-2).

Patrik Lusnak (2007), F

quick snap shot .. lacks a burst from his first few steps and overall speed is mediocre, however, his mobility isn't bad .. has decent touch for getting the puck to a teammate in tight situations .. plays on the powerplay .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-0).

Stefan Klimek (2006), RW

Works hard along the wall .. blessed with excellent acceleration and mobility .. displays good pursuit of the puckcarrier .. beat a player one-on-one and was able to get a quality scoring chance .. strong on his skates and was able to withstand a number of hits before he went down .. must put more pressure at the point, especially on the PK .. picks up his man and is dependable in his own zone .. played on the powerplay .. chosen player of the game versus Team Czech Republic .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-0).

Julius Sinkovic (2006), C

Undersized, but has terrific acceleration and mobility .. heavy wrist shot .. slick stickhandler, with his excellent quickness can lead to him being able to slice through the defense .. can be a bit of a puck hog as he needs to look for his teammates with more regularity .. doesn't possess the strength to be very effective taking the body .. drove hard through a check and drew a penalty .. will take the body when given the opportunity .. puts in a good effort on the backcheck .. plays on both special teams .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-8).

Erik Caladi (2006), LW

The Slovaks leading scorer with three goals, no other player had more than one .. has a heavy wrist shot .. wears an A .. displays quick feet as proven by his very good mobility and acceleration .. showed some chemistry on a line with Tibor Radulay .. U-17 totals (5-3-0-3-0).

Branislav Rehus (2007), C

Strong on the puck and uses his body to shield it from checkers .. powerful stride and gets in quick on the forecheck .. takes a solid hit and pops right back up .. holds the opposing center off the draw .. will drop down to block shots, although his technique could use some work .. was nailed with a hard open ice hit, but bounced right up .. chosen player of the game versus Team Ontario .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-0).

Lukas Zeliska (2006), C

Came back hard to take away the two-on-one .. very good overall speed .. drove through the opposing center in the opponents zone for a chance on goal .. showed little interest in getting in front of a point shot .. will take the body with authority .. can dangle with the puck .. was nailed in open ice .. displayed nice vision head-manning the puck to an open linemate .. must be more consistent in the level of effort he uses to escape the opposition center off the draw .. went end to end and got away a howitzer that just went over the net . put a pass about a foot over his teammate's stick nullifying an odd man rush .. played on the PK and PP .. U-17 totals (5-1-1-2-8).

Jakub Suja (2007), LW

Gets a good jump from his first few steps .. stickhandles well at top speed .. terrific overall speed and mobility .. really cuts down time and space on the forecheck .. uses an active stick on the penalty-kill .. beat a defender on the outside .. closed the gap on the puckcarrier .. had a close in chance and missed the net .. is most effective when he keeps his feet moving as he has the ability to pressuring the player with the puck .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-4).

Tomas Siffalovic (2006), F

Works hard along the boards .. solid on his skates, although his overall skating doesn't tend to standout .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-0).

Tibor Radulay (2006), RW

Is not only the captain of the Slovaks, but is quite simply the heart and soul of the team .. very good speed, but just doesn't have that extra gear that would make him a gamebreaker .. powerful stride, with amazing lower body strength .. blessed with excellent vision and puts the puck right on the tape .. displays very good leadership and has the poise to be like an extra coach on the ice .. extremely solid on his skates, which makes him hard to knock off the puck as he protects it well with his body .. keeps his legs moving on contact .. gives as good as he gets in the physical aspect of the game and won't be intimidated .. covered for a pinching defender .. played on the powerplay .. drives hard towards the goal and doesn't hesitate to crash the net .. although he didn't score, there is little doubt that he has tremendous hands .. works hard in the dirty areas .. reminds some of the Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick Ladislav Scurko .. one of the few Slovaks that played with any offensive imagination .. U-17 totals (5-0-2-2-4).