U18 Vlado Dzurilla: Sinking Marcinko

We continue our look at the U18 Vlado Dzurilla tournament with the winning Slovak squad. Branislav Konrad was named the top goaltender and Marek Biro was a workhorse on the blueline.

Branislav Konrad (2006), G

The coaches tested him in a trial-by-fire with three consecutive starts .. responded properly with solid showings and was named the tournament's top goaltender .. shut out the Swiss team in the first game and displayed above-average poise .. held his team with important, composed saves in the second game against USA before the Slovak team broke its opponent's resistance .. final game was the busiest for him .. controlled the only rebounds the Slovak defense allowed to the Germans and helped to upgrade his stock with his play.

Tomas Magusin (2005), D

Skated in just two games .. played an effective first game against Switzerland, knowing his limits and keeping the play simple .. avoided bone-headed puck decisions that would have led to turnovers, where he would have gotten burned by his lack of skating skills .. a dependable defensive player .. the USA players targeted him in the second game as the guy to hit and he didn't take the bait thanks to his non-aggressive nature .. knocked off his feet even by smaller players .. fuzzy and overwhelmed by the pace during the first period, but returned to his simple, reliable, unspectacular game after the contest reached halfway mark.

Matej Cunik (2005), D

A Slovak alternate captain .. did nothing outstanding during the first game .. tried to create plays, but lacked effectiveness .. bounced back with an above-average second game against USA .. displayed offensive prowess and quarterbacked the power play with poise and vision .. jumped into plays with solid timing .. proved that stick-handling is his strongest offensive asset .. set up his linemates effectively .. wasn't so impressive in the third game against Germany .. held his own, but his offensive plays weren't so precise .. played a much improved game than in the Czech junior Extraleague.

Lukas Bohunicky (2006), D

Faded for much of the first game .. displayed solid first-step quickness for a big man, but lacked creativity with the puck and didn't show a noticeable offensive effort .. misread numerous plays .. the more physical style of the USA team suited him better .. was willing to throw his body around often, but brought himself out of position .. ended up on the boards sometimes when opposing players avoided the hit .. was adequate defensively in the second and third game .. got better as the tournament went on, but offensive vision and positional play were noticeable issues with him.

Marek Biro (2006), D

The youngest Slovak blueliner didn't turn heads with his play, but was a solid defensive workhorse .. focused on his role and filled it conscientiously .. showed that he doesn't have many tools to become more than a defensive blueliner .. marked his man and did his best to take him out of the play .. misread offensive plays and wasn't effective on power plays .. didn't register a noticeable off-game, but got into trouble when the pace of the game was higher.

Tomas Marcinko (2006), C

Centered the elite line .. first game was an off-showing for him when he couldn't make effective plays and pucks bounced off his stick .. hardly made use of his size, but was a defensive factor in all three games .. conscientious on the back check and was the first of his forward trio to return to the defensive end .. upgraded his play in the second and third game, but still didn't stand out .. handled the puck more smoothly and performed better in playing off the puck .. reliable defensive play saved his showing at this tournament.

David Buc (2005), RW

The offensive forward of the Slovak top line .. focused on offensive raids for all three games .. his best showing came in the second game against USA .. could handle the physical style without noticeable problems thanks to a strong body .. refused to help out the defense, leaving the defensive work to linemate Tomas Marcinko .. showed considerable reserves in his vision and reading of plays .. his bullish style couldn't be overlooked even if he didn't throw his body around very often .. adequate in the third game against Germany, but needed to dish out more hits .. significant holes in his game exist, but overly Buc didn't totally bust.

Juraj Mikus (2005), LW

Unimpressive during the first game .. failed to create and was precipitous with the puck .. the second game was slightly better for him, but still not a very good game .. couldn't translate his intelligent play with the puck from the Slovak junior Extraleague to the international competition .. the third game against Germany turned out to be his best .. could get into scoring chances and made some saucer passes, but still didn't drive the net hard .. played more of a perimeter style .. this tournament was a sub-par showing for him.

Mario Bliznak (2005), C

One of the very few players who didn't disappoint in the first game against Switzerland .. played a diligent, multi-purpose style and contributed well on the defensive end .. proved that he isn't blessed with elite talent or skills, but emerged as a valuable workhorse who gives his best for the team to succeed .. handled the physical style of the USA team without problems, but failed to do much beyond that in the second contest .. the third game was solid for him as he could find his two-way prowess again.

Michal Klejna (2006), RW

His play in the Czech junior Extraleague has put high expectations on Klejna, but he failed to respond with a quality showing in this tournament .. registered shifts which displayed his quick bursts of speed and agility, but wasn't very effective in the offensive zone .. handled the puck smoothly, but should use his linemates to a bigger extent .. was average in all three games .. more of an one-dimensional showing with a low offensive output .. was particularly affected by the poor play of Juraj Mikus, who couldn't prepare many chances for him to finish .. should step up and perform in a more team-orientated manner.

Andrej Direr (2005), RW

Started the tournament on the fourth line getting a low amount of ice time .. was promoted to the second line to perform alongside Richard Lelkes and Ondrej Otcenas in the remaining two contests .. wasn't a significant factor in any of the games .. his quick skating skills were visible during his shifts, but Direr avoided performing in traffic .. was invisible during the first game against Switzerland and got slightly better in the second match-up with better linemates, but still not a good game for him .. was unimpressive in this tournament and didn't do much to lift his falling stock, pushed down by a mediocre season in the Slovak junior Extraleague.