Vantuch Liberec Ace

HC Bili Tygri Liberec juniors

Lukas Vantuch (2005), C

Skating is a weak point though it can be significantly improved with upgraded lower-body strength .. possesses a solid stride and decent agility, but needs to add more power to his stride .. balance is another area that requires work .. tends to skate circles in the offensive zone instead of driving hard to the net, which limits his effectiveness .. smooth puckhandling ability .. possesses soft hands and can be tricky with the puck .. adept at finding open teammates .. more of a passer than finisher .. needs to develop better finishing skills and fire the pucks more frequently .. unleashes a quick wristshot and a relatively hard slapper, though it could use a faster release and improved accuracy .. fills his defensive duties, returns to his own end in time .. albeit, he's no checking specialist as he still needs time to spot 'his' player .. uses long stick and reach to block opposing passing lanes .. must get stronger in order to be more effective .. willing to play the body and throws some hits during each junior game, though he isn't aggressive by nature .. definitely worth consideration for the NHL draft.

Petr Hrach (2005), D

The major flaw in Hrach's game is his skating .. even though he possesses decent straightaway speed and balance, he struggles when moving laterally and is relatively slow on turns .. a competitive defenseman who plays a dependable game in his own end .. very good in one-on-one situations .. possesses enough size and strength to handle most junior opponents .. a decent stickhandler, but still could improve his hands .. makes few glaring mistakes with the puck and is a good short-distance passer .. however, he doesn't move the puck out of his end that often and lacks the offensive vision to make long outlet passes .. doesn't play afraid and throws solid hits when the play gets physical .. useful on both the power play and the penalty-killing unit .. subpar wheels holds him back .. would be a solid NHL prospect if he were a better skater.

Michal Pavlu (2005), D

Solid in his own end, stays with his man and makes few positional mistakes .. knows when to support the offense .. calm with the puck, waits for the right moment to move it .. accurate on the shorter passes, but attempts very few long outlet passes .. a decent puckhandler with adequate hands .. shows considerable limits in his game .. blessed with solid acceleration and balance, however he gets beaten on turns and when forced to move laterally .. gets beaten wide by fast forwards .. another strike against him is his reluctance to use his shooting skills .. absolutely refuses to fire hard shots from the point instead opting for snapshots in all situations .. the final shortfall is his lack of aggressiveness .. won't use his solid size to full advantage, preferring to use his stick instead .. not a good hitter, tends to play 'friendly' along the boards .. shoots right .. won't be selected in the draft.

Tomas Mrkvicka (2006), D

A pint-sized rearguard .. adequate skater who keeps his feet moving .. however his acceleration is nothing special due to a largely ineffective stride .. boasts a decent change of pace and lateral movement plus adequate turns and solid lower-body strength .. but his lack of size causes him to get knocked off his feet .. regularly displays his offensive flair and joins the rush .. risky at times when supporting the offense, loses pucks which leads to turnovers .. average offensive vision .. stickhandling skills are sufficient for junior hockey .. fires an accurate point shot which is weak and rarely gets through to the net .. doesn't play afraid despite lack of size .. willing to clear the crease and execute along the boards, but big opponents handle him easily .. tends to lose position in his own end and play sketchy defense sometimes .. shoots right .. late '87-born is not NHL material.

Martin Rygl (2005), D

An offensive-minded rearguard .. a decent skater with a polished stride .. adequate acceleration and lateral movement .. strong on his feet .. solid turns and footspeed .. displays solid poise when moving the puck .. uses his reach effectively and distributes pucks smartly .. still prone to the odd bad decision .. a solid puckhandler who possesses a decent vision and hockey sense .. doesn't hesitate to fire his above-average shot, which is hard but lacks accuracy .. needs to improve on his positioning as he doesn't seem to know where he should be at times .. could use a bigger mean streak and show his nasty edge more often .. doesn't use his solid frame to full advantage and must work on becoming more aggressive ..`86-born blueliner shoots right .. a fringe NHL prospect.

Michal Kapicka (2005), RW

A smallish winger with above-average skating skills .. shows solid bursts of speed and is capable of winning foot races .. makes turns on a dime .. okay top-end speed .. decent balance, but tends to get knocked off his feet by bigger players .. a crafty puckhandler with good hand-eye coordination .. likes to fire the puck .. above-average in-close finishing skills .. possesses a quick release on his wrist and snapshot which can surprise goalies .. also has sufficiently hard slapper though he uses it too infrequently .. not an efficient defensive player as his intensity and interest level drops off in his own end .. marks his man slowly .. avoids tight spaces due to his lack of size .. won't hide from physical contact, but isn't the same force when opponents start to pick up the body contact .. late `85-born forward doesn't look like a player with NHL potential.