World U18 Championship: Czech Republic

The Czech Republic's entry to the World U-18 Championship was a poor one and no top-end players appear to be on the way from the country that has recently produced talented young stars in the NHL such as Michael Frolik, Milan Michalek, and Jakub Voracek. Defenseman David Musil was one of the select few 1993-born prospects to play in the tournament and impressed with his size and physicality. 2009 eligible defenseman Adam Polasek also made a name for himself with his gritty performance. McKeen's director of scouting Max Giese filed this report on Musil, Polasek, and several other Czech prospects that performed at the World U-18 Championships.

David Musil (2011), D, HC Dukla Jihlava

One of the rare 1993- born prospects playing at the tournament, Musil's upside is that he's already very big and physical for a European defenseman .. polished defensively and became more comfortable and accurate with the puck as the tournament progressed .. his skating is a mixed bag, as he's strong on his feet and has decent lateral mobility, but at times, he appears to be a laboring skater that looks like a pylon while getting beaten by speed .. won't wow you with his puck-rushing ability, however he quickly identifies the open man before hitting him in stride with the puck and comfortably executes a good first pass.. the fact that the puck is off his stick and to the correct man in a hurry articulates the speed of his mental processor .. proactively held the offensive zone and even utilized his size while getting deployed in front of the net on the powerplay .. very smart defensively and is always in position to shut down plays quickly .. the fact that he's seemingly always around the puck speaks of his anticipation .. already a big rig with great strength and good hockey sense, Musil aggressively protects the crease area and separates guys off the puck with regularity.

Adam Polasek (2009), D, HC Vitkovice Ostrava

Didn't enter the tournament with any fanfare, but Polasek was the best draft eligible Czech player there and likely won some NHL scouts over by wearing his heart on his sleeve and with his steady play .. not a dynamic skater, but his mobility is fluid and decent overall .. had the opportunity to play the point on the powerplay and he does have a decent shot, but his offensive upside is limited .. not a creative powerplay quarterback type, although the play didn't die on his stick either .. quietly effective, Polasek does his job, makes the first pass, and rarely has a bad touch on the puck .. his toughness and grit occasionally landed him in front of the net on the powerplay .. defensively, he astutely stays home to cover for his more adventurous offensive partners and always makes hard plays .. plays a physical North American brand of hockey and never stopped competing even when on the wrong end of a blow out.

Roman Horak (2009), C/LW, HC Mountfield

A talented player that is capable of making some pretty plays, but he needs to add more sandpaper to his game .. a dexterous skater with smooth feet, Horak is a quick and agile skater that is more darty than fast .. has lots of skill with smooth hands and nifty finishing ability that is accentuated by his accurate shot in tight .. was an effective perimeter playmaker, but he also did a nice job hitting openings with speed to create scoring opportunities through traffic time-to-time .. was on the penalty kill, but he's a slight player that has no real physical element to his game right now.

Filip Novotny (2009), G, Sparta Prague

Has above-average athleticism, but lacks the mental strength to survive the NHL .. overzealous between the pipes, Novotny does not play the middle of the net and too often, takes himself out of position .. struggles with the traffic because he doesn't fight through screens to track the puck in and he tends to back deep into his crease exposing a great deal of the net in the process .. capable of making flexible split and athletic sprawling saves .. has a quick glove hand and did very well against Canada when he gave the undermanned Czechs a chance to win .. can get hot and be difficult to beat when things are going right, but things can go wrong in a hurry and he's too easily rattled .. prone to losing his confidence and composure, which lends itself to him playing too deep in his crease .. has childish body language and he tries to do too much at times, making easy saves look way too difficult.

Andrej Nestrasil (2009), RW, Victoriaville Tigres

Two-way winger with some size, but he's not a good skater and has bad feet .. was skated around in transition and defensively, he couldn't seal off the puckcarrier to the wall because his lack of quickness .. handles the puck well in traffic and has a fierce shot, although he didn't harness its potential and acted more as a distributor here .. comfortable with the puck and does a nice job surveying the ice and dispensing crisp passes .. his playmaking ability elevated on the powerplay where he patrolled along the half-wall and in the corners .. contributes on the defensive side of the puck and maintains a feisty stick .. was one of the Czechs' best penalty killers and does a nice job getting in the lanes to block shots .. protects the puck well deep inside the offensive zone and excels on the cycle .. not a mean or overpowering player, but he's big and involves himself in traffic.

Petr Straka (2010), C, HC Plzen

A two-way player with some skill that is worth keeping an eye on for next years' draft .. skates with a slight forward lean, but he still has fairly strong acceleratory strides .. an intelligent player both with and without the puck, Straka was a valued penalty killer and was always up and down the ice working hard .. finished his checks, played hard, and led by example with a consistent forecheck.