Prospect Info: #53 Filip Hronek

[Frk It]

Pronman on Hronek:

52. Filip Hronek, D, HC Hradec Kralove (Czech Extraliga)
DOB: 11/2/97 | Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 163
GP: 40 | G: 0 | A: 4

Hronek has been a decent regular in the top men's league in the Czech Republic this season, but his best showing came at the WJC. His lackluster point production in professional play is not indicative of his potential, as he is an offense-tilted defenseman. Hronek has quick feet and is able to close his gaps and join the rush effectively. His solid hands and skating allow him to be quite elusive. He has a decent work ethic but his thin, small frame holds him back from winning battles, and he can be manhandled in the defensive zone. His defense isn't horrible, but improving the physical aspects of his game will go a long way toward rectifying those issues.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/top-100-prospects-2016-nhl-draft/story?id=39091742

Click to read more...

 

[LastWordArmy]

Scouting Report

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/06/11/filip-hronek-scouting-report-2016-nhl-draft-70/

 

[Pavels Dog]

Right-shot d-man, seems like an interesting pick. Some offensive upside based on juniors, already playing against men. I'll give it my seal of approval.

 

[Syckle78]

4a in 40 games? How?

 

[FabricDetails]

4a in 40 games? How?

I'm guessing being stuck on bottom pairings and being told to focus on defense.

 

[Syckle78]

I'm guessing being stuck on bottom pairings and being told to focus on defense.

I guess. But seems like you'd have to actively try to have production that terrible.

 

[Frk It]

Good news, IMO

Wonder where he is going, specifically?

 

[lamini]

I guess. But seems like you'd have to actively try to have production that terrible.

Based on this site http://beta.hokej.cz/hrac/16935/ he had average TOI 3:11

Edit: just noticed that TOI is after 2014/2015 season and wasn't updated after this season

Edit 2: found updated stats for this season. This year average TOI was 8:26

 

[Frk It]

Based on this site http://beta.hokej.cz/hrac/16935/ he had average TOI 3:11

Guess that explains why he is coming to North America

Let the kid play!

 

[Classicnamesup]

163 lbs, Jesus

 

[Pavels Dog]

I guess. But seems like you'd have to actively try to have production that terrible.

Not that strange for a young, undersized kid playing against men. These Euro leagues are rarely high scoring either. Look at Ovi and his 13 goals in the KHL, the he jumps to the NHL and scores 50+.

 

[Chris 84]

the kid did play with men at times, but his average ice time was low. living in the czech republic and taking an active interest in hockey, i still don't know much about the guy cos he didn't get thaaat much ice time. at times a scratch, at times, 4 or 5 minutes here and there. a lot depended on injuries to veterans...

 

[Run the Jewels]

Good news, IMO

Wonder where he is going, specifically?

Hopefully not Flint.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Hopefully not Flint.

I think the import draft happens in a couple of days here. But yeah, probably not Flint.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

76 FILIP HRONEK
POSITION: Defense
SHOOTS: Right
TEAM: Hradec Kralove (Czech)
BORN: November 02, 1997
VITALS: 6’-0” / 165 Lbs
STATS: 40 GP 0 G 4 A 4 PTS 22 PIM
Hronek is a solid two-way defender who has a high understanding of the play around him
and what his role is on the ice. He dishes some very smooth passes on the tape, but struggles
to handle heavy passes himself at times. He is a speedy defender with a fluid stride, though he
is lanky and there’s not much strength in his lower body to help his stride. Hronek looks very
good handling the puck, especially on the power play, until he gets pressured and tends to get
flustered. We would like to see him slow the play down, make his reads quicker and set up a bit
better as a puck distributor. Hronek gets muscled off the puck at the half wall too easily, but continues
to show confidence in skating with the puck up ice and taking it into the offensive zone.
He has soft hands and can make a move to get around a defender when needed. He needs to
shoot the puck more often as his play has become somewhat telegraphed; he is a 100% passfirst
player. Defensively, he needs to add strength so he can separate his man from the puck and
not get outmuscled in the crease by attacking forwards. Hronek utilizes his stick and positioning
to defend the rush. He’s not physical as his size is a detriment to playing that type of game. He
had some very impressive moments this season, like dominating the U19, but he has a lot of
work to do to round out his game and add much needed muscle.
NHL POTENTIAL: Middle-Pairing Two-Way Defenseman

Future Considerations. Not all that flattering...

Bunch of blurbs:

McKeen’s Hockey
“He’s smart – I like the way he reads and reacts defensively,” noted one crossover scout. “He has impressive mobility, is good 1-on-1, plays aggressively despite his size, and offers solid positioning. For me, he’s one of the draft’s wildcards – he may go a lot higher than people expect. Once he fillls out he could be a really solid blueliner, perhaps a top-four guy.”

Bill Placzek, Draftsite.com
Czech Republic defender who displayed terrific puck moving skills and instincts. runs the PP and reads and dishes well. Not big but plays well in all phases unnoticed. Plays aggressive and doesn’t really panic under pressure. Positionally solid in all three zones. Has good vision and sees his outlet options and hits them. Likes to carry with good feet and isn’t afraid of the rough going. Not six foot but an interesting prospect who will needs more weight room to get stronger in body and stride.

Fossil Trace In-Post
Nik Funa, HockeyProspect.com – The Pipeline Show
The thing that stands out for him is his energy and the pace that he plays with is pretty good. He’s not the biggest guy or defensive zone wall but he’s got a certain energy to his game that makes him look like he could maybe play at the pace of NHL down the road. [. . .] It’s not just skating that he’s good at but it’s more like an engine of his and he just keeps going. He’s not the biggest guy so in the defensive zone sometimes it’s almost a bit funny to see him go against big players because he’s got that bite to him but it’s not very effective because he’ll just bounce off guys.

Kyle Woodlief, USA Today Sports
Hronek flew under the radar this season because he’s a late-’97 birth date, so he wasn’t eligible to play in any of the under-18 tourneys on the international calendar. Plus, he’s the only Czech prospect who stayed home to play, so scouts didn’t spend much time there this year. Despite his lack of exposure, our scouts love his vision and patience with the puck. He’s got excellent hockey sense in all three zones, and terrific instincts at the offensive end, where he’s a smooth power-play quarterback.

Assets: Is a quality puck mover with good vision and deft passing skills. Has the ability to quarterback the power play and is good at getting pucks on net. Owns outstanding offensive instincts. Is also an excellent skater.

Flaws: At 6-0, 163 pounds, he is undersized for the National Hockey League game and must get physically stronger because he can get moved off the puck. Needs more work in terms of defensive-zone coverage.

Career Potential: Quality offensive defenseman with upside.

Sports Forecaster?

"Has always been a fine puck mover with offensive instincts, but showed vast improvement at the defensive end while playing a regular shift against men in Czech Extraleague this year. One of the headiest PP quarterbacks in the draft. Outwaits shot blockers and changes passing and shooting angles. Reads developing plays beautifully and distributes the puck to the right spots with vision and fine passing touch. Plays an intelligent game positionally and has excellent footwork and agility. Ties men up legally around net and uses stick well to disrupt lanes and intercept passes. Given frail physique he does get overpowered at times, but really competes well - quite willing to get involved physically along the boards. Doesn't panic at all under pressure, likes to skate with the puck and makes surprising first passes. Has to bulk up, but will always be a brains-over-brawn type player."

Red Line ranked him fourth among their most underrated players, saying "If this super smart, puck moving PP quarterback were Swedish, he'd be all the rage, but Czechs are afterthoughts nowadays."

Red Line Report

 

[Pavels Dog]

Future Considerations. Not all that flattering...

Bunch of blurbs:

Sounds good to me.

Really love that all the D we picked seem to be rated very highly in terms of mobility/vision/hockey-IQ/etc., this shows that Holland and the scouts are at least targeting the right qualities.

 

[ChadS]

Hakan Andersson, Red Wings director of European scouting, raved about Hronek.

“He has good character,†Andersson said. “Like, early to say it, but almost like a captain character. More than what we see normally in European players. We like him because he competes in his own end and he's good with the puck offensively.â€

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/n...etroit-red-wings-draft-givani-smith/86374390/

 

[The Zermanator]

http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=887386

He was on that top-30 list for the first round and then we got him in the second round. Everybody says it, but we got him lower than we had him ranked.

Interesting, they had him as a first round talent.

 

[Shaman464]

Another long term project D-man. Stash him, lace his food with horse steroids, and hope he puts on weight and check back in a couple years. I like that people say he has the smarts though, a lot of our current D prospects seem to lack that.

 

[tade]

4a in 40 games? How?

I guess. But seems like you'd have to actively try to have production that terrible.

Hronek played in Czech pro league (Extraliga), it's hard to score there, especially for 18 years old defenseman, and he didn't get a lot of ice-time. Just the fact that he played 40 games in our top league is a good indication at the age of 18.

I think that Hronek is really good pick for you. Very solid, reliable defenseman with nice break-out pass. I believe there is connection with Havluj (is he still your scout, right?) or Fischer in this pick.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I am very excited about this pick. My money is on Hronek turning out to be the most skilled player in the Wings' 2016 draft class. I am curious to see where he ends up playing next season.

 

[Henkka]

Based on this site http://beta.hokej.cz/hrac/16935/ he had average TOI 3:11

Edit: just noticed that TOI is after 2014/2015 season and wasn't updated after this season

Edit 2: found updated stats for this season. This year average TOI was 8:26

Stats with that kind of ice-time are really meaningless. You can't get in any kid of rhytm playing just here and there.

Hopefully Fischer can find a good place to play for him.

Right-handed D's are always welcomed.

 

[Reddwit]

4a in 40 games? How?

Being an 18 year old in his country's top league?

 

[Konnan511]

How do you say his last name? Ha-ro-neck? Row-Neck?

 

[Ennui]

How do you say his last name? Ha-ro-neck? Row-Neck?

Probably similar to Roenick.

Another long term project D-man. Stash him, lace his food with horse steroids, and hope he puts on weight and check back in a couple years. I like that people say he has the smarts though, a lot of our current D prospects seem to lack that.

Although Filip is one of the older prospects in his draft year, looking at his facial/bone structure and considering his current height I fully expect that with proper nutrition and busting his @$$ with weight training/cardio, he will grow a few inches taller and fill in his frame as well. The classic story of a prospect starting small and scrawny is Shea Weber, who had a ridiculous growth spurt after being drafted and obviously filled in nicely. If you look at the draft pictures of Weber, it's the same exact thing; you could just tell by his facial bones that he was going to be a big man.