Petr Zamorsky is done for the year in Sweden, his team lost 4-2 in games to Växjö.
Petr had a strong series offensively and finnished with 4 pts in 6 POs games. He scored on a real rocket from the blueline for the second straight game. I can't find any highlights up yet, but I will try to post his goal tonight because it really shows a lot of what this kid is about.
I haven't seen a full game with him yet in the SHL, I might pick up a rerun of this game tomorrow. I was a bit screwed by the network listing Örebro's game as being on the national channel several times and then changing game last minute.
Anyway, a few comments after seing quite much of him anyway here and there during the POs series. Zamorsky is small, he is not very good defensively and he is quite passive and soft defensively. Finesse player defensively as well as offensively, sometimes he can do some things real well defensively, but he doesn't have much of an edge to his game.
Offensively he is poised with the puck, I wanna see more of him in relation to how he passes the puck under pressure etc, but the fundamentals for a real good passing game is there.
The big upside with this kid is how he plays on the PP. No doubt. Both for Örebro and for the Czech National team, coaches just puts him on the point of the PP and lets him fire away. I just found this vid, can you guys watch it in NA? Start watching at 1.15:
http://www.svt.se/sport/ishockey/orebrovaxjo
I kind of like this kid and this signing for this reason only basically. Players that play certain ways tends to transform well to the next level, some examples of these types can be a Dale Weise with his speed and grinding game or Antony Duclair with his top notch speed and confidence around the net or Carl Hagelin with his forechecking game and so forth, those type of players very seldomly run into a wall and just don't get through to the next level, they can fail but at least they tend to push things and at least get chances here and there. The common denominator I guess is that its areas where you just must hit the ice and play your game and you will be noticed and you will get involved, no matter what level you play on.
Playing defense in the NHL will be a huge challenge for Zamorsky for sure. No doubt. And I am a bit agraid of how Kenny Gernander will develop this kid, you won't get much use of him if you stick him on a 3rd pairing in a minor role giving him the good ol fashion tough threatment to see if he is willing to prove himself etc. And no matter what its perfectly possible that he never gets close to the NHL.
But, this kid can definitely play real well on the point of a Power Play. I saw a lot of Marek Zidlicky when he was about the same age and played in Finland. Zidlicky was definitely better overall than Zamorsky and also better than him on the PP, and Zidlicky definitely had/has a very underrated mean streak and physical game -- for a player his size. It won't stick out at the NHL level, but he is also not manhandled physically because of it. Anyway, Zamorsky's PP game and offensive game isn't elite, then I would be real excited. I remember seeing a young Brian Rafalski too, he and Zidlicky and Kimmo Timmonen and co where world class PMDs and you could see it in Europe instantly, but its still real good and it will be interesting to see how much he can develop it the coming years.
I am kind of sceptical of forwards going to the AHL from Europe to "develop", its where you should go to learn the NA game not how to learn how to play the game. But for Ds its usually better. I would probably however like to see Zamorsky stay another year in the SHL. Grow into a bigger role at this level and dominate more offensively. He is the type that its perfectly possible that everything just comes together when he is 26, not 22. We can't hurry and aim at like him replacing Dan Boyle, its too soon I would bet at least.