LW Martin Chromiak - Kingston Frontenacs, OHL (2020, 128th, LAK)

[Antiillafire]

He's still 19, barely three months older than Oskar Olausson (last year's 28th overall... who finished with 39 points in 43 games in the same league). He should be back next year in the OHL. It's a better option than going to the Slovak league.

I think he's been playing just fine when I watched the Frontenacs this year. Imo, the "should have at least 15-20 more points" is a ridiculous take.

Comical.

 

[TopC0rner]

Comical.

So, you're going to argue that the playstyle in the Slovakia league really prepares a player for the NHL style?

It's a league fit for those skilled players that can't cut it in the AHL due to the smaller ice, quicker reaction time, and physicality, aka really good ECHLers that aren't good in the AHL.

Not exactly a good development path for Chromiak, who needs to work exactly on those aspects of the game and for which the OHL is a better fit.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

YOUR FELLOW KINGS FANS SAID HE WOULD SCORE SIXTY GOALS AND SIXTY ASSISTS THIS SEASON.

Go look at his thread on your own boards. He is playing with the projected first overall pick who is considered to be a potential generational player. His other line mate since halfway through the season scored at better than 0.5 PPG in his 18 year old AHL season. Chromiaks is only 0.14 Better than his DY. His PPG SHOULD be among the top 12-15 players in the league. So where are all the goals and assists than?

How about let’s compare him to some other guys, to see really how his production lines up.

Ty Tullio, another 5th rounder from 2020: 69 pts in 49 games. 1.41 PPG. Tullio with the better production and plays with lesser teammates.

Daniil Guschin, 3rd rounder 2020: 55 pts in 37 games. 1.49 PPG. On the rebuilding ice dogs he is literally carrying their offense by himself.

Rory Kerins, 6th rounder 2020: 84 pts in 50 games. Only one other Soo player in top 30 scoring, driving play through just him and 1 other. Teams can focus on him way more.

How about guys younger than Chromiak?
Matvey Petrov, 6th rounder 2021: 72 pts in 48 games. 1.5 PPG.
Than there’s of course the other CHL examples with players like Joshua Roy.

Why are you acting like I’m speaking sacrilege? I am speaking objectively about a player who I’ve seen a lot of since his U16 days. Im not gonna away from criticism just because he’s a Slovak player. As for the WJC, theres more to a tournament than one period with 2 goals.

I think you overestimate Chromiak's overall ability. He's a good complimentary scorer, but he's not really the type of guy who is going to dominate shifts with his playmaking, stickhandling, or vision.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

YOUR FELLOW KINGS FANS SAID HE WOULD SCORE SIXTY GOALS AND SIXTY ASSISTS THIS SEASON.

No no, I believe it was 80 goals and over 100 assists.

I will ask them to send you an apology via PM.

Why are you acting like I’m speaking sacrilege?

I am not acting.

40 goals 90 points pace when healthy for a full season. All that with a 5th round pick, very disappointing season…unbelievably disappointing.

 

[Antiillafire]

I think you overestimate Chromiak's overall ability. He's a good complimentary scorer, but he's not really the type of guy who is going to dominate shifts with his playmaking, stickhandling, or vision.

I completely agree with that. His project ability is very difficult. People are watching a different player than me I guess.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I completely agree with that. His project ability is very difficult. People are watching a different player than me I guess.

I mean, that's one of the reasons he dropped, no?

People just aren't getting bent out of shape because he's a later pick, he has time to grow and develop and gets a lot more rope than a 1st rounder.

 

[Antiillafire]

So, you're going to argue that the playstyle in the Slovakia league really prepares a player for the NHL style?

It's a league fit for those skilled players that can't cut it in the AHL due to the smaller ice, quicker reaction time, and physicality, aka really good ECHLers that aren't good in the AHL.

Not exactly a good development path for Chromiak, who needs to work exactly on those aspects of the game and for which the OHL is a better fit.

I mean it can still be of use. Martin Pospisil made use of it briefly before going back to the AHL. How many import players who play their age 20 season in the CHL become anything? Just looking at recent Slovaks. Milos Roman and Maxim Cajkovic should have left after their age 19 season and went back to Europe, acclimate to mens game than return. Why would he return if Wisdom and Wright are gone?

 

[TopC0rner]

I mean it can still be of use. Martin Pospisil made use of it briefly before going back to the AHL. How many import players who play their age 20 season in the CHL become anything? Just looking at recent Slovaks. Milos Roman and Maxim Cajkovic should have left after their age 19 season and went back to Europe, acclimate to mens game than return. Why would he return if Wisdom and Wright are gone?

I think if he goes to Europe, he should go to a tougher league than Slovakia. Liiga or SHL maybe?

Going back to the OHL, if the Frontenacs aren't competitive he would likely get traded to a contender.

I don't know what's the story behind Pospisil going back for half a season in Slovakia, but I'm not sure it helped his game that much. He got 102 PIMs which is one of the aspects of his game that he needs to keep in check (discipline and pick your fights) to make it to the NHL.

Roman I think hit his peak early and since then he just haven't looked like a player that could improve. Cajkovic has always been a junior-style player and his lack of work ethic won't help him moving up. Cajkovic's game is probably better suited for the Slovakia league than the AHL/NHL.

Imo, Chromiak needs to keep working on rounding out his game (especially his two-way game) and to get closer to the net. He needs to improve his consistency and show more resilience in physical games/areas of the ice.

 

[Antiillafire]

1 goal and 1 assist today after going pointless in the last game.
As a 17 year old (first year import): 1.18 PPG
As a 19 year old: 1.34 PPG

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Still a long way from the 60 goals and 120 points that was promised us.

 

[Antiillafire]

 

[Antiillafire]

I think if he goes to Europe, he should go to a tougher league than Slovakia. Liiga or SHL maybe?

Going back to the OHL, if the Frontenacs aren't competitive he would likely get traded to a contender.

I don't know what's the story behind Pospisil going back for half a season in Slovakia, but I'm not sure it helped his game that much. He got 102 PIMs which is one of the aspects of his game that he needs to keep in check (discipline and pick your fights) to make it to the NHL.

Roman I think hit his peak early and since then he just haven't looked like a player that could improve. Cajkovic has always been a junior-style player and his lack of work ethic won't help him moving up. Cajkovic's game is probably better suited for the Slovakia league than the AHL/NHL.

Imo, Chromiak needs to keep working on rounding out his game (especially his two-way game) and to get closer to the net. He needs to improve his consistency and show more resilience in physical games/areas of the ice.

I actually disagree with this, Roman to me was a better player at the same age, more complete. Roman’s issues were more so off ice, he didn’t have the drive in the gym to get stronger and faster. Which is one of chromiaks strengths. And Roman was always more of a defensive C, and he’s developed into a decent euro C, and was integral to our winning the Bronze. But obviously disappointing to how he played as a 16-17 year old. Cehlarik was a better 18-19 year old, led Slovakia to the Bronze medal at the WJC and still couldn’t crack the NHL, he probably would have had 125 pts in the OHL his 19 year season. Beyond the top 3 rounds it’s a rare occurrence obviously for players to play consistently in the NHL. Studenic path seems most likely, rather than Ruzicka path.

For the Slovak 02’s, Knazko is probably the most likely to play in the NHL and would probably rank Latkoczy and Myklukha 2 and 3. The latter of whom seems like the classic euro to NHL player in his mid 20s, once he has gotten stronger and more experienced

 

[TopC0rner]

Cehlarik was a better 18-19 year old, led Slovakia to the Bronze medal at the WJC and still couldn’t crack the NHL, he probably would have had 125 pts in the OHL his 19 year season.

Do you regularly watch the OHL or are you just throwing numbers out there? My comments are based on having seen around 60 OHL games this year.

And no, Cehlarik wouldn't have had 125 pts this year.

 

[Antiillafire]

Do you regularly watch the OHL or are you just throwing numbers out there? My comments are based on having seen around 60 OHL games this year.

And no, Cehlarik wouldn't have had 125 pts this year.

I’ve watched probably about 45-50 OHL games this season, maybe more, mostly OS and Kingston. Cehlarik as a 19 year old had 19 pts in 46 games in the SHL, and actually was much better than his numbers suggest. You are right, he probably doesn’t get 125 in todays OHL, but he probably gets 115ish. Look at Lucas Edmonds, on pace for close to 120, who himself barely established himself in the Swedish third division last year.


Do you even watch those Slovak prospects you talked about enough to comment on them? Or did u just stat watch with guys like Pospisil? You were watching Tipos games ? You were tuning into Dukla u20 games for Chromiak as well I’m guessing?

 

[Rusty7550]

I actually disagree with this, Roman to me was a better player at the same age, more complete. Roman’s issues were more so off ice, he didn’t have the drive in the gym to get stronger and faster. Which is one of chromiaks strengths. And Roman was always more of a defensive C, and he’s developed into a decent euro C, and was integral to our winning the Bronze. But obviously disappointing to how he played as a 16-17 year old. Cehlarik was a better 18-19 year old, led Slovakia to the Bronze medal at the WJC and still couldn’t crack the NHL, he probably would have had 125 pts in the OHL his 19 year season. Beyond the top 3 rounds it’s a rare occurrence obviously for players to play consistently in the NHL. Studenic path seems most likely, rather than Ruzicka path.

For the Slovak 02’s, Knazko is probably the most likely to play in the NHL and would probably rank Latkoczy and Myklukha 2 and 3. The latter of whom seems like the classic euro to NHL player in his mid 20s, once he has gotten stronger and more experienced

How do you know this? You know him personally? Roman was never a good skater or dynamic player. Chromiak skates better, has better hands and much better shot.
Latkoczy and Mykluhka will never play in the NHL, Chromiak has already signed a deal with LA so his chances are obviously higher. He should be in the AHL next year. Honestly, Matej Kaslik has bigger chance than both Latkoczy and Mykluha. He was in Avs camp at the beginning of this season and they liked him so maybe they give him another shot.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

A disappointing 5 point game last night.

 

[alko]

A disappointing 5 point game last night.

Agree. Many of us saw him a regular 6-point night player. Still, i hope he has a future.

 

[TopC0rner]

I’ve watched probably about 45-50 OHL games this season, maybe more, mostly OS and Kingston. Cehlarik as a 19 year old had 19 pts in 46 games in the SHL, and actually was much better than his numbers suggest. You are right, he probably doesn’t get 125 in todays OHL, but he probably gets 115ish. Look at Lucas Edmonds, on pace for close to 120, who himself barely established himself in the Swedish third division last year.


Do you even watch those Slovak prospects you talked about enough to comment on them? Or did u just stat watch with guys like Pospisil? You were watching Tipos games ? You were tuning into Dukla u20 games for Chromiak as well I’m guessing?

Well, you've been throwing lofty numbers around (when it comes to OHL) and making points comparisons in this thread. Maybe one player in the OHL will reach 125 points this year, maybe none will. Even if Cehlarik had decent numbers in the SHL, it doesn't mean that putting him in the OHL would have made him the player that produces the most. There are many factors when it comes to production in the OHL. There's the division you're in (since teams play their division more often, if those are defensively poor, you'll get more points), there's the style of the coach (I like Kerins, but he plays over 25 mins per game with full PP time, this does increase his stats compared to others), there are the players you're with (take Ludwinski on the Frontenacs, he doesn't have the same scoring support as Edmonds). There are a lot of variables. So Cehlarik, imo, depending on his situation in the OHL would likely have scored between 80 and 110 points. In both cases, that would have been a good season, with the difference between one and the other mostly the result of his situation and some puck luck.

So, from that point of view, I don't think we even see points scored in the junior the same way. It's okay, but it's a bit of a dead-end, argument-wise.

To illustrate this, imo, from the games I've seen this year of the Kingston Frontenacs, Shane Wright, Martin Chromiak, Jordan Frasca, and Francesco Arcuri are all better players this year than Lucas Edmonds. Maybe Zayde Wisdom too, although he's had some rough games since coming back from his injury. Yet, Edmonds has more points than all of them (and a better PPG ratio). Obviously, it's my opinion and Edmonds could make me look bad if he gets to the NHL and somehow finds ways to continue to put his name on the score sheet.

I will concede that I generally try to avoid watching the Slovak league (whichever level). Every year, since I'm a fan of junior hockey, I watch about 150 games from the CHL, split unevenly between the leagues (usually depends on the prospects to watch). From juniors, I do watch another 100-150 games from different other leagues, with the majority of them split between the USHL, the MHL, the J20 Nationell and the U20 SM-Liiga. Other leagues I sometimes watch, mostly when there are interesting prospects are SHL, Allsvenkan, Czechia, Belarus, VHL, KHL, NCAA and DEL. I try to catch a couple of AHL and NHL games to check the progress of certain prospects as well. Yeah, that's a lot of hockey, my friends and family keep reminding me I should do other stuff when I'm off work.

Regarding your question, I did watch Pospisil quite a bit in the USHL... since then, I've seen him a couple of times in the AHL. Milos Roman was interesting in the WHL, but his game never progressed through the years.

 

[Antiillafire]

How do you know this? You know him personally? Roman was never a good skater or dynamic player. Chromiak skates better, has better hands and much better shot.
Latkoczy and Mykluhka will never play in the NHL, Chromiak has already signed a deal with LA so his chances are obviously higher. He should be in the AHL next year. Honestly, Matej Kaslik has bigger chance than both Latkoczy and Mykluha. He was in Avs camp at the beginning of this season and they liked him so maybe they give him another shot.

The odds are that none of them play in the NHL is the highest. Plenty of players sign junior contracts and never become NHL players. As for other 2002 born Slovaks, it’s not a guarantee they won’t be there one day. Did you watch Kubalik as a junior player? No one in Czech hockey said he was a future NHL player, I mean look how terrible his production in his DY+1 year is in the CHL. Kubalik became a 30 goal scorer in the league. Until they actually do that, every player has the same shot/chance.

 

[Antiillafire]

Well, you've been throwing lofty numbers around (when it comes to OHL) and making points comparisons in this thread. Maybe one player in the OHL will reach 125 points this year, maybe none will. Even if Cehlarik had decent numbers in the SHL, it doesn't mean that putting him in the OHL would have made him the player that produces the most. There are many factors when it comes to production in the OHL. There's the division you're in (since teams play their division more often, if those are defensively poor, you'll get more points), there's the style of the coach (I like Kerins, but he plays over 25 mins per game with full PP time, this does increase his stats compared to others), there are the players you're with (take Ludwinski on the Frontenacs, he doesn't have the same scoring support as Edmonds). There are a lot of variables. So Cehlarik, imo, depending on his situation in the OHL would likely have scored between 80 and 110 points. In both cases, that would have been a good season, with the difference between one and the other mostly the result of his situation and some puck luck.

So, from that point of view, I don't think we even see points scored in the junior the same way. It's okay, but it's a bit of a dead-end, argument-wise.

To illustrate this, imo, from the games I've seen this year of the Kingston Frontenacs, Shane Wright, Martin Chromiak, Jordan Frasca, and Francesco Arcuri are all better players this year than Lucas Edmonds. Maybe Zayde Wisdom too, although he's had some rough games since coming back from his injury. Yet, Edmonds has more points than all of them (and a better PPG ratio). Obviously, it's my opinion and Edmonds could make me look bad if he gets to the NHL and somehow finds ways to continue to put his name on the score sheet.

I will concede that I generally try to avoid watching the Slovak league (whichever level). Every year, since I'm a fan of junior hockey, I watch about 150 games from the CHL, split unevenly between the leagues (usually depends on the prospects to watch). From juniors, I do watch another 100-150 games from different other leagues, with the majority of them split between the USHL, the MHL, the J20 Nationell and the U20 SM-Liiga. Other leagues I sometimes watch, mostly when there are interesting prospects are SHL, Allsvenkan, Czechia, Belarus, VHL, KHL, NCAA and DEL. I try to catch a couple of AHL and NHL games to check the progress of certain prospects as well. Yeah, that's a lot of hockey, my friends and family keep reminding me I should do other stuff when I'm off work.

Regarding your question, I did watch Pospisil quite a bit in the USHL... since then, I've seen him a couple of times in the AHL. Milos Roman was interesting in the WHL, but his game never progressed through the years.

I appreciate the response, I guess we just see different players when watching Chromiak and other Slovak players who came to the NA junior leagues. I never thought Ruzicka would be an NHL player and he has become one, I was definitely wrong there. I just don’t see an NHL player in Chromiak yet (maybe he has a great off season), which is fine as most late round guys don’t become nhl players (actually even a decent amount of second and third rounders don’t stick). Compare him to Petrovsky, who is 2 years younger but I see much more likely to play consistently in the NHL. You make great points on the translation of point totals. Do u disagree though that Cehrlaik was a better 19 year old than Chromiak, and the former never stuck in the big league. Still, that 2015 WJC performance was something to marvel at, talk about a player who did everything for his team. Not sure I saw that out of the top 2002 born Slovaks at this past tournament.

 

[Ivo]

I appreciate the response, I guess we just see different players when watching Chromiak and other Slovak players who came to the NA junior leagues. I never thought Ruzicka would be an NHL player and he has become one, I was definitely wrong there. I just don’t see an NHL player in Chromiak yet (maybe he has a great off season), which is fine as most late round guys don’t become nhl players (actually even a decent amount of second and third rounders don’t stick). Compare him to Petrovsky, who is 2 years younger but I see much more likely to play consistently in the NHL. You make great points on the translation of point totals. Do u disagree though that Cehrlaik was a better 19 year old than Chromiak, and the former never stuck in the big league. Still, that 2015 WJC performance was something to marvel at, talk about a player who did everything for his team. Not sure I saw that out of the top 2002 born Slovaks at this past tournament.

On Cehlarik, I still think he could have made the NHL on another team, just didn't fit in with the coach in Boston. When I see him play for the national team, I see an NHL quality player there. Sometimes it is not just the quality of the player, but also the circumstances, how he fits the team, what development path they take, does the coach trust him, luck (Cehlarik had some bad luck with injuries whenever he got a shot in the NHL). Hopefully Chromiak gets more things going his way.

 

[Antiillafire]

44 goal scorer in the regular season has just 2 goals in 7 playoff games. Seems like that Kingston first line is not clicking

 

[Frolov 6'3]

I was wondering already why you came in here so late ?

He was scoreless after 5 games or so but I didnt see you.

 

[alko]

44 goal scorer in the regular season has just 2 goals in 7 playoff games. Seems like that Kingston first line is not clicking

Common. If he had 60 goals, then i could agree with you. But 2 goals in 7 games (in playoffs) istn that bad.

 

[Antiillafire]

Common. If he had 60 goals, then i could agree with you. But 2 goals in 7 games (in playoffs) istn that bad.

It’s interesting, check at how well Myklukha has been playing.