Draft R2 #63: Rangers select LW Adam Sýkora (HK Nitra, Slovakia)

[RangersFan1994]

 

[RangersFan1994]

This board was seriously pissed with the Othmann pick 12 months ago...
Some of the reactions in his draft thread were hilariously bad and over the top

I was a huge fan if Othmann in his draft. believe it or not I am still happy with the Kravtsov pick. I loved the Stepan pick Dubinsky and Callahan picks. I hated the Lundkvist pick. I wanted a forward with that spot. I did love the Miller pick. i loved the JT Miller pick and hated him being dealt. Love the Schneider pick. I loved the Kreider pick when it was made. I actually liked the McIlrath pick although he should have been picked a few rounds later. Always had hopes he’d be a Adam McQuaid type in his prime.

 

[RangersFan1994]

but to me he sounds like Ryan Callahan. I think that is a fair comparison. I love the pick even more after watching videos of him.

 

[FoxyClean]

Sounds a lot like a Carl Hagelin type of player which is something we could definitely use.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

If the Rangers’ strategy was to grab the highest-rated forwards who got pushed down in a draft loaded with defensemen, then it’s a sound strategy that I’m OK with. Sykora IMO was late first-round quality. He was the best PKer on a men’s team and really made an impact. Shoot-first, no nonsense. I had him at 53, but my wants for them in the late second round involved speed and skill with size, not speed and physicality.

For me, I would have wanted Perevalov, Suzdalev, Ingram, or Pettersson, as a potential backup plan for Kakko/Kravtsov and you also get bigger upside. All four had size and could score. But it sounded like the Rangers’ board put a premium on effort/hustle. Hopefully they don’t do that again next year with all those skilled forwards.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Elite cellys.

@EdJovanovski , since you're obsessed with this kind of stuff.

 

[broadwayblue]

Watched him in a few press day type videos and he seems like an upbeat kid with a great attitude. Hopefully he works out.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I wrote this up in response to a question elsewhere so decided to share it here as well. This isn't directed at anyone here.


The one example I like to bring up is Artturi Lehkonen. He was drafted in the same range, is a great stylistic comparison for Sýkora and looking at how he got to the NHL, it's definitely a case for him to stay in Europe for now.

Lehkonen, drafted in 2013, spent his D+1 season in Liiga (Finland). After that, he moved to Sweden to play for Frölunda Indians in the SHL for the next 2 years. In his D+4 season, he made the jump straight to the NHL, not needing any time in the AHL for so-called "adjusting to smaller rinks" or anything like that.

If we go by that trajectory, here's what Sýkora's would look like:

2022-23: Tipos
2023-24: SHL
2024-25: SHL
2025-26: Full-time NHLer

He would join the Rangers at age 21, the same age Chris Kreider was when he started his first full season. 2 years younger than Zuccarello was when he signed his ELC and came over the first time. There are a bunch of European players who never went to the AHL and this notion that players have to "adjust to smaller rinks" is nonsense. I've spoken to a lot of prospects and players ofer the years and most of them say that the biggest adjustment is just life off the ice. The seemingly trivial things such as where to buy certain products, the paperwork of living in a new country etc and the culture shock.

What it comes down to is this:

If Adam Sýkora wants to go to the WHL and play for the Medicine Hat Tigers, talk to his club in Slovakia. They need to release him. Go for it. But if he prefers to stay in Slovakia, let him. Drury should do what's best for the individual, not what you want to see as a fan. There's no 1 solution that works for all. Also, to reiterate what I said elsewhere: Sýkora won't be AHL-eligible until his 2nd ELC year

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Love the pick. Berard and Sykora can be two puck hounds in all three zones that can tranlate well to the NHL.
One of the youngest guys in the draft and puts lots of effort into his d game. Very impressive.
Also read that he could possibly become a center. Not the biggest guy but certainly not the smallest.

They are basically targeting the guys that can become very good bottom sixers in the middle rounds. We've historically targeted a lot of skill guys, there, that just never pan out. You still have to take swings occasionally, but you don't have to just not go after these bottom six guys and hope to sign them as UFAs.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

They are basically targeting the guys that can become very good bottom sixers in the middle rounds. We've historically targeted a lot of skill guys, there, that just never pan out. You still have to take swings occasionally, but you don't have to just not go after these bottom six guys and hope to sign them as UFAs.

This is a good point. But also, there's a difference between bottom-six players you rather draft and ones you can just find in free agency or a trade.

Guys like Rooney, Reaves, Motte, Blais are guys I am perfectly happy with trading for if need be but guys like Gourde, Coleman, Lehkonen etc are ones you want to develop. That's where guys like Cuylle, Berard and Sýkora come in.

 

[Larrybiv]

Just what we needed...another LW. jk. Welcome to NY kid.

Exactly what I was thinking, w/o trying to be negative. I suppose a player that might break the lineup 2-3 years down the road, right?
What is a traffic jam at that spot already, can change in 3 years.
Who knows? Not me, for sure. Welcome kid. Do all of the above scouting and fans will adore you.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Exactly what I was thinking, w/o trying to be negative. I suppose a player that might break the lineup 2-3 years down the road, right?
What is a traffic jam at that spot already, can change in 3 years.
Who knows? Not me, for sure. Welcome kid. Do all of the above scouting and fans will adore you.

Well, Othmann plays RW, Berard plays RW, Sýkora plays RW.

 

[Chalfdiggity3]

This is a good point. But also, there's a difference between bottom-six players you rather draft and ones you can just find in free agency or a trade.

Guys like Rooney, Reaves, Motte, Blais are guys I am perfectly happy with trading for if need be but guys like Gourde, Coleman, Lehkonen etc are ones you want to develop. That's where guys like Cuylle, Berard and Sýkora come in.

I dont think people understood that this draft wasnt deep in terms of talent like next year will be. This was the year to go after the pain in the ass, hard work, non stop motor, hustle and flow type players that can play up and down the lineup. We desperately needed more of these types of players and this draft seemed to have them in spades.

Next year i believe will be a different story since there will be a ton of talent. We went hard after what this team was missing in this and last years draft. Next year i see us going all after skill and talent

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I dont think people understood that this draft wasnt deep in terms of talent like next year will be. This was the year to go after the pain in the ass, hard work, non stop motor, hustle and flow type players that can play up and down the lineup. We desperately needed more of these types of players and this draft seemed to have them in spades.

Next year i believe will be a different story since there will be a ton of talent. We went hard after what this team was missing in this and last years draft. Next year i see us going all after skill and talent

I really don't want to give up our 2023 first round pick because it's such a good draft.

 

[will1066]

Is he the son of any Sykora we knew and loved or hated?

 

[Lion Hound]

Is he the son of any Sykora we knew and loved or hated?

Nope, but his dad played in the Czech league.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Is he the son of any Sykora we knew and loved or hated?

Nah. Sýkora is a common name.

Petr Sýkora (1978) who was drafted by the Red Wings in 1997 and played for NSH and WSH, has a brother Michal Sýkora who played for SJS, CHI, TBL and PHI.

Petr Sýkora (1976) who was drafed by the Devils in 1995 and played for NJD, MDA, NYR, PIT and MIN, has a son Nicholas Sýkora who is draft-eligible in 2025.

Our Adam Sýkora is not related to either of them. His father Roman Sýkora played in the WHL for Tri-City Americans.

In fact, none of these 3 "Sýkora branches" are related.

 

[will1066]

Nah. Sýkora is a common name.

Petr Sýkora (1978) who was drafted by the Red Wings in 1997 and played for NSH and WSH, has a brother Michal Sýkora who played for SJS, CHI, TBL and PHI.

Petr Sýkora (1976) who was drafed by the Devils in 1995 and played for NJD, MDA, NYR, PIT and MIN, has a son Nicholas Sýkora who is draft-eligible in 2025.

Our Adam Sýkora is not related to either of them. His father Roman Sýkora played in the WHL for Tri-City Americans.

In fact, none of these 3 "Sýkora branches" are related.

Thank you. I did think that Sykora is a pretty common name in those parts.

 

[10robinho10]

Adam is talking about 2022 NHL Draft, bet with his girlfriend, next season rescheduled WJC and Rangers

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Adam is talking about 2022 NHL Draft, bet with his girlfriend, next season rescheduled WJC and Rangers

Spoiler : you likely won’t be able to read it.

 

[rangersfansince08]

LOTS of text, but here's some snippets from his entry in the Black Book:

"We rarely give out elite grades, which means Sykora has a unique property to his game. When evaluating an elite compete level, we don’t just factor in how hard they work, it’s how smart they work. Thanks to his development primarily in the Extraliga, it gave him an opportunity to play full time against other professionals and he accelerated his development.
In that league, he learned that he couldn’t just overwhelm players, but needed to predict their skating patterns, predict when he should and shouldn’t dial up the physicality, and recognize when he should take his peddle off the gas instead of just playing at mach speed. There’s a reason that we sometimes talk about matching the urgency of the play – as opposed to over extending on the play. His pace, which is up there with Marco Kasper, allows him to grade as a potentially elite skill suppressor, who brings energy to his line, and his team, while making life miserable for opposing defenses. Which is why we’re going to work backwards in this profile. Typically with a forward, we focus on their contributions in the offensive zone first, but let’s focus on his defense to start."
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"Adam’s one of the top end skaters in this class. He blends exceptional posture with explosive quickness, allowing him to collapse on players rapidly, even when forced into positional adjustments. He’s balanced, fluid, and coordinated, giving him powerful lateral crossover mechanics, as well as excellent edges, that allow him to remain highly elusive, but also allow him to recover quickly when he does make a defensive mistake or misread. He incorporated 10-2 pivots to increase momentum when applying himself in the neutral zone, or when driving hard from the outside, and his conditioning is second to none. His skating base allows him to make stops on his end of the ice, but then threaten in transition."
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"This is a prospect who thinks the game at a high level. He sees the ice well, he doesn't panic under pressure, he processes play in small areas rapidly, and he doesn’t make a lot of mental mistakes in transition, despite being a very fast player. His sense fuses with his skating and effort level to keep plays alive for his team. He can adaptively handle the puck, he can be creative, and he can breakdown opposing defenses from time to time, especially when he’s incorporating hesitation fakes, and deceptive off looks, into his multi-directional skating."
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"We project him as a potential 30-35 point winger. One of the advantages to having such a young player developing at the pro level, is that it teaches them how to become more energy efficient faster than it does for players playing junior hockey, which is paramount to Sykora’s success since his game is predicated off of applying pressure and outworking opposing players. He brings so much additional value in all three zones. He’s a defensive specialist that is destined for a top PK with great shot blocking ability. He can launch the neutral zone breakout play, he brings a tremendous pace with him on the forecheck, and defenses are going to be heavily drained in-front of the net area as a result of his fearless play. He’s built for the playoffs, and he should thrive in them."

Love to see it. lehkonen who is a good comparable had 14 pts in 20 games this playoffs.

 

[tlk]

Spoiler : you likely won’t be able to read it.

Had some fun trying to ngl

 

[cwede]

Adam is talking about 2022 NHL Draft, bet with his girlfriend, next season rescheduled WJC and Rangers

Spoiler : you likely won’t be able to read it.

the Google Translate widget in my browser did a fine job.

an interesting part is where he mentions having been in contact with fellow Slovak and NYR draftee (now UFA) Adam Huska

 

[hackeyman]

Sounds a lot like a Carl Hagelin type of player which is something we could definitely use.

I think he brings more to the table than Hagelin with one major exception. Hagelin is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL whereas scouting reports show skating speed as Sykora's weakness. Sykora is yound and hopefully his speed improves, but that could be a concern for the type of player he is.