Slovak prospects - Top 10 rankings (updated July 3rd)

[JabbaJabba]

Hope this is a back on track shift for Slovakia, I just hope at least 1 or 2 guys can pan out to be stars at the NHL level, of course you'd want as many NHLers as possible but i feel like Slovakian hockey really needs a star to break out and be the face of slovakian hockey.

They could definitely use all kinds of NHL level players. That great generation they had has slowly but surely retired and only a couple players have emerged since. Chara, Sekera and Halak are quite old, and beside them only Tatar, Cernak and Panik are NHL regulars. I think Slovakia has yet to reach the bottom even though there are promising players coming in the next few drafts, but it takes time before and if those players become NHL level players. There are a few current Slovakian prospects who could rise to NHL but I don't think any of them can become stars.

Slovakia needs to get more players drafted. This draft should be okay, they should get 4-5 guys drafted, anything above that is a pleasant surprise and anything below that would be disappointing.

 

[kudla]

The bolded part is why. I don't know much about him, and he could very well have the most potential out of any of the guys I meantioned. But right now, I feel like Slafkovsky and Nemec are more known commodity because of the leagues they play in. Elias of course is in the U20 league also, but I'm intrigued by him because he's a goaltender and Slovakia desperately needs to find someone to fill the void after Halak soon.

If Hlavaj or Elias doesn't pan out, Slovakia could be in deep trouble for a long time. Both are probably many years away from the NHL still, so they could already be in deep trouble for some time. Hopefully one of Huska, Durny or Hrenak can exceed expectations until then.

I feel like goaltending really is our last concern. It's relatively good there.

They could definitely use all kinds of NHL level players. That great generation they had has slowly but surely retired and only a couple players have emerged since. Chara, Sekera and Halak are quite old, and beside them only Tatar, Cernak and Panik are NHL regulars. I think Slovakia has yet to reach the bottom even though there are promising players coming in the next few drafts, but it takes time before and if those players become NHL level players. There are a few current Slovakian prospects who could rise to NHL but I don't think any of them can become stars. Slovakia needs to get more players drafted. This draft should be okay, they should get 4-5 guys drafted, anything above that is a pleasant surprise and anything below that would be disappointing.

4-5 would be a pleasant surprise. Realistically, I see 2 or 3 guys being drafted. My hot take is that if Stacha gets drafted, he will go earlier than Knazko

 

[Outofbodyinhungary]

I don’t think goaltending is huge concern, if anything that is one of our strengths but the goalies are in transition into pro and highest level and it remains a question as to whether they can succeed there. Our weakest position is C for us, and we desperately need two top 6 centres to compete internationally.

 

[Outofbodyinhungary]

I hope Stacha gets drafted. The improvement he made over the course of the season was very good. Much more confident with the puck near the end of season. I’ve heard Dukla will give him top 4 time next season to start the year. He could play 2-3 games before the NHL draft happens which may help his odds.

 

[hellwar9]

I hope Stacha gets drafted. The improvement he made over the course of the season was very good. Much more confident with the puck near the end of season. I’ve heard Dukla will give him top 4 time next season to start the year. He could play 2-3 games before the NHL draft happens which may help his odds.

Right now there is a greater chance that he will go to the WHL than he will stay at home.

 

[JabbaJabba]

4-5 would be a pleasant surprise. Realistically, I see 2 or 3 guys being drafted. My hot take is that if Stacha gets drafted, he will go earlier than Knazko

I predict that exactly 4 Slovakians gets drafted. Might get that 5 if they get a bit lucky and anything more than that would be a great success. Chromiak, Knazko and Hlavaj are locks and they should go somewhere in 2nd-4th round. Then there is Stacha who should get drafted at some point followed by Okuliar, Kaslik, Kolenic, Liska etc. guys who could get taken in the later rounds. I am counting on that some teams will be interested in some of these players, you often see surprising players get picked in the later rounds. Also, some of these guys played in NA and thus probably got more exposure than they would have if they played in Europe, which should increase their chances of getting drafted.

 

[Elvs]

I feel like goaltending really is our last concern. It's relatively good there.

4-5 would be a pleasant surprise. Realistically, I see 2 or 3 guys being drafted. My hot take is that if Stacha gets drafted, he will go earlier than Knazko

If only two guys get drafted, you think there's a risk Knazko won't get picked?

Chromiak and Hlavaj should be given. So there's two right there. I wasn't impressed with Knazko at the world juniors, but I think he's still rated high enough that it'd be surprising if he wasn't picked up. I agree on Stacha though. I'm not sure he will be drafted, but I'd personally choose him over Knazko at the moment.

I think there will be at least three.

Chromiak, Hlavaj and Knazko. I'm optimistic about Stacha also, and I see Okuliar as a possible 6th our 7th round selection for some team wanting to boost their AHL club right away. If somehow five guys gets picked, I think it will be those five.

 

[kudla]

If only two guys get drafted, you think there's a risk Knazko won't get picked?

Chromiak and Hlavaj should be given. So there's two right there. I wasn't impressed with Knazko at the world juniors, but I think he's still rated high enough that it'd be surprising if he wasn't picked up. I agree on Stacha though. I'm not sure he will be drafted, but I'd personally choose him over Knazko at the moment.

I think there will be at least three.

Chromiak, Hlavaj and Knazko. I'm optimistic about Stacha also, and I see Okuliar as a possible 6th our 7th round selection for some team wanting to boost their AHL club right away. If somehow five guys gets picked, I think it will be those five.

I think Knazko will be drafted, the mystery is where. But I don't count Hlavaj as a lock. Given how NHL teams like slovak goalies lately, sure there is a good chance he'll go too. Still far from a lock for me though.

 

[Elvs]

I think Knazko will be drafted, the mystery is where. But I don't count Hlavaj as a lock. Given how NHL teams like slovak goalies lately, sure there is a good chance he'll go too. Still far from a lock for me though.

Prior to last season I didn't think Hlavaj was a lock, and he didn't have a good WHJC showing. But his numbers from the Q this year are strong, and NHL central scouting ranks him 3rd among NA goaltenders. I'm not sure if anyone ranked that high went undrafted, ever.

 

[5cotland]

I am really looking forward to see if Roman Faith gets drafted.

I like the look of him and think he may be able to become a little hidden gem this year

 

[PodcastAlleyCanada]

We featured Slovakian sniper Martin Chromiak on this week's episode of Tracking the Draft with Craig Button.

#TrackingTheDraft with Craig Button | Episode 4 - Cole Perfetti, Luke Tuch, Martin Chromiak, Time Machine - 3 Time Selke Award winner = Current London Knight

Enjoy!

 

[Elvs]

The OP has been updated with lists of players to keep track on for the 20/21 season. After the 2020 draft, I'll update them again.

 

[mattihp]

Hopefully these brighter times come to fruition. I remember the last time, then it was the huge defencemen who were to be NHL superstars, Majesky (who was slated as a late bloomer), Mezei and a couple more.

 

[Elvs]

Hopefully these brighter times come to fruition. I remember the last time, then it was the huge defencemen who were to be NHL superstars, Majesky (who was slated as a late bloomer), Mezei and a couple more.

While Slovakia could use superstar right now, I think they need to focus on developing a bigger quanitity of players. The stars tend to come automatically once you have the depth.

Remember guys like Juraj Kolnik and Tomas Surovy? Those would have been depth guys on the Slovak national team 15 years ago, but today they'd been right up there with Panik as the Slovaks best forward behind Tatar. If Slovakia can start developing more players at that level, the eventual high end players will come. Not as frequently as during their golden era, but enough to make them better than they are today.

 

[mattihp]

Even Országh had a hard time making some Slovak world champs back in the day and he was pretty skilled with penalty killing as a bonus..

 

[Rusty7550]

Even Országh had a hard time making some Slovak world champs back in the day and he was pretty skilled with penalty killing as a bonus..

Or Marek Svatos (RIP) ... He was our 3rd line player during 2006 Olympics and dude scored 32 goals in 61 games in the NHL that season. Nowadays, 30+ goals scorer would be our TOP guy. Those Slovak teams in early and mid 2000s were stacked asf.

 

[alko]

The OP has been updated with lists of players to keep track on for the 20/21 season. After the 2020 draft, I'll update them again.

Eugen Rabcan?

 

[Mato94]

Thread has been updated in advance of the 2020/2021 season. Because he's now older than 23, Christian Jaros is no longer on the list, but remains to be someone worth keeping an eye on. The same goes for Kristian Pospisil and Robert Lantosi – two other guys in their mid twenties with potential NHL upside.

With that said, on to the list ...


U23 players signed to NHL contracts:

C - Martin Pospisil (Calgary)
C - Adam Ruzicka (Calgary)
W - Marian Studenic (New Jersey)
D - Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D - Martin Fehervary (Washington)
G - Roman Durny (Anaheim)
G - Adam Huska (NY Rangers)

---

Unsigned drafted prospects:

C - Milos Roman (Calgary)
W - Maxim Cajkovic (Tampa Bay)
G - David Hrenak (Los Angeles)

---

Notable undrafted players (U23):

C - Roman Karaffa
C - Filip Krivosik
W - Samuel Bucek
W - Patrik Hrehorcak
W - Adam Liska
D - Martin Bodak
D - Mario Grman
D - Michal Ivan
D - Marek Korencik
G - Matej Tomek

---

Upcoming prospects

2020 draft:
C - Matej Kaslik
W - Martin Chromiak
W - Roman Faith
W - Jan Lasak
W - Oliver Okuliar
D - Oliver Fatul
D - Andrej Golian
D - Samuel Knazko
D - David Mudrak
D - Marko Stacha
G - Samuel Hlavaj
G - Samuel Latkoczy

2021 draft:
C - Alex Geci
C - Oleksii Mykluhkha
C - Marcel Stefancik
W - Robert Baco
W- Jakub Demek
W - Lubomir Kupco
W - Maxim Mastic
W - Marek Sramaty
D - Simon Becar

2022 draft:
C - Alex Bartakovics
C - Filip Mesar
W - Servac Petrovsky
W - Juraj Slafkovsky
W - Alex Sotek
W - Adam Zlnka
D - Daniel Chovaniak
D - Simon Nemec
G - Rastislav Elias

2023 draft:
C - Dalibor Dvorsky
W - Alex Ciernik
W - Daniel Jencko
W - Ondrej Molnar
W - Samuel Sisik
D - Maxim Strbak
G - Jan Korec

Also, just a small correction, Latkoczy’s first name is Simon, not Samuel.

 

[Elvs]

Also, just a small correction, Latkoczy’s first name is Simon, not Samuel.

Thanks. Fixed!

Eugen Rabcan?

I gotta draw the line somewhere. I could add him, but most likely I'd just remove him again after the draft. He's been passed on once in draft, and will likely be passed on again this year. So I can't really forsee him getting drafted in 2021 either.

The guys on the 2020 list, will either be moved to other parts of the list (if they were drafted, or if they are 2002 born and has a decent chance at a the 2021 draft). Everyone else will be removed.

 

[hellwar9]

Defender David Natny (2004) will also play among the men next season. Even though it will be just a lower league, from what I saw, in my opinion, he belongs to that really interesting group of players for draft 2022.

 

[alko]

Defender David Natny (2004) will also play among the men next season. Even though it will be just a lower league, from what I saw, in my opinion, he belongs to that really interesting group of players for draft 2022.

Nice. According to his statistics, he seems to be a stay at home Defensman.

 

[hellwar9]

Nice. According to his statistics, he seems to be a stay at home Defensman.

We will see. Next season I will follow him more. Last season 41 games and 0g 5a. Not bad, at 16 years old in the U20 Junior League, even if only Slovakian. He played in a weak team, in the second defense pair. Except for the first formation, his team did not have quality. I'd say he could be a two-way defenseman, although it is true that in defensive activity he is better.

 

[mattihp]

More slavic than Hungarian names than i expected. Is there s decline in regions bordering hungary?

 

[Elvs]

Not technically a prospect, but I briefly mentioned Robert Lantosi in the OP. He has now been signed to a NHL contract by the Boston Bruins. It's a one year, 2-way deal worth $750k if he plays with Boston, $70k if he's stuck in Providence.

 

[Elvs]

I've updated the OP with top 10 rankings for each of the upcoming draft years. But I think I'll might update the 2021 rankings after the draft next month.

Feel free to nominate players who should be added to the Honorable mentions.

Also I have Milos Roman listed as an unsigned drafted prospect. I know he signed in the Czech extraliga and probably won't be tendered a qualifying offer by Calgary, but I'm waiting for comfirmation on that before moving him to the other thread.