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

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Certainly. But the NLA is dominated by foreign players. I dont see which Swiss playing in NLA could play in NHL or KHL. Both nations are currently equal and I'm more optimistic about Slovakia's future than of Switzerland.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Currently, Switzerland is no stronger than Slovakia. Or very slighty. I think Slovakia will very quickly become the 7th best nation again. Even at the lowest, there were 12 Slovaks to have played in NHL last year and 6 in KHL.

Only 6 of those 12 Slovaks in the NHL were regulars: Halak, Tatar, Panik, Chara, Cernak & Sekera. Then there was Marincin who was a 7th defender and played 26 games. Then there were Dano (3 games), Jaros (13 games), Jurco (12 games), Cehlarik (3 games) and Fehervary (6 games). Dano, Jurco and Cehlarik probably won't play NHL next year. Jaros should take back his spot in Ottawa and Fehervary is growing to become an NHL level player and could see significant NHL time next season.

I just can't put those guys ahead of what Switzerland has to offer at the moment.

 

[Elvs]

Only 6 of those 12 Slovaks in the NHL were regulars: Halak, Tatar, Panik, Chara, Cernak & Sekera. Then there was Marincin who was a 7th defender and played 26 games. Then there were Dano (3 games), Jaros (13 games), Jurco (12 games), Cehlarik (3 games) and Fehervary (6 games). Dano, Jurco and Cehlarik probably won't play NHL next year. Jaros should take back his spot in Ottawa and Fehervary is growing to become an NHL level player and could see significant NHL time next season.

I just can't put those guys ahead of what Switzerland has to offer at the moment.

With Ottawa bringing in Gudbranson and Brown, who are both right handed shots, it remains to see where Jaros fits in their plans. I wish the Ducks would've picked him up in that trade for Gudbranson, instead of the 5th round pick.

Cehlarik signed a contract in the SHL so he should be there all year. He's off to a good start, so the Bruins tendered him a qualifying offer and thus will keep his rights for next offseason, which is encouraging.

Jurco never seem to give up his NHL dream despite injuries. Since he didn't sign in Europe yet I'm thinking he's willing to sign a 2-way deal with some team in the NHL. But yeah, at most he'll just play another handful of games as an emergency call up next year.

Dano has signed a contract in the Slovak league. I think he's done in North America.

All in all, Slovakias future on defense looks alright. Cernak is arguably a top 4 defenseman already and just won the Stanley Cup while playing a fair amount of minutes. I'm pretty confident that Fehervary will carve out a decent NHL career also, and Jaros will get more looks with other organisations if Ottawa decides to move on from him. Now Knazko was drafted in the 3rd round, Stacha should've been drafted and hopefully will be next year, and then there's Nemec and Strbak on their way, both whom look very interesting.

If only Slovakia could produce forwards at the same rate, they could close the gap to Switzerland again and be semi-competitive.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

While the current situation in Switzerland looks better, the future looks worrying. No solid player among 2000/2001/2002 generation. This year, no Swiss player was selectable for the draft.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Jurco never seem to give up his NHL dream despite injuries. Since he didn't sign in Europe yet I'm thinking he's willing to sign a 2-way deal with some team in the NHL. But yeah, at most he'll just play another handful of games as an emergency call up next year.

You were right about him staying in the NHL. Even got a one-way deal, although like you said, he probably won't play every game.

 

[Wooren]

I am probably going to recieve criticism for this post, but seeing some Slovak fans on this forum or on Twitter dissapointed with the draft (again) I think it needs to be said.

NHL scouts aren't idiots, they are picking on Slovak players and taking them lower than they should be. You can make an argument teams prefer Canadians or Swedes in the late rounds, thus omitting a guy like Stacha maybe, but in the top rounds it's 100% about quality, not nationality. And honestly, even if Stacha or Hlavaj got picked in the 7th round, what difference would that make? It doesn't magically make them better players, neither worse for that matter. They remain longshots to make the NHL, just like the guys taken in the 6th and 7th rounds. If you are good enough, you will draw attention one way or another, eventually.

I also read the opinion that Stacha getting drafted would have been big for the Slovak league, with which I personally disagree. One 7th round talent doesn't make the league any more interesting. Alexander Texier got drafted in the 2nd round in 2017, out of the French league. I doubt any NHL scouts have been there since then, as there was nobody to watch. If you dumped Lafreniere in the Slovak league I can assure you the stands would be full of NHL staff. If you are good enough, scouts will find you no matter the league you play in.

Finally, I think Slovak fans have just unreasonable expecations of the players. I remember when Cajkovic was supposed to be a top pick, this year Chromiak was entering the season as a 1st round candidate, and for next year I have already seen some suggesting Myklukha could be a 2nd rounder, with which I respectfully disagree. Slafkovsky and Nemec (and the whole Slovak 2022 class for that matter) look promising two years away from the draft, but again, I have read the opinion of them both being likely top 10 picks, which is just laughable at this point.

tl;dr, draft isn't everything and keeping your expectaions reasonable makes it more enjoyable, especially when a truly strong class appears.

 

[Elvs]

I am probably going to recieve criticism for this post, but seeing some Slovak fans on this forum or on Twitter dissapointed with the draft (again) I think it needs to be said.

NHL scouts aren't idiots, they are picking on Slovak players and taking them lower than they should be. You can make an argument teams prefer Canadians or Swedes in the late rounds, thus omitting a guy like Stacha maybe, but in the top rounds it's 100% about quality, not nationality. And honestly, even if Stacha or Hlavaj got picked in the 7th round, what difference would that make? It doesn't magically make them better players, neither worse for that matter. They remain longshots to make the NHL, just like the guys taken in the 6th and 7th rounds. If you are good enough, you will draw attention one way or another, eventually.

I also read the opinion that Stacha getting drafted would have been big for the Slovak league, with which I personally disagree. One 7th round talent doesn't make the league any more interesting. Alexander Texier got drafted in the 2nd round in 2017, out of the French league. I doubt any NHL scouts have been there since then, as there was nobody to watch. If you dumped Lafreniere in the Slovak league I can assure you the stands would be full of NHL staff. If you are good enough, scouts will find you no matter the league you play in.

Finally, I think Slovak fans have just unreasonable expecations of the players. I remember when Cajkovic was supposed to be a top pick, this year Chromiak was entering the season as a 1st round candidate, and for next year I have already seen some suggesting Myklukha could be a 2nd rounder, with which I respectfully disagree. Slafkovsky and Nemec (and the whole Slovak 2022 class for that matter) look promising two years away from the draft, but again, I have read the opinion of them both being likely top 10 picks, which is just laughable at this point.

tl;dr, draft isn't everything and keeping your expectaions reasonable makes it more enjoyable, especially when a truly strong class appears.

I understand the point you're trying to make, but somewhat disagree with the bolded. Some players who are drafted in the late rounds, started working harder etc because they realized the NHL isn't just some pipedream, but an actual possibility if they put the time and effort in. Sure, someone who goes undrafted could begin to work harder also, but I imagine it's more common that players "give up" when they are not selected. This is what I fear could happen to someone like Stacha.

Cajkovic falling to the 3rd round wasn't that dissappointed. He had already fallen in the ranks before the draft. Chromiak falling about 100 spots is disappointing however, but it doesn't really matter. He was drafted and now he knows he has work to do and hopefully uses this as motivation to work hard to prove the naysayers wrong.

As for the 2022 and 2023 drafts, it's still far away and the expectations shouldn't be that these kids will be selected in the first round. But Slafkovsky, Nemec, Mesar, Sisik, Dvorsky and Strbak would have to stagnate hard to not be drafted at all. Then you throw a few other players into the mix who could get drafted, and those drafts looks better than anything we've seen from Slovakia in a while.

Hopefully those groups aren't just anamolies, but some early signs that Slovakia made some improvements in their program. They were 10-11 years old when those in charge of the hockey federation stepped down and were replaced with more comitted people.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Chromiak and Wisdom are easy to compare. Chromiak is clearly better than Wisdom and yet he was selected after him.

I have the impression that (Round 3 to 7), NHL teams like to take risks by selecting players whose potential remains undetermined. Which explains why Wisdom was selected before Chromiak and why every year Americans (Prep School players) are selected at the expense of more experienced players.

 

[slovakiasnextone]

I am probably going to recieve criticism for this post, but seeing some Slovak fans on this forum or on Twitter dissapointed with the draft (again) I think it needs to be said.

NHL scouts aren't idiots, they are picking on Slovak players and taking them lower than they should be. You can make an argument teams prefer Canadians or Swedes in the late rounds, thus omitting a guy like Stacha maybe, but in the top rounds it's 100% about quality, not nationality. And honestly, even if Stacha or Hlavaj got picked in the 7th round, what difference would that make? It doesn't magically make them better players, neither worse for that matter. They remain longshots to make the NHL, just like the guys taken in the 6th and 7th rounds. If you are good enough, you will draw attention one way or another, eventually.

I also read the opinion that Stacha getting drafted would have been big for the Slovak league, with which I personally disagree. One 7th round talent doesn't make the league any more interesting. Alexander Texier got drafted in the 2nd round in 2017, out of the French league. I doubt any NHL scouts have been there since then, as there was nobody to watch. If you dumped Lafreniere in the Slovak league I can assure you the stands would be full of NHL staff. If you are good enough, scouts will find you no matter the league you play in.

Finally, I think Slovak fans have just unreasonable expecations of the players. I remember when Cajkovic was supposed to be a top pick, this year Chromiak was entering the season as a 1st round candidate, and for next year I have already seen some suggesting Myklukha could be a 2nd rounder, with which I respectfully disagree. Slafkovsky and Nemec (and the whole Slovak 2022 class for that matter) look promising two years away from the draft, but again, I have read the opinion of them both being likely top 10 picks, which is just laughable at this point.

tl;dr, draft isn't everything and keeping your expectaions reasonable makes it more enjoyable, especially when a truly strong class appears.

There are certainly parts of Czechoslovak internet where the sentiment of NHL teams hating Slovak players because they're Slovak is prevalent, but I don't think that's what is happening in this thread. I mean it's a thread created and heavily contributed to by a Swedish poster.

What we're pointing out is that at the moment if NHL clubs see some players at the same level they're more likely going to select a Canadian, American, Swede or Finn than a Slovak. The performance of a country on international level and the name the players from said country have build in the league for themselves are going to play a role in the selection.

Sure, if we're talking about top notch players, they're going to get picked even out of the French league, but if we're talking about the lower rounds the said things make an impact.

To be clear this can go both ways, back in the early 2000s when Slovakia was big on the international stage, the opinion of the NHL teams to drafting a Slovak was opposite. I mean look at guys like Valabik, Mihalik or Mezei who were picked in the first round back then and tell me that the reason they were picked there wasn't partly influenced by the teams' hopes that they would turn into the next Zdeno Chara.

 

[Wooren]

I understand the point you're trying to make, but somewhat disagree with the bolded. Some players who are drafted in the late rounds, started working harder etc because they realized the NHL isn't just some pipedream, but an actual possibility if they put the time and effort in. Sure, someone who goes undrafted could begin to work harder also, but I imagine it's more common that players "give up" when they are not selected. This is what I fear could happen to someone like Stacha.

Players with this kind of attitude aren't making the NHL anyway, if it's not the draft it's going to be something else eventually.

 

[kudla]

Chromiak and Wisdom are easy to compare. Chromiak is clearly better than Wisdom and yet he was selected after him.

I have the impression that (Round 3 to 7), NHL teams like to take risks by selecting players whose potential remains undetermined. Which explains why Wisdom was selected before Chromiak and why every year Americans (Prep School players) are selected at the expense of more experienced players.

I think Chromiak dropped because of his mentality. He is a bit of a shy guy and scouts maybe think he would not handle it well in NA. Even Milan Bartovic or who said that Martin wasn't very talkative in the dressing room and what he lacks are some leadership skills.

 

[alko]

To be clear this can go both ways, back in the early 2000s when Slovakia was big on the international stage, the opinion of the NHL teams to drafting a Slovak was opposite. I mean look at guys like Valabik, Mihalik or Mezei who were picked in the first round back then and tell me that the reason they were picked there wasn't partly influenced by the teams' hopes that they would turn into the next Zdeno Chara

I dont think, it was only because Chara. There was that time, when All Big Guys, who could somehow skate, had an big advantage. Generally, hockey in North America was way more physical as it is today.

Btw. Mihalik was drafted in first round from Slovak second league. Today simply impossible.

 

[mirec04]

Players with this kind of attitude aren't making the NHL anyway, if it's not the draft it's going to be something else eventually.

Nobody will convince me that it is more likely that drafted guys will get their chance to play in NHL than undrafted players. Someone willing to play NHL on regular basis needs to have (except talent) also lot of luck and good timing when to step into NHL. Undrafted guys need it even much more. That's all.
Tell me how the hell e.x. player like Michael Krutil (nothing against him) is better than Marko Stacha (except maybe physics...). It is no crying, it is just simple fact that the players from Slovakia are omitted in the last rounds. Draft isn't everything that is true but it can be huge step in the future career ( players will have more motivation, confidence, are more seen etc..)

 

[Goodman68]

Nobody will convince me that it is more likely that drafted guys will get their chance to play in NHL than undrafted players. Someone willing to play NHL on regular basis needs to have (except talent) also lot of luck and good timing when to step into NHL. Undrafted guys need it even much more. That's all.
Tell me how the hell e.x. player like Michael Krutil (nothing against him) is better than Marko Stacha (except maybe physics...). It is no crying, it is just simple fact that the players from Slovakia are omitted in the last rounds. Draft isn't everything that is true but it can be huge step in the future career ( players will have more motivation, confidence, are more seen etc..)

There is also not much trust in Czech players in general. If you point to Krutil ... I've never seen him play, but there were good references to him as a defensive, well-skating defender.

 

[Rusty7550]

There is also not much trust in Czech players in general. If you point to Krutil ... I've never seen him play, but there were good references to him as a defensive, well-skating defender.

This. Czech players were also falling in this years draft. Mysak in 2nd round, Novak in 5th. Solid prospects like Chlubna, Kubicek, Malik - not even drafted.

 

[Goodman68]

This. Czech players were also falling in this years draft. Mysak in 2nd round, Novak in 5th. Solid prospects like Chlubna, Kubicek, Malik - not even drafted.

Yes. I think that Kubíček's omission in particular was a big surprise.

 

[Wooren]

What we're pointing out is that at the moment if NHL clubs see some players at the same level they're more likely going to select a Canadian, American, Swede or Finn than a Slovak. The performance of a country on international level and the name the players from said country have build in the league for themselves are going to play a role in the selection.

Sure, if we're talking about top notch players, they're going to get picked even out of the French league, but if we're talking about the lower rounds the said things make an impact.

To be clear this can go both ways, back in the early 2000s when Slovakia was big on the international stage, the opinion of the NHL teams to drafting a Slovak was opposite. I mean look at guys like Valabik, Mihalik or Mezei who were picked in the first round back then and tell me that the reason they were picked there wasn't partly influenced by the teams' hopes that they would turn into the next Zdeno Chara.

I am not arguing this doesn't happen, very likely it does and the reasoning behind it is unfortunately understandable too. But draft is just one little step towards the NHL. All those ignored potential late-rounders from Slovakia never amounted to anything because they simply weren't good enough, not because of the NHL "blocking" them from late spots in the draft. The Slovak 1999 age birth is a good example of this, Krivosik, Hrehorcak and Liska might have gotten undeservely overlooked at the draft, but all are currently playing in quality leagues and could be only a matter of time before they get attention from the NHL. Liska actually got some already I believe.

Nobody will convince me that it is more likely that drafted guys will get their chance to play in NHL than undrafted players. Someone willing to play NHL on regular basis needs to have (except talent) also lot of luck and good timing when to step into NHL. Undrafted guys need it even much more. That's all.

Jakub Zboril, the 13th pick of the 2015 draft, has in five years seen 2 NHL games. Two. Despite the organization wasting a very high pick on him in stacked draft, he doesn't see any NHL ice time. Meanwhile two years older David Kampf, who never was as naturally talented and got overlooked at the draft, quietly worked his way into an NHL contract and now he's a regular on Chicago. Different team, different postion, but clearly a draft, no matter how high position, isn't a free ticket to the best league in the world just as getting undrafted isn't a death sentence.

Tell me how the hell e.x. player like Michael Krutil (nothing against him) is better than Marko Stacha (except maybe physics...). It is no crying, it is just simple fact that the players from Slovakia are omitted in the last rounds. Draft isn't everything that is true but it can be huge step in the future career ( players will have more motivation, confidence, are more seen etc..)

Depends on what you mean by better. Is Stacha the more mature player and thus more capable of playing in a pro league? Probably. But Krutil has shown considerably more upside than Stacha. I think Stacha would have been a fine pick in the 6th or 7th round. As for Krutil, I personally prefer him as prospect to Jakub Galvas for example, who was an Extraliga regular in his draft season.
Don't agree with the rest of your post, draft isn't nearly as important as you make it sound.

This. Czech players were also falling in this years draft. Mysak in 2nd round, Novak in 5th. Solid prospects like Chlubna, Kubicek, Malik - not even drafted.

I am surprised Michal Gut didn't get drafted, the ones you mentioned are probably comparable to Stacha as prospects, not bad but not great either.
There's a thread in the NHL draft forum naming all the note worthy players who went undrafted, and there are plenty of interesting Canadians, Russians or Fins listed as well, it's not just Slovaks or Czechs that get "overlooked."

 

[hellwar9]

As for the topic and Slovak prospects for 2023 drafts from the first page, Alex Ciernik (late 2004) is perhaps the most underrated Slovak for 2023 draft. Last week he started playing in the Swedish J20 Nationell and he did not do badly at all. He had 2 primary assists in first 3 matches. Roman Kukumberg (2005) is slowly adapting to Finland and I think he could play some matches in the U18 category by the end of the year.. but honestly, I don't consider him a great talent, but I'll be happy if he surprises me. As for the domestic Slovak leagues, another probably interesting player jumped out here. Zigmund Zold (late 2004) has a pretty good start to the season, even though it's just the Slovak junior league. I was much more interested by him than Samuel Honzek (late 2004) and I'm not just talking about points.

 

[james12]

As for 2022&2023 drafts I would sort the skaters this way (note: this is a current ranking, will be pretty different in the future):

Top tier (1st round potential):
Dalibor Dvorský
Šimon Nemec
Juraj Slafkovský

Second tier:
Filip Mešár (close to top tier)
Adam Žlnka
Maxim Štrbák
Alex Šotek

Third tier:
Alex Čiernik (close to second tier)
Servác Petrovský
Samuel Sisik
Ondrej Molnár

Hopefully the first trio will play for men in their d season. But not in Slovakia though. I can imagine Slafkovsky staying in TPS, Dvorsky playing SHL (yes he's that good) and Nemec going Finland, Sweden or even KHL.

 

[Elvs]

The rankings will be updated around midseason. Hopefully the WHJC won't be cancelled so I can get a better look at some of these players.

 

[Garl]

Certainly. But the NLA is dominated by foreign players. I dont see which Swiss playing in NLA could play in NHL or KHL. Both nations are currently equal and I'm more optimistic about Slovakia's future than of Switzerland.

Plenty of swuss players are KHL quality. Andrighetto was pretty good there last year

 

[Garl]

While the current situation in Switzerland looks better, the future looks worrying. No solid player among 2000/2001/2002 generation. This year, no Swiss player was selectable for the draft.

Janis Moser

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Last year Andrighetto was the only Swiss to play in KHL and he was far from the best players. Bakos, Cajkovsky and Hudacek were most valuable than him. As for Moser, he's 20 yo undrafted player.

 

[hellwar9]

Adam Sykora (2004) today made his debut in the highest slovak men's league. He played only a couple of shifts but he wrote the assist and showed that he has really good hands. As one of the youngest players for draft 2022 he can be interesting, we will see how he will do. I would also add that his physical data from the first page of this topic are no longer valid. Currently he is 175 cm tall and weighs 73 kg.

Filip Mesar (2004) today also added another assist and now he has 1 goal and 2 assists in the slovak highest men's league for the first 10 matches. Game to game he gets better and better and slowly begins to feel comfortable among the men.

 

[puckfan]

As for 2022&2023 drafts I would sort the skaters this way (note: this is a current ranking, will be pretty different in the future):

Second tier:
Filip Mešár (close to top tier)
Adam Žlnka
Maxim Štrbák

Did you see play Patrik Gabriel in Finnish U18 league? He is better than Zlnka and Strbak who are also played there... If not, have a look. Definitely the best player in Saipa.