Czech prospects update thread

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Our 6 spot is safe.lol Can't catch 5 and 7 can't catch us.lol

We have 13 and rest of world has 17. Which also means FInland beat the rest of the world.

Canada at 88 is more than US, Finland and Sweden combined (80). And tied with US/Russian/Sweden.

Hell of a day for Canada.

Canadian prospects are generally overrated in the draft, I share (with more moderation) Martygod's opinion.

Russian hockey was not discriminated against this year and the upcoming change of majority in the NHL was confirmed. The ratio of European players drafted has moved closer to 50%.

2024 : 43,11%
2023 : 39,73%
2022 : 39,11%

I don't see how the North Americans will be able to resist the Europeans to remain in the majority in the drafts of the 2030s.

Apart from Sweden and Finland which have reached their ceiling, the level is rising everywhere else.

Russia will weigh more and more. Secondary nations too. Slovakia will return to the dance next year.

 

[martygod12]

So with a bit of calming down lol I would rate the draft this:

Pros:
13 players drafted of course
6 players in top 100
Another year with a 1st rounder

Cons:
Jecho and Curran falling very hard in final rankings
Only 2 players in first two rounds
Fibigr for some reason only round 7
And of course no Galvas, which I still think is completely ridiculous

So good draft but has some serious cons to be so thrilled about it

Hope at least 3-4 guys will actually make it in the NHL

 

[Czechboy]

So with a bit of calming down lol I would rate the draft this:

Pros:
13 players drafted of course
6 players in top 100
Another year with a 1st rounder

Cons:
Jecho and Curran falling very hard in final rankings
Only 2 players in first two rounds
Fibigr for some reason only round 7
And of course no Galvas, which I still think is completely ridiculous

So good draft but has some serious cons to be so thrilled about it

Hope at least 3-4 guys will actually make it in the NHL

Now that you are finally calm.lol

Agree with the pros

for cons:

I thought around 12 and we got 13 but I didn't think so many would be in round 5 to 7. It got real quiet after Badinka went.

Only 1 Czech goalie surprised me (8 Russian goalies drafted)... I feel the Czech goalie factory is going well and any of Kavan, Matecha or Spunar were worth a late round pick.

I thought Jecho would be in the round 3 range and he was but Curran really dropped to where I thought he'd go.

No Galvas is frustrating but it really is true - he's small, doesn't score enough for a player his size and is a LHD. I love him and he is probably on same level as Badinka and Jiricek but they have much more projectable frames.

I looked at the Combine weigh ins:

2024 NHL Combine Heights & Weights - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The 2024 NHL Combine in Buffalo has come and gone. Here is the heights and weights of those who completed the fitness testing on Saturday.

thehockeywriters.com

He was the lightest player there by a big margin. He weighed in at 153lbs. No one else was in the 150's or the 160's. Next lightest guy would've been around 170 (Koivu who is 6 foot and a forward). And he's a Dman. I don't think it is right but I imagine many scouts just tuned out after the weigh in. I hope they regret it.

On a good note.. 2 LHD in Cech and Fibigr and 2 RHD in Jiricek and Badinka.

And our U20 team could be 90% drafted for the next 2 tourney's! Only undrafted guys will be underagers who will get drafted or guys like Zicklicky, Mestalarisky and Koci in depth roles.

 

[martygod12]

Now that you are finally calm.lol

Agree with the pros

for cons:

I thought around 12 and we got 13 but I didn't think so many would be in round 5 to 7. It got real quiet after Badinka went.

Only 1 Czech goalie surprised me (8 Russian goalies drafted)... I feel the Czech goalie factory is going well and any of Kavan, Matecha or Spunar were worth a late round pick.

I thought Jecho would be in the round 3 range and he was but Curran really dropped to where I thought he'd go.

No Galvas is frustrating but it really is true - he's small, doesn't score enough for a player his size and is a LHD. I love him and he is probably on same level as Badinka and Jiricek but they have much more projectable frames.

I looked at the Combine weigh ins:

2024 NHL Combine Heights & Weights - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

The 2024 NHL Combine in Buffalo has come and gone. Here is the heights and weights of those who completed the fitness testing on Saturday.

thehockeywriters.com

He was the lightest player there by a big margin. He weighed in at 153lbs. No one else was in the 150's or the 160's. Next lightest guy would've been around 170 (Koivu who is 6 foot and a forward). And he's a Dman. I don't think it is right but I imagine many scouts just tuned out after the weigh in. I hope they regret it.

On a good note.. 2 LHD in Cech and Fibigr and 2 RHD in Jiricek and Badinka.

And our U20 team could be 90% drafted for the next 2 tourney's! Only undrafted guys will be underagers who will get drafted or guys like Zicklicky, Mestalarisky and Koci in depth roles.

Still it's very weird that he wasn't selected even in the late rounds.

Idk so the NHL scouts don't know how 178cm a 69kg look like or what? Size is a problem of course

BUT

If it was such a big problem, he would not have played entire season in ELH against men.

Would not score 8 points, which is good even for an attacker at that age btw (Zacha had 6 in his draft year I think)

Would not be invited in the combine where the better prospects who usually gets 100% drafted go.

He was not lower then #80 in any of the pre draft rankings and then he does not get drafted lol, that's just crazy.

But well what can you do, if he become a good and viable NT defender one day, then I don't care that he didn't get drafted, same for Tichacek

It just feels weird and ridiculous based on the whole season prognosis on him lol, that the size would be such a deal breaker at the end.

 

[Czechboy]

Still it's very weird that he wasn't selected even in the late rounds.

Idk so the NHL scouts don't know how 178cm a 69kg look like or what? Size is a problem of course

BUT

If it was such a big problem, he would not have played entire season in ELH against men.

Would not score 8 points, which is good even for an attacker at that age btw (Zacha had 6 in his draft year I think)

Would not be invited in the combine where the better prospects who usually gets 100% drafted go.

He was not lower then #80 in any of the pre draft rankings and then he does not get drafted lol, that's just crazy.

But well what can you do, if he become a good and viable NT defender one day, then I don't care that he didn't get drafted, same for Tichacek

It just feels weird and ridiculous based on the whole season prognosis on him lol, that the size would be such a deal breaker at the end.

I totally agree and I was and am in shock.

But, I posted this over there, he is smaller than Petra Kvitova. She is 2 inches taller and weighs 1 pound more.

Agree, every draft ranking had him 100 to 45. No one even considered he wouldn't be drafted. Invited to combine.

I forgot another con.. was hoping for Svozil. He just fell off the radar completely.

 

[Blueston]

I totally agree and I was and am in shock.

But, I posted this over there, he is smaller than Petra Kvitova. She is 2 inches taller and weighs 1 pound more.

Agree, every draft ranking had him 100 to 45. No one even considered he wouldn't be drafted. Invited to combine.

I forgot another con.. was hoping for Svozil. He just fell off the radar completely.

He also wasn't great at u18. For a defenseman that size to make it he can't be good, he has to be exceptional. And he wasn't, not on big stage at end of year when all eyes were on him. That isn't to say he can't make it to NHL, but I dropped him out of my top 100 after u18 and I think others did too.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

I LOVE our goalie situation.

Vej should still get lots of games (hoping for a trade)
Dostal should be starter
Mrazek should be starter
Rittich should be full time backup
Vladar should get more games
Vanecek should be a starter

I think Patera has done enough to stick around.
Suchanek looks very promsing.
Hrabal looks very promising.
Dobes looks promising.
Malek looks promising.

Shame Stezka didn't break through as he looked good in AHL.
Skarek may struggle and return to Europe as well.
Bednar on way out but does have an AHL contract next year.
Cajan is quite good too.

I'm liking the looks of Milota, Kavan and Matecha as well.

Not saying they all become NHLers or Vezina winners but it's a lot of guys competing for NHL jobs. And the age range is 18 to 32 or so.

Dostal, as you mentioned, already has a Gold at the senior level.

It's our D that gives me headaches but every draft has a few coming. Fingers crossed they start cracking NHL rosters!

And yes, those 2 big forwards excite the hell out of me because some of our best prospects are undersized - Galvas and Benak.

Steska was re-signed by Seattle so he did enough to earn a second crack. Looks like Daccord is the assumed starter. The two veteran goalies ahead of Steska are both 30+ and Grubauer has a big contract for a backup goalie so there may be an opportunity.

 

[martygod12]

He also wasn't great at u18. For a defenseman that size to make it he can't be good, he has to be exceptional. And he wasn't, not on big stage at end of year when all eyes were on him. That isn't to say he can't make it to NHL, but I dropped him out of my top 100 after u18 and I think others did too.

Isnt the club performance during whole season more important then one short tournament where you teamates can f*** it all up for you? I mean the whole team played terrible and way below their potential, so its kinda strange to drop him just based on that

Maybe drop from top 100 to later rounds, but not being drafted at all? Thats just weird to drop that much

 

[Blueston]

Isnt the club performance during whole season more important then one short tournament where you teamates can f*** it all up for you? I mean the whole team played terrible and way below their potential, so its kinda strange to drop him just based on that

Maybe drop from top 100 to later rounds, but not being drafted at all? Thats just weird to drop that much

Perhaps, but how many club games do teams watch of mid-range prospects? Everyone saw him at u18 and he had rough tourney. I think he is better than many late round guys but teams are taking flyers on guys by round 5 or so and they look for certain attributes. But this isn’t end. He can be signed to elc during summer window or he goes back in draft. He will have chance to prove nhl wrong. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets drafted next year if he takes steps this year.

 

[Wooren]

An actual NHL team scouted Extraliga this past season, looked at all the young players there... and decided Ales Cech and Vojtech Hradec are superior prospects to Tomas Galvas.

Tomas paid the price for the most absurdly size-biased draft in recent years, looked like a draft straight up from dead puck era. Cole Hutson and Aron Kiviharju are the only two 5'10" defensemen selected. Both of whom are more advanced in development as of today, compared to Galvas, who still has the body of a 15 year old. But even with that deficit he held more than well against adults in Extraliga, something 1st rounder Jiricek struggled far more with, not to mention the other players drafted out of the league, who all had minor roles at best.
Now whether Galvas can add the much needed weight is the question, and fortunately for him, getting drafted has zero impact on that or his future development. He certainly has areas of his game that need significant improvement and most of them are strenght related.

I have also seen some comparison to Jiri Tichacek, which makes zero sense. Galvas is better in every way as a prospect, Tichacek going undrafted at any given draft he was eligible for was not surprising. Neither makes sense this U18 WC argument. Czech team was horrendous, they lost to both Kazachstan and Slovakia who combined for one project 7th rounder. Galvas still did ok given the circumstances. Not to mention, Galvas was the best Czech defenseman at the U20 WJC, where the Czech team captured bronze and which is a more important tournament compared to the U18s.

tldr; Galvas either makes the progress every Czech user here seems to think he can make and the NHL GMs look like morons in a couple years for selecting behemoths with not even inch of the talent Galvas possesses, or he will be trapped in 15 years' old body for the rest of his life, preventing him from fixing all the strenght related issues.

Aside from Galvas, draft was ok from Czech point of view. Some could have gone higher, some other could have been drafted, but multiple guys I didn't give much chances to did get drafted. so it all made up for it in the end. Still, bittersweet draft solely because of that one missing name...

 

[Czechboy]

Steska was re-signed by Seattle so he did enough to earn a second crack. Looks like Daccord is the assumed starter. The two veteran goalies ahead of Steska are both 30+ and Grubauer has a big contract for a backup goalie so there may be an opportunity.

I missed the Stezka signing. Him leaving made no sense so glad he stuck around. Hoping for a few games this year!

 

[MatthewFlames]

If you want to know who's going to win the Stanley Cup next year just pick the team with the tallest defense. There is your winner - evidence is the last 6 Stanley Cup winners, all had the biggest teams, the heaviest teams, the tallest teams, especially on D. As much as a tiny handful of small Dmen have rocked the NHL in the regular season, points wise, most small Dmen drafted have failed to have any impact. Drafting a taller player is more likely to pan out. That's just fact.

An actual NHL team scouted Extraliga this past season, looked at all the young players there... and decided Ales Cech and Vojtech Hradec are superior prospects to Tomas Galvas.

Tomas paid the price for the most absurdly size-biased draft in recent years, looked like a draft straight up from dead puck era. Cole Hutson and Aron Kiviharju are the only two 5'10" defensemen selected. Both of whom are more advanced in development as of today, compared to Galvas, who still has the body of a 15 year old. But even with that deficit he held more than well against adults in Extraliga, something 1st rounder Jiricek struggled far more with, not to mention the other players drafted out of the league, who all had minor roles at best.
Now whether Galvas can add the much needed weight is the question, and fortunately for him, getting drafted has zero impact on that or his future development. He certainly has areas of his game that need significant improvement and most of them are strenght related.

I have also seen some comparison to Jiri Tichacek, which makes zero sense. Galvas is better in every way as a prospect, Tichacek going undrafted at any given draft he was eligible for was not surprising. Neither makes sense this U18 WC argument. Czech team was horrendous, they lost to both Kazachstan and Slovakia who combined for one project 7th rounder. Galvas still did ok given the circumstances. Not to mention, Galvas was the best Czech defenseman at the U20 WJC, where the Czech team captured bronze and which is a more important tournament compared to the U18s.

tldr; Galvas either makes the progress every Czech user here seems to think he can make and the NHL GMs look like morons in a couple years for selecting behemoths with not even inch of the talent Galvas possesses, or he will be trapped in 15 years' old body for the rest of his life, preventing him from fixing all the strenght related issues.

Aside from Galvas, draft was ok from Czech point of view. Some could have gone higher, some other could have been drafted, but multiple guys I didn't give much chances to did get drafted. so it all made up for it in the end. Still, bittersweet draft solely because of that one missing name...

 

[Czechboy]

He also wasn't great at u18. For a defenseman that size to make it he can't be good, he has to be exceptional. And he wasn't, not on big stage at end of year when all eyes were on him. That isn't to say he can't make it to NHL, but I dropped him out of my top 100 after u18 and I think others did too.

The u18 did him no favors for sure. He needs to be .ppg at that size. But, his U20 was very good!

Curious how it ends for him, how the offseason goes and how the U20's go.