D Vladimir Dravecky - Rogle BK J20, J20 Nationell (2026 Draft)

[kudla]

Just a reminder what player we lost just because of ignorance and incompetence of Slovak hockey federation.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1815397399851868391

Yes, he is a very unique talent. Too bad random hfboards users know that and our useless hockey federation and even coaches do not

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Czech Simon Nemec.

Very sorry to my Slovakian friends that I had to call him the Czech Nemec.

 

[alko]

If he don't want to play for Slovakia, then let it be. Hockey player should be a strong mental person, who doesn't make waves, when they are one time omitted from National Team.

It was his first opportunity to play on big tournament, He knew very well, next years could be more important. And he knew very well, he has open doors in Slovakia National Team.

But he still choose Czech Team. Its not the people in our hockey. Its him. He self made this decision.
Im sure, his dad talked about this with him. And still - he feels he is more Czech, than Slovak.

 

[GettingYourMoms]

I don´t blame him, he actually wants to win something. (no offense to my Slovak bros)

 

[Harvey Dent]

If he don't want to play for Slovakia, then let it be. Hockey player should be a strong mental person, who doesn't make waves, when they are one time omitted from National Team.

It was his first opportunity to play on big tournament, He knew very well, next years could be more important. And he knew very well, he has open doors in Slovakia National Team.

But he still choose Czech Team. Its not the people in our hockey. Its him. He self made this decision.
Im sure, his dad talked about this with him. And still - he feels he is more Czech, than Slovak.

It wasn't his first opportunity to play in big tournament for Slovakia. He decides to move to Slovakia and was ignored by dendis from the start. He missed last year Hgc and this year WC because of that so you really cannot say that he had opened door to NT. You're completely missing what's this all about. And be ready that this is possible just start and some other players, specifically from 09 class,will make same move and reject to play for Slovakia.

 

[vlady]

While it sucks that we lost him, I don't think it's fair to blame the federation as a whole. If the main reason why he left was the fact that he wasn't selected for the U18 WC, then that is not the federation's fault.

Coaches are responsible for selecting players for championships, not the federation. The federation picked the coach, but that's it. They couldn't have known that this would happen.

Or do you really expect the federation to dictate to coaches who to take? That doesn't usually end well.

 

[Harvey Dent]

While it sucks that we lost him, I don't think it's fair to blame the federation as a whole. If the main reason why he left was the fact that he wasn't selected for the U18 WC, then that is not the federation's fault.

Coaches are responsible for selecting players for championships, not the federation. The federation picked the coach, but that's it. They couldn't have known that this would happen.

Or do you really expect the federation to dictate to coaches who to take? That doesn't usually end well.

I have a question. Do you really believe that coaches and coaching staff around our junior national teams have free hands or they can make rosters by their independent decisions? You don't remember how it was with Javorcik or Tartal. Top tier coaches,where are they now? Whole country is rotten to the core by corruption,do you really believe hockey is different?

 

[vlady]

I have a question. Do you really believe that coaches and coaching staff around our junior national teams have free hands or they can make rosters by their independent decisions? You don't remember how it was with Javorcik or Tartal. Top tier coaches,where are they now? Whole country is rotten to the core by corruption,do you really believe hockey is different?

I don't have any such information. But if it was corrupt, I would expect that a son of a former national team player would be more likely to get selected, not less.

Until you can prove that it was interference from the federation, I will assume the players were selected by the coach.

 

[Martinez89]

I have a question. Do you really believe that coaches and coaching staff around our junior national teams have free hands or they can make rosters by their independent decisions? You don't remember how it was with Javorcik or Tartal. Top tier coaches,where are they now? Whole country is rotten to the core by corruption,do you really believe hockey is different?

Even so, the most guilty person is the young coach Dendis. He is responsible for the nomination and Dravecky was cutted twice. If other people from higher positions intervene in the nomination that is no excuse for Dendis - actually even worse for him that he allows himself to be corrupted... but these are still just speculations and the proof doesn´t exist.

Coach Dendis discarded Dravecky from the squad and as the main reason was given lack of performance and form. Then Dravecky immediately completely destroyed strong international competition at U17 tournament even without form according to the coach. Maybe if Dravecky was in good shape in that tournament he would have 20 points in 4 games or wait... no, no this coach Dendis is just stupid that´s all.

 

[Harvey Dent]

Even so, the most guilty person is the young coach Dendis. He is responsible for the nomination and Dravecky was cutted twice. If other people from higher positions intervene in the nomination that is no excuse for Dendis - actually even worse for him that he allows himself to be corrupted... but these are still just speculations and the proof doesn´t exist.

Coach Dendis discarded Dravecky from the squad and as the main reason was given lack of performance and form. Then Dravecky immediately completely destroyed strong international competition at U17 tournament even without form according to the coach. Maybe if Dravecky was in good shape in that tournament he would have 20 points in 4 games or wait... no, no this coach Dendis is just stupid that´s all.

Coaches are under pressure from agents,fathers,friends,friends of the friends etc. If u are good boy and play along and have the right friends like Fenes or Bokroš you can have a safe place as a junior NT coach. If you want to make roster by your own decision with your own vision like tartal and Javorcik they will make you go away. It was very clear at the last u18wc what Dendis whants to do. Team, especially defence full of "defence specialists" with few good underagers,Zubek sitting whole tournament while huzevka and belusko with huge ice time because they are "safer" option,lower risk. Terrible defensive win against Czechia in quarter and suddenly there's a strong argument why he should stay. Fenes used 04 class for his own benefits too but in different way. For Slovakia U18 shouldn't be about medals but about development,it's irrelevant if we will end 2nd or last you should help your few really talented players by giving them time on the ice against best in their class. That's why you should take guys like dravevky and in this case Dúbravik and Čunderlík too. Dendis dgaf about developing players,he wants that spot.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I thought he looked like the best of the Czech prospects against USA. It didn’t all come off, but he had some very nice moments. He’s like a wizard running a PP and moves the puck so well and quick when pressured. He even had some nice defensive plays.

The only thing I worry about is his size. There were a few moments where he was moved off the puck by bigger players. He’s listed at 6’0 176. 5’10 155 sounds more believable. As I’ve said before, if he has the size he can be a top 10 pick. If that listing is real and he can add some weight, he’s legit. I guess he’s only 16 too, so he has time.

 

[Czechboy]

Not afraid to carry that puck!

When he is on the ice we have 4 forwards.lol

LW C RW Dravecky
LD
G

 

[Voodoozz]

Not afraid to carry that puck!

When he is on the ice we have 4 forwards.lol

LW C RW Dravecky
LD
G

He's showing glimpses of absolute brilliance offensively. Needs to clean up his game a little bit and get stronger, but good showing for an underager.

 

[Czechboy]

He's showing glimpses of absolute brilliance offensively. Needs to clean up his game a little bit and get stronger, but good showing for an underager.

He's got a high end for sure! But, today, he scares the shit out of me.lol

We sure his dad isn't Oleg Tverdovsky

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He’s exactly the type of offensive talent the Czechs need on defense. They have produced some big, mean defensive defensemen. They don’t have enough guys that can make plays with the puck. Dravecky is like a better version of Galvas in the types of things he can bring to the team.

 

[Pazucha]

So how did he play at Hlinka?

I read comments that he was really good but also some that said he was really bad. With Mrtka, Jiricek and Kachlir he probably won't have it easy in the future as RD that likes to play PP.

 

[kudla]

So how did he play at Hlinka?

I read comments that he was really good but also some that said he was really bad. With Mrtka, Jiricek and Kachlir he probably won't have it easy in the future as RD that likes to play PP.

He was not very good. Nothing compared to Dravecky in slovak jersey

 

[Goodman68]

So how did he play at Hlinka?

I read comments that he was really good but also some that said he was really bad. With Mrtka, Jiricek and Kachlir he probably won't have it easy in the future as RD that likes to play PP.

It's safe to say that it was one of the team's biggest disappointments (if you can even say that about a team that played so well). More was simply expected of him, even if he would be a difference player. And he certainly wasn't.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He had some nice moments. I think the talent is there with the puck game and skating and defensive effort. He’s also like 6’0 already so not necessarily small, but he needs to get stronger. Too many times he’d try to make a defensive play and he got pushed off the puck by someone bigger and stronger or forced into a bad play because he was about to get crunched. He needs to put on 10-20 pounds over the next 3-4 years to be able to make the NHL.

And also adjusting to playing for a different country can take time. Not to say that Slovakia doesn’t play good competition, but he wasn’t really being challenged with Slovakia. They had him playing in his age group. Very few games against top competition. So when you put him in a game against Canada or USA or Sweden or Finland, it’s a different level of hockey. Also, he probably doesn’t know the Czech players and their tendencies that well yet.

 

[Pazucha]

He had some nice moments. I think the talent is there with the puck game and skating and defensive effort. He’s also like 6’0 already so not necessarily small, but he needs to get stronger. Too many times he’d try to make a defensive play and he got pushed off the puck by someone bigger and stronger or forced into a bad play because he was about to get crunched. He needs to put on 10-20 pounds over the next 3-4 years to be able to make the NHL.

And also adjusting to playing for a different country can take time. Not to say that Slovakia doesn’t play good competition, but he wasn’t really being challenged with Slovakia. They had him playing in his age group. Very few games against top competition. So when you put him in a game against Canada or USA or Sweden or Finland, it’s a different level of hockey. Also, he probably doesn’t know the Czech players and their tendencies that well yet.

Is he really 6’0 though? I did not see him play for a few months but that would mean he grew like 5cm in that time.

Also Slovakia is not in Cathegory B He did play against Sweden, Finland and Czechia last season and over 30 games against men.

Edit: Kudla already mentioned in March that he is listed as 181 thats weird i always thought he looked much smaller like 178cm

182cm is pretty good if that's true

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is he really 6’0 though? I did not see him play for a few months but that would mean he grew like 5cm in that time.

Also Slovakia is not in Cathegory B He did play against Sweden, Finland and Czechia last season and over 30 games against men.

Edit: Kudla already mentioned in March that he is listed as 181 thats weird i always thought he looked much smaller like 178cm

182cm is pretty good if that's true

I was going by Elite Prospects, which might be wrong. He might be closer to 5’11.

 

[kudla]

And also adjusting to playing for a different country can take time. Not to say that Slovakia doesn’t play good competition, but he wasn’t really being challenged with Slovakia. They had him playing in his age group. Very few games against top competition. So when you put him in a game against Canada or USA or Sweden or Finland, it’s a different level of hockey. Also, he probably doesn’t know the Czech players and their tendencies that well yet.

Scored 5 points against Sweden and Finland in March

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Scored 5 points against Sweden and Finland in March

Point taken, but that wasn't Sweden and Finland U18. That was U17, and probably their best players at that level weren't there because they were already playing U18.

U17 to U18 is a jump. Hlinka might be a little watered down this year, but it's still a competition with a lot of future NHL stars. Playing against the Canadians and Americans (more so the NTDP, but the Hlinka team always has some good players too) is a big test also, and can sometimes give you a better idea of where some of these players stand. Playing the likes of Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Norway has a limit on its value. That's not an insult to Slovakia, but there aren't too many tests during the course of a season for their U17 Team against the best nations.

It's also summer hockey, he's young for a 2007, and his first tournament with Czechia. I wouldn't be too alarmed. There are a lot of mitigating factors here. He still showed what he could do on certain shifts.

 

[kudla]

Point taken, but that wasn't Sweden and Finland U18. That was U17, and probably their best players at that level weren't there because they were already playing U18.

U17 to U18 is a jump. Hlinka might be a little watered down this year, but it's still a competition with a lot of future NHL stars. Playing against the Canadians and Americans (more so the NTDP, but the Hlinka team always has some good players too) is a big test also, and can sometimes give you a better idea of where some of these players stand. Playing the likes of Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Norway has a limit on its value. That's not an insult to Slovakia, but there aren't too many tests during the course of a season for their U17 Team against the best nations.

It's also summer hockey, he's young for a 2007, and his first tournament with Czechia. I wouldn't be too alarmed. There are a lot of mitigating factors here. He still showed what he could do on certain shifts.

It was against 07s - the same teams he played on Hlinka and at almost full strenght. Funny thing is that it was Slovakia who almost had a B team there (7 players from Hlinka squad).

But point is that Dravecky really put on a show every time against a big team. That is why he was so hyped. Yes, he also played against Norway, Germany, Poland and funnily enough did maybe a 0+1 in those

He yet needs to get used to the Czech team for sure. It is hard to just jump from one national team to another and be good. It will take some time.

 

[SW2024]

This thread is so funny... for some people it all goes down to size. Come on! Seriously?
one inch is worth a round? Is that the formula? There is nothing like: if he improves this or that, as if everything else is irrelevant, but only how many inches will be added matters. Oh, you are making it so simple, just sit and grow

And even more hilarious is when people start predicting heights by looking at the fathers. It reminds me of how my grandma used to do: (mother's height + father's height) / 2 and then + or - 2 depending on the gender. So glad you don't have access to these kids' family photo to start inspecting other relatives in terms of height.