F Dalibor Dvorsky (2023, 10th, STL)

[Sergei Shirokov]

I really like Dvorsky. His aggressiveness & the way he protects the puck is going to translate better in NA on the smaller ice as he gets older imo. But I think there's been many good posts in here about the concerns regarding his upside.

He's not going to be able to hold onto pucks trying to find a shooting lane like he does now, it simply won't happen in the NHL - he'll run out of space & turn the puck over - so the question becomes this;

When he gets to the NHL will he learn (or be forced) to get away from that & use his teammates well enough to be a legitimate 2C, or will he always struggle to generate offense 5 on 5 & be more of a middle 6/3C? (That wins faceoffs & helps you on special teams).

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I've seen Kopitar and Norris comparisons in this thread over the past couple days. Is Horvat a reasonable mid-point?

Horvat is a much better skater now, its a real strength of his game unlike Dvorsky. And Dvorsky is much more aggressive than Horvat at both ends. Both are faceoff aces but Dvorsky could be a better defensive player.

Offensively I also think Horvat uses his teammates better, though I do think Dvorsky would be great as the shooter in the bumper spot like Horvat was on Vancouver's PP.

 

[Garl]

Dvorsky reminds me of Mikael Backlund. Similar struggles in Allsvenskan aswell

 

[salamandra]

And that's what I described in an earlier post. That's why he hit the wall in the Allsvenskan and produced so many turnovers. What he does vs kids doesn't work vs pros. Well, it could but Dvorsky doesn't have skating or strength to do it as we speak. He has to drastically improve in those areas or reinvent his game. I'm confident he can do it but in my view it also makes him more of a project than a bluechip top10 pick.

You have seen few games with Dvorsky ... and you are jumping to conclusions. His strong side is precisely strenght. His skating is average. His hockey sens, shot, ability and strenght are great.

Will be better if you go to the swiss threads and there you will be overclever.

 

[salamandra]

He also scored four goals vs random German kids but just six goals in the Allsvenskan. That's the difference. Dvorsky has been very good vs kids but not vs men. Because the way he plays vs kids doesn't work vs men.

lol. And Finnish children? or Canadian children? In both games was one of the best player on the ice, BTW. So lets go say something about these matches ... Obviously you didn't see those matches.

Other than that, Honzek is the much better player today and he was better a year ago than Dvorksy is now.

It is nonsens. You have no idea about any of them. I and other slovak fans saw a lot more Honzek and Dvorsky matches than you. You drop a player whose talent could be compared to the historically best Swiss players at all. congrats

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

Will Scouch has Dvorsky at 36. Not even in the first round.

 

[Hinterland]

Will Scouch has Dvorsky at 36. Not even in the first round.

That's a bit harsh. I see him in the back half of the 1st and I think him hitting a wall is gonna cost him spots. He's not gonna fall out of the 1st round though and I also don't think he should.

Dvorsky is just one of many though. He's quite low on many prospects. He's got Reinbacher at 23, Danielson at 38, Yager at 40, Honzek at 49. We'll see but those are bold assessments.

 

[Albatros]

That guy's had some pretty awful edgy takes when it comes to European prospects, some of Dvorský (#36), Halttunen (#51), Šalé (#35), and Reinbacher (#23) sufficiently likely to age like fine milk as well.

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

That's a bit harsh. I see him in the back half of the 1st and I think him hitting a wall is gonna cost him spots. He's not gonna fall out of the 1st round though and I also don't think he should.

Dvorsky is just one of many though. He's quite low on many prospects. He's got Reinbacher at 23, Danielson at 38, Yager at 40, Honzek at 49. We'll see but those are bold assessments.

Fair point. Reinbacher I can see at 23 but Danielson shouldn't be that low. He's not dynamic but he plays a safe, effective game. Yager and Honzek I can also see being super low too.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Fair point. Reinbacher I can see at 23 but Danielson shouldn't be that low. He's not dynamic but he plays a safe, effective game. Yager and Honzek I can also see being super low too.

If Flames don't draft Reinbacher when he's available, I hope Conroy gets fired, re-hired, and then fired again.

 

[Lavar Ball]

Will Scouch has Dvorsky at 36. Not even in the first round.

I thought he quit? Old ranking?

 

[Hinterland]

I thought he quit? Old ranking?

He's BACK!

 

[Goldenhands]

And that's what I described in an earlier post. That's why he hit the wall in the Allsvenskan and produced so many turnovers. What he does vs kids doesn't work vs pros. Well, it could but Dvorsky doesn't have skating or strength to do it as we speak. He has to drastically improve in those areas or reinvent his game. I'm confident he can do it but in my view it also makes him more of a project than a bluechip top10 pick.

He actually has great puck protection skills, very good hands, strong active stick, hard to knock off the puck, great inside game and high end shooting skills. The skating is average and needs improvement, thats what hold him back against men from my limited viewings. But keep in mind he is a 6'1 200 lbs kid who played in a very good pro men league at 17 yrs old the whole season, he just turned 18 yesterday. In J20 he produced at an all time 2 ppg rate and his tools stand out instantly, just like at the U18, where his game was extremmely solid on 200 ft. He just plays a NA style and his game should translate better on smaller ices.

Slafkovsky struggled to perform offensively in Liiga in his draft year, so did Kemell who was a standout in the last AHL playoffs. Those top men euro leagues are low scoring ones and not easy for kids to perform, those arent developmental leagues unlike the AHL where kids are put in favorable positions to succeed. Dvorsky will be very good, just needs to work on his skating and pace, what will come as he matures physically. Its not like he was a bad skater, his skating is decent already, just need to develop more jump, more power.

 

[Hinterland]

He actually has great puck protection skills, very good hands, strong active stick, hard to knock off the puck, great inside game and high end shooting skills. The skating is average and needs improvement, thats what hold him back against men from my limited viewings. But keep in mind he is a 6'1 200 lbs kid who played in a very good pro men league at 17 yrs old the whole season, he just turned 18 yesterday. In J20 he produced at an all time 2 ppg rate and his tools stand out instantly, just like at the U18, where his game was extremmely solid on 200 ft. He just plays a NA style and his game should translate better on smaller ices.

Slafkovsky struggled to perform offensively in Liiga in his draft year, so did Kemell who was a standout in the last AHL playoffs. Those top men euro leagues are low scoring ones and not easy for kids to perform, those arent developmental leagues unlike the AHL where kids are put in favorable positions to succeed. Dvorsky will be very good, just needs to work on his skating and pace, what will come as he matures physically. Its not like he was a bad skater, his skating is decent already, just need to develop more jump, more power.

Firstly, Dvorsky didn't play in a top Euro league. He hit the wall in the Allsvenskan which the 2nd tier league. The best 2nd tier league in Europe but still nowhere near most top leagues. The Allsvenskan is very much a development league and Dvorsky was sheltered.

Secondly, I don't agree that European top leagues aren't development leagues. If they weren't then we wouldn't discuss transfer agreements as much as we are. Granted, there's leagues like the NL where kids never get a chance unless they're clearly better than any vet on the market the team can possibly sign. In other top leagues however, there's teams willing to develop young players. That's particularly true in Sweden and that's the reason why they're belting out so many great prospects year after year. And it's not even just the Allsvenskan or the very strong (best in Europe) junior leagues...you get chances in the SHL as well. If you're Swedish you get them anyway but even foreigners will get chances if they earn them. Lian Bichsel is a good example. Had to leave Switzerland because he had no chance to become an NL regular and Swiss junior leagues are trash. Joined Leksands to play for their junior team but made the SHL team out of camp and was an SHL regular from game 1. Therefore I disagree that in European top leagues, kids aren't put in positions to succeed. In some leagues perhaps more so than in others but I disagree with your take.

I agree re low scoring though. I don't have any stats to support this but especially Swedish hockey seems particularly heavy and tactical. Coaching in Sweden is usually very good and many coaches are defensive minded so scoring is hard, not just at SHL level.

To return to the topic though...as I pointed out it's not just Dvorsky's disappointing scoring output worrying me...it's his play more so than his scoring. Especially the turnovers. Dvorsky tried to play his junior game vs men and, of course, it didn't work.

 

[Michael Brand Eggs]

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

To return to the topic though...as I pointed out it's not just Dvorsky's disappointing scoring output worrying me...it's his play more so than his scoring. Especially the turnovers. Dvorsky tried to play his junior game vs men and, of course, it didn't work.

This is a concern for me aswell as far as projecting him as a top 6C, but what I would say is I'd have to think the NHL will force him to adapt & not hold onto the puck so much.

He doesn't have to be Zach Benson or Will Smith as far as creative playmaking, he just needs to not try stick handling himself into a shooting lane & the NHL game won't allow him too anyways.

Beyond that he's a bull on the puck, great hand eye, really good shot, good defensive game, good on faceoffs. His skating will always be limiting but with more strength/development he could improve a bit which would help him alot.

It's all about his puck distribution though, if the NHL game forces him to get better, he'll be a very valuable 2C with 1st unit PP & matchup potential. If he can't distribute effectively he'll be a valuable 2way 3C.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Rumored to leave AIK and sign with a SHL-team.

 

[Antiillafire]

Rumored to leave AIK and sign with a SHL-team.

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

This video reminds me so much of Kaako with his style of play, but Kaako had better tools to work with (minus defensive capabilities).

 

[Dr Jablonski PhD]

The shots taken at Dvorsky's skating are completely unwarranted IMO. Looks totally fine in this clip. He was winning foot races in the WJC vs Dylan Guenther and Shane Wright. Also, his skating could be improved dramatically with little effort, because he doesn't extend his strides fully. That might be the easiest possible thing to fix when it comes to skating

 

[Antiillafire]

The shots taken at Dvorsky's skating are completely unwarranted IMO. Looks totally fine in this clip. He was winning foot races in the WJC vs Dylan Guenther and Shane Wright. Also, his skating could be improved dramatically with little effort, because he doesn't extend his strides fully. That might be the easiest possible thing to fix when it comes to skating

Jason Bukala of Sportsnet (former director of amateur scouting for Florida) mentioned a few weeks back on a Vancouver based podcast that the teams he talked to who had criticism of his skating all believed the same thing which was that the key was to get him to lengthen his stride out. Those teams were high on his athleticism to do so.

 

[HabsTown]

Many different opinions on him. I personnally see him become a Christian Dvorak type in the NHL.

Good value for Mid to late 1st round pick

 

[Antiillafire]

Many different opinions on him. I personnally see him become a Christian Dvorak type in the NHL.

Good value for Mid to late 1st round pick

If he becomes dvorak, AIK should be automatically relegated to hockeyettan and Christoffer Malm should face prison time

 

[Hinterland]

Many different opinions on him. I personnally see him become a Christian Dvorak type in the NHL.

Good value for Mid to late 1st round pick

Dvorak has always been a rocksolid hockey player though. Didn't play vs men this early but I think if Dvorsky wants to succeed in the NHL he's got to do it via scoring only. Don't see him turn into a two way Center like Dvorak. Two way winger maybe but that's a long shot.

As of now, completely different types of players. Two way Center vs scoring winger. If Dvorsky can't outscore Dvorak that would be a disappointment and I'm not sure if he'd stick in the NHL.

 

[Albatros]

Firstly, Dvorsky didn't play in a top Euro league. He hit the wall in the Allsvenskan which the 2nd tier league. The best 2nd tier league in Europe but still nowhere near most top leagues. The Allsvenskan is very much a development league and Dvorsky was sheltered.

Even the very youngest Allsvenskan roster has an average age of above 24. It's slightly younger than the NHL or the SHL (the Sabres would be about average by Allsvenskan standards), but no younger than Liiga for example.