Prospect Info: Maxim Strbak, RD, Sioux Falls (USHL) - Selection 45OA, 2023

[Chainshot]

Let's f***ing GO!

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[TheMistyStranger]

EXCELLENT

 

[Club]

 

[Chainshot]

Love this kid, really pleased with this selection.

 

[Ace]

We willed this one into existence

 

[Zman5778]

Love this pick. We wanted a Samuelsson clone? Strbak is that, minus a couple inches.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

He was the one I wanted, so I'm super pumped to have him in the pool. Guy just fits the good transition player mold, but has that missing physicality the Sabres need.

 

[elchud]

Last fall I dug deep to find the best RHD who could be a fit with Power and who we wouldn't have to wait 4 years on

THIS IS THAT GUY

 

[The Blunder Years]

Benson, Strbak, and Mark Wahlberg. Elite draft

 

[ForsbergMoDo21]

My dyslexic brain read “Martin Straka” and I thought, that’s a lot of centers.

 

[joshjull]

 

[truthbluth]

Noice

 

[Gabrielor]

My BPA going into Round 2.

 

[HOOats]

I'm all for nicknaming a Maxim "Marty," but can we fix the name in the title...

 

[Chainshot]

BB - 74:

Slovak Maxim Strbak is a defensive defenseman with a physical upside. He made the leap to the USHL from Finnish Jrs. in 2022-23. It was an up and down season for Strbak, who finished with 18 points in 46 games. With just one point in his last 15 USHL games, it’s not unfair to assume that he’s no offensive juggernaut. That said, he doesn’t chop the puck into pieces like some other defensive-minded players.

While his puck handling and passing are just average, he does have some big sweeping moves wide that allow him to beat a first forechecker on occasion. He just doesn’t have very soft touches. Puck control issues rear their head quite a bit as the traffic increases. On top of that, his puck retrieval game doesn’t feature as much deception as we’d like. There’s some glimpses of him using head and stick fakes to throw forecheckers off the scent, but most average or better players don’t fall for them yet…they’re just not sold well enough. Definitely not of the skill level that can go through guys, but it’s not so bad that he’s hammering it off the glass every touch by any means. His shot isn’t a threat. He whiffs on a lot of one-touch and one-time shooting attempts still, a problem that has plagued him all season long to the point that it’s quite troubling. On the plus side, his skating really picked up as the year went on for us. At times, even showing surprising burst and first-step quickness. He’s just average on the top end…perhaps quieting down his upper body movement to make his stride more efficient would help.

 

[LastWordArmy]

Maxim Strbak Scouting Report​

Strbak, born on April 13th, 2005, in Kosice, Slovakia, is a defenseman who played his first season in North America this year. Coming over to the USHL to play for the Sioux Falls Stampede, the 6’2” and 198 pound right-shot defender performed fairly well. Across 46 games, he managed to produce five goals and 13 assists for 18 points. He also played seven U18 World Junior Championship games (six points) and five U20 World Juniors games (three points) for Slovakia this year. He is committed to play at Michigan State University next season.

With the solid international production and first season on the smaller ice surfaces in North America, Strbak made a name for himself this year. With that, he has seen himself be ranked between 33rd and 78th by various sites and experts. Those rankings include being placed 33rd by Bob McKenzie, 36th by Recruit Scouting, 41st by FloHockey and Draft Prospects Hockey, 49th by Daily Faceoff, 51st by Craig Button, 52nd by McKeen’s Hockey, 54th by The Hockey News, 56th by Hockey Prospects Radio, 59th by FCHockey, 73rd by Dobber Prospects, and 78th by Elite Prospects.

2023 Draft Scouting Report #55: Maxim Strbak

Maxim Strbak is a defender who played out in Finland before moving this season to the USHL. Why has he jumped up draft boards?

lastwordonsports.com

 

[billsandsabres]

scout quote from thn: "he's not flashy, not sexy, and he's never going to run big numbers, but he'll break pucks out all night. he looks like a man and plays like a man; he's got that pro mindset."

 

[Chainshot]

EP - 78

Maxim Štrbák has all the elements needed to become a bottompair or perhaps even a No. 4 defenceman on an NHL blue line; a shutdown player who faces the opposition’s second line and keeps them off the score sheet. It’s just there’s a significant gap between that vision for Štrbák’s career and how the Sioux Falls Stampede defender operates as currently constituted.

This season, especially in international tournaments, Štrbák played a highly creative game. He tried to make plays with every puck touch. A spin move here, a dangle there, and many slip passes – he pulled out every move in his repertoire to push Slovakia’s offence and win games against each tournament’s top teams. And to his credit, he did carry his team further than many would have envisioned at some of these events.

 

[joshjull]

 

[TageGod]

Finally a D! Sabres must have high confidence in developing forwards and plan to use them to acquire D.

 

[Gabrielor]

Edit: wrong thread

 

[Reddawg]

Benson, Strbak, and Mark Wahlberg. Elite draft

Wahlburgers for everyone!

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[elchud]

I will call him Sterbee. He hung in a mens league and held his own. He is a candidate for one year at MSU and one year in Rochester

 

[Fjordy]

Very good pick