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

[vlady]

I have a very good feeling that one of the duo Dej/Pekarcik will have a great U18 World Championship and will rise like Jakub Demek did in 2021. So 7-8 is a realistic number, but let's wait until the end of the season.

I am also thinking 7-8. I do like Pekarcik.

 

[HamburgerSK]

Looking forward to U18 in Switzerland. As the tournament is scheduled for the end of April there is some chance that good showing will raise the draft stocks of some players. Pekarčík and Eperješi are guys that could gain some attention.

 

[Egresch]

Looking forward to U18 in Switzerland. As the tournament is scheduled for the end of April there is some chance that good showing will raise the draft stocks of some players. Pekarčík and Eperješi are guys that could gain some attention.

Do you think Eperješi will be available? His team will play playoffs in USHL.

I am really looking forward to see this U18 team. Finally, they play top class U18 and we have a solid team. Good goalie Urban, solid D with Strbak, Chromiak ... and forward strength with Dvorsky, Molnar, Pekarcik, Dej, Pobezal ...

 

[Martinez89]

That U18 team WJC isn´t looking bad :

G : Urban, Slavik

D :
Strbak - Pisoja
Chromiak - Eperjesi
Baran - Barcik
Sluka

O:
Pekarcik - Dvorsky - Molnar
Jencko - Pobezal - Cedzo
Ridzon - Dej - Sobotka
Kukumberg - Paricka - Maruna

In the attack I can imagine more offensive strenght that´s a pity all Ciernik, Honzek, Misiak all are late 2004s. But we have a solid goaltending and I like our D, hope Eperjesi´ll be available.

 

[mirec04]

Have you someone seen Pobezal recently.
I saw his few games last year and he was very interesting player to watch. Has he improved recently?
Thanks.

 

[Egresch]

Pekarcik - Dvorsky - Molnar
Jencko - Pobezal - Cedzo
Ridzon - Dej - Sobotka
Kukumberg - Paricka - Maruna

Cannot remember the time when we had such talented centers in U18. Both Dvorsky and Pobezal are first round candidates and even Dej can be drafted in late rounds this year.
Great to see that cause we were struggling in that position for a very long time.

 

[Martinez89]

Have you someone seen Pobezal recently.
I saw his few games last year and he was very interesting player to watch. Has he improved recently?
Thanks.

Yes. Looking improved again this season and especially after Christmas break I liked what I've seen from him. Great hockey IQ imo but still I see a size as a concern for him. This can hold him back on the next level we'll see how much. Although he's not undersized that much but for me still looking a little bit small on the ice so far.

 

[Antiillafire]

Our U18 group is also quite difficult. We need to avoid the USA, which likely means beating Czechia or Sweden. If we could beat that would be magic but the chances are low. Still I think guys like Chromiak, Eperjesi, Dej, Pekarcik have made lots of strides since the last tournament and than adding Dvorsky and Strbak after not having them at Hlinka will be huge.

 

[Antiillafire]

That U18 team WJC isn´t looking bad :

G : Urban, Slavik

D :
Strbak - Pisoja
Chromiak - Eperjesi
Baran - Barcik
Sluka

O:
Pekarcik - Dvorsky - Molnar
Jencko - Pobezal - Cedzo
Ridzon - Dej - Sobotka
Kukumberg - Paricka - Maruna

In the attack I can imagine more offensive strenght that´s a pity all Ciernik, Honzek, Misiak all are late 2004s. But we have a solid goaltending and I like our D, hope Eperjesi´ll be available.

I think there is a zero percent chance Peter Cisar isn’t on this team. I think it’s more likely he is playing on the first line LW than not on the squad. 7 points in last 8 games. And has been playing great since moving to the first line for Madison about 10-12 games ago (buried on 4th line prior to that). I would also include Klecka in a shut down role alongside Dej.

The 2 top d-pairings will have to play a ton for us to have success.

I agree it’s a shame about the late 2004 borns. If they were there we would have legitimate shot at medal.

 

[Pazucha]

Hello i wasnt sure where to post this hope it fits this thread.

There was a Slovak National U18 championship match yesterday between Nitra and Slovan and it was packed with plenty of good prospects.
Nitra: Pobezal, Chrenko, Sobotka
Slovan: Dej, Kukumberg

If anyone wants to watch the vod: U18 Slovan - Nitra

And the day before there was this match where Sobotka scored 5 goals against Banska Bystrica
U18 - Banska vs Nitra

Tomas Chrenko Ml. (2007) put 8 pts in those two matches for HK Nitra.

 

[hellwar9]

 

[Antiillafire]

I say 8 players get drafted. Dvorsky, Honzek, Gajan, Misiak, Ciernik, Strbak, Molnar and 1 of Dej, Pekarick, and Barcik.

 

[hellwar9]

I say 8 players get drafted. Dvorsky, Honzek, Gajan, Misiak, Ciernik, Strbak, Molnar and 1 of Dej, Pekarick, and Barcik.

I basically agree. Although, I'm not sure about Molnar. But given his tools and potential, I think someone will take him. He could be a risk pick, but for a club with good development, he could be a huge steal. As for Dej and Pekarcik. We'll see right now at the U18 World Championship.

I'm not a big fan of Barcik. I think he had a bad season approach to the draft.. Almost no progress. He's still poor defensively. That's why he didn't play much for Zvolen. Someone who only looks at the EP and sees games for Zvolen might think he played most of the season between the men, but that's not the case. Most of the games he was just a 7th defenseman, or he didn't have a single shift and sat on the bench. The games he played he only had IT for about 5 minutes, he had minimal games over 5 minutes. It's a shame, because I had hopes for him this season.

However, I think that Daniel Jencko can theoretically surprise at the U18 World Championship in the first line with Dalibor Dvorsky. In the past, similar and sometimes even worse players were drafted from Sweden. A couple of years ago Matej Paulovic was drafted from Sweden and that was a really big surprise. So Jencko wouldn't surprise me that much after a really great tournament. However, I personally don't want to say that he will be drafted. I just think he has a better chance than Barcik.

 

[Antiillafire]

I basically agree. Although, I'm not sure about Molnar. But given his tools and potential, I think someone will take him. He could be a risk pick, but for a club with good development, he could be a huge steal. As for Dej and Pekarcik. We'll see right now at the U18 World Championship.

I'm not a big fan of Barcik. I think he had a bad season approach to the draft.. Almost no progress. He's still poor defensively. That's why he didn't play much for Zvolen. Someone who only looks at the EP and sees games for Zvolen might think he played most of the season between the men, but that's not the case. Most of the games he was just a 7th defenseman, or he didn't have a single shift and sat on the bench. The games he played he only had IT for about 5 minutes, he had minimal games over 5 minutes. It's a shame, because I had hopes for him this season.

However, I think that Daniel Jencko can theoretically surprise at the U18 World Championship in the first line with Dalibor Dvorsky. In the past, similar and sometimes even worse players were drafted from Sweden. A couple of years ago Matej Paulovic was drafted from Sweden and that was a really big surprise. So Jencko wouldn't surprise me that much after a really great tournament. However, I personally don't want to say that he will be drafted. I just think he has a better chance than Barcik.

I agree I’m not a big fan of Barcik either in terms of draft likelihood but a team could easily see a guy with his size and select him plus I don’t think he’s a bad skater for his size. All it takes is 1 team. Tomas Machu I think is a very similar player in his draft year, was drafted very late in the 7th round in 2021 and he barely played a handful of games in both the Czech junior league and even less in the Czech first and second leagues.

I’m not sure about Jencko, usually with later picks a team looks for 1 talent they believe can transfer to the NHL, whether it be a shot, skating, strong 2 way play, etc. I think Jencko plays too much on the perimeter and he is not a top tier skater either, which I believe is why he wasn’t dominant even at the J18 level. That’s why I see Dej and Pekarcik as more likely, both of them have a skill that a scouting department could point at and see as an area of strength that they could work with.

Molnar I think will definitely be drafted, the issue off the ice is not in the same vein as others we have seen in the past (who were still drafted). His talks with teams will be the most important where he can hopefully show them he has matured.

 

[Pazucha]

I was just rewatching some of the Hlinka-Gretzky cup matches where Molnar and Honzek played and what surprised me was how good Molnar looked and how little ice time Honzek had as a 4-th lane center.

Now a year and something later Honzek looks like one if not the best Slovak prospect. Most likely getting drafted in the first round. Molnar on the other hand has a pretty bad stats in the OHL and there is a possibility he wont be drafted this year.

 

[hellwar9]

So, as of today, I can say that 7-8 Slovaks should be drafted. A great number for our small beautiful country,

1.Dalibor Dvorsky - Top 15
2.Samuel Honzek - Top 20
3.Maxim Strbak - 2. round
4.Alex Ciernik - 2. - 3. round
5.Martin Misiak - 2. - 4. round
6.Adam Gajan - 2. - 5. round
7.Juraj Pekarcik - 2. - 5. round
-----------------------------------
8.Ondrej Molnar - 4. - 7. round - high risk pick, but he has great potential, personally I can imagine that a club that believes in his potential will take him in the late rounds, even though the floorball incident and his character may discourage clubs, but he can also end up undrafted

Kids like Samuel Urban, Adam Cedzo, Frantisek Dej, Daniel Jencko, or even Roman Kukumberg could be potential sleepers for the last rounds of the draft, I don't expect them to be drafted, but I'm not saying some club won't take some of them.

Furthermore it is a really shame that guys like Frantisek Ridzon and Samuel Sisik have stagnated even with their lower size.

Also, there are currently three Slovaks who might sign a two-way contract in the NHL. They are Patrik Koch, Oliver Okuliar and Maros Jedlicka. It will probably depend on how they play at the World Championships. We'll see in a couple of months. If that happens, they would follow Milos Kelemen and Pavel Regenda from last year.

However, next year and next draft there might be a problem. There is a real possibility of 0 Slovaks in the Draft 2024. To be honest, Jakub Chromiak is a disappointment for me so far. I'm not sure he's a draft prospect at all. He hasn't convinced me yet. There are guys like Tobias Pitka, Ondrej Maruna, Pavol Prokopovic, Richard Baran and Michal Sobotka. I would say today that none of them have the profile of a draft prospect. However, maybe one of them could be a riser, like Adam Sykora in 2022 and Juraj Pekarcik in 2023. We'll see. My favorite is Tobias Pitka.

 

[Egresch]

Kids like Samuel Urban, Adam Cedzo, Frantisek Dej, Daniel Jencko, or even Roman Kukumberg could be potential sleepers for the last rounds of the draft, I don't expect them to be drafted, but I'm not saying some club won't take some of them.

Jakub Chromiak is a disappointment for me so far. I'm not sure he's a draft prospect at all. He hasn't convinced me yet.

I think Urban will be drafted. I have no clue how to properly scout goalies, but he looks pretty good.
Remember Chromiak was ill just week ago. He is +4 in 4 matches. Definitely not a top talent like Nemec, but he is OK.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

So, as of today, I can say that 7-8 Slovaks should be drafted. A great number for our small beautiful country,

1.Dalibor Dvorsky - Top 15
2.Samuel Honzek - Top 20
3.Maxim Strbak - 2. round
4.Alex Ciernik - 2. - 3. round
5.Martin Misiak - 2. - 4. round
6.Adam Gajan - 2. - 5. round
7.Juraj Pekarcik - 2. - 5. round
-----------------------------------
8.Ondrej Molnar - 4. - 7. round - high risk pick, but he has great potential, personally I can imagine that a club that believes in his potential will take him in the late rounds, even though the floorball incident and his character may discourage clubs, but he can also end up undrafted

Kids like Samuel Urban, Adam Cedzo, Frantisek Dej, Daniel Jencko, or even Roman Kukumberg could be potential sleepers for the last rounds of the draft, I don't expect them to be drafted, but I'm not saying some club won't take some of them.

Furthermore it is a really shame that guys like Frantisek Ridzon and Samuel Sisik have stagnated even with their lower size.

Also, there are currently three Slovaks who might sign a two-way contract in the NHL. They are Patrik Koch, Oliver Okuliar and Maros Jedlicka. It will probably depend on how they play at the World Championships. We'll see in a couple of months. If that happens, they would follow Milos Kelemen and Pavel Regenda from last year.

However, next year and next draft there might be a problem. There is a real possibility of 0 Slovaks in the Draft 2024. To be honest, Jakub Chromiak is a disappointment for me so far. I'm not sure he's a draft prospect at all. He hasn't convinced me yet. There are guys like Tobias Pitka, Ondrej Maruna, Pavol Prokopovic, Richard Baran and Michal Sobotka. I would say today that none of them have the profile of a draft prospect. However, maybe one of them could be a riser, like Adam Sykora in 2022 and Juraj Pekarcik in 2023. We'll see. My favorite is Tobias Pitka.

In my board before the U18 WC :

14 Dvorsky
33 Honzek
63 Ciernik
73 Strbak
150 Molnar
161 Pekarcik
177 Barcik
184 Urban
190 Misiak
208 Kmec

So, probably more than the last year.

2024 is already to be forgotten. It will be whatever happens at the same level as the years before 2022. 2021, it had almost been 0 but it was not worrying because we knew in 2022 it would be crazy.

2025-2026 - there are already several opportunities to see elite prospects.

And then there is Max Melicherik. It is obvious that there will be weak years. But for more than 15 years, it has been consistently the case.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I say 8 players get drafted. Dvorsky, Honzek, Gajan, Misiak, Ciernik, Strbak, Molnar and 1 of Dej, Pekarick, and Barcik.

Pekarick is getting hype on the Habs board and he's got size, so I imagine he will.

Dej is a big boy, so there's always a chance someone takes a flyer on him. He played well as the auxiliary shutdown center to Dvorsky today, so someone seeing him as a prospect with good- great upside is possible.

 

[Pazucha]

What about Eperejsi? I know nothing about him to be honest but he had some good plays in this tournament.

Sobotka could be the riser next year.

 

[pgfan66]

In my board before the U18 WC :

14 Dvorsky
33 Honzek
63 Ciernik
73 Strbak
150 Molnar
161 Pekarcik
177 Barcik
184 Urban
190 Misiak
208 Kmec

So, probably more than the last year.

2024 is already to be forgotten. It will be whatever happens at the same level as the years before 2022. 2021, it had almost been 0 but it was not worrying because we knew in 2022 it would be crazy.

2025-2026 - there are already several opportunities to see elite prospects.

And then there is Max Melicherik. It is obvious that there will be weak years. But for more than 15 years, it has been consistently the case.

I like that you have Barcik in there but can’t see him getting drafted. He barely even played in some of the U18s games and it’s not like defense is much of a strength for this Slovak team.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

I like that you have Barcik in there but can’t see him getting drafted. He barely even played in some of the U18s games and it’s not like defense is much of a strength for this Slovak team.

I did the ranking in March. The idea was to say that there will most likely be more than 6 Slovaks selected. For less Barcik, one more Gajan... The 10 that I list won't all be selected, I know that.

But I won't be off target. This year, Slovakia will be on the bases of 2004 (10 selected including Meszaros and Sekera)

 

[pgfan66]

I did the ranking in March. The idea was to say that there will most likely be more than 6 Slovaks selected. For less Barcik, one more Gajan... The 10 that I list won't all be selected, I know that.

But I won't be off target. This year, Slovakia will be on the bases of 2004 (10 selected including Meszaros and Sekera)

The tournament and how much he played shouldn’t really change if you’d draft him or not. Just saying I liked him before and I still do now. Surprised he didn’t play more because he’s certainly better than some others on that team (in my opinion).

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

The tournament and how much he played shouldn’t really change if you’d draft him or not. Just saying I liked him before and I still do now. Surprised he didn’t play more because he’s certainly better than some others on that team (in my opinion).

In fact, each team has a different order and for a player to be selected, he must be top 100 in at least one of the 32 lists.

Barcik at 177, that means if I was a G.M, my team wouldn't select him.

Reason why, the franchises do not make tables of 100/110 players.

Barcik's U18 tournament limits his chances of breaking into a top 100 somewhere.

The draft is very subjective. Reason why it is the most polarizing players who are the most favored.

A guy who is seen 25th by a team goes out in the 2nd round. Even though the majority of teams have it after 64.

A guy who is seen 50th by all the teams, he goes out on the 6th-7th round.

 

[pgfan66]

In fact, each team has a different order and for a player to be selected, he must be top 100 in at least one of the 32 lists.

Barcik at 177, that means if I was a G.M, my team wouldn't select him.

Reason why, the franchises do not make tables of 100/110 players.

Barcik's U18 tournament limits his chances of breaking into a top 100 somewhere.

The draft is very subjective. Reason why it is the most polarizing players who are the most favored.

A guy who is seen 25th by a team goes out in the 2nd round. Even though the majority of teams have it after 64.

A guy who is seen 50th by all the teams, he goes out on the 6th-7th round.

I’ll be honest, I have absolutely no clue what point you’re trying to make here.