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

[Rusty7550]

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.

Speaking of Slovak defenders. Eperjesi been absolutely fantastic. And he's not even ranked by central scouting list.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

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

If a franchise that ranks him top 100, he will be selected.

If the 32 teams believe him like me, he won't be. Even if I estimate it in the 6th round.

All selected players are considered 3rd/early 4th round minimum players by the franchise that selects them.

 

[hellwar9]

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.

I would definitely add Urban to the guys above. I think he will be drafted. Although, second half of the draft, I see him somewhere in the 4th-7th round. Which would mean 8 - 9 players.

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.

I know he was ill. I'm not just saying that on the basis of this tournament. The guy had a bad U18 1A World Championship a year ago, a bad HGC in the summer, couldn't make it among the men in Slovakia and then had a bad season in the OHL. He has talent but he really needs to step up. Anyway, in this tournament he played better from game to game, although it was still not ideal. Still, he's a bit of a disappointment for me. I'm curious about his next season and I hope he will convince me otherwise and that he is a draftable.

 

[Antiillafire]

I would definitely add Urban to the guys above. I think he will be drafted. Although, second half of the draft, I see him somewhere in the 4th-7th round. Which would mean 8 - 9 players.

I know he was ill. I'm not just saying that on the basis of this tournament. The guy had a bad U18 1A World Championship a year ago, a bad HGC in the summer, couldn't make it among the men in Slovakia and then had a bad season in the OHL. He has talent but he really needs to step up. Anyway, in this tournament he played better from game to game, although it was still not ideal. Still, he's a bit of a disappointment for me. I'm curious about his next season and I hope he will convince me otherwise and that he is a draftable.

I don’t think Chromiak’s OHL season was that poor, he had similar production to Cam Allen this year who captained team Canada at the U18’s and is considered to be a top 3 round pick. Chromiak’s problem is that he is not very strong at all and because of this the important/decisive parts of the game fall behind. He has good hockey IQ but weak with the passes and shot, good breakout ability but panics because he gets outmuscled in board battles and the like. He also is not as good of a skater as Martin, which is clearly evident. Personally I think Baran has passed him as best Dman for next draft.

For me the next U18 WC could be almost nearly half made up of 2007 born players. Let’s hope Pobezal takes another step and gets stronger. I can’t hold this U18 performance against him, he was barely recovered from injury and coaches throw him in high speed and physical hockey, not a good idea.

Still there could be 2006 borns who take some steps, like Masnica with the 2005’s they could surprise. The next group for the 2024 U18 looks significantly easier so QF should not be a problem at all. However there will be no Dvorsky there to save us when we need it. Still the talented 2007 born players could definitely make a statement

 

[pgfan66]

I don’t think Chromiak’s OHL season was that poor, he had similar production to Cam Allen this year who captained team Canada at the U18’s and is considered to be a top 3 round pick. Chromiak’s problem is that he is not very strong at all and because of this the important/decisive parts of the game fall behind. He has good hockey IQ but weak with the passes and shot, good breakout ability but panics because he gets outmuscled in board battles and the like. He also is not as good of a skater as Martin, which is clearly evident. Personally I think Baran has passed him as best Dman for next draft.

For me the next U18 WC could be almost nearly half made up of 2007 born players. Let’s hope Pobezal takes another step and gets stronger. I can’t hold this U18 performance against him, he was barely recovered from injury and coaches throw him in high speed and physical hockey, not a good idea.

Still there could be 2006 borns who take some steps, like Masnica with the 2005’s they could surprise. The next group for the 2024 U18 looks significantly easier so QF should not be a problem at all. However there will be no Dvorsky there to save us when we need it. Still the talented 2007 born players could definitely make a statement

Surprised about the bold part. At the U18s Baran wasn’t really noticeable, he was probably the least interesting Slovak D for me. Plus, good players rarely play U18 hockey in the US. Players similar to him usually end up in the NAHL and then that’s that.

 

[alko]

Sometimes NHL teams could surprise with Slovak players too. Remember Radoslav Illo? Or Maximiliam Pajpach?

Even Jakub Demek was a draft surprise.

Scouts see, what we don't see. There is chance, that also from this U-18 team are players in the scouts books, we don't expect to be drafted. Masinica, Pisoja... Who knows? Maybe also some players from Sweden...

Our U20 team played good in last tournament. Also U 18 team. That means, credit from Slovak hockey is going up. And after years, when the NHL teams drafted unknown German, Swiss, USA, Canadian players, maybe they will take Slovak players now.

 

[Egresch]

Yes, two good tournaments will definitely help. My gut feeling is that we will have as much as 10 drafted players with Dej and Kukumberg being 7th round picks (or maybe Pisoja).

 

[vlady]

Sometimes NHL teams could surprise with Slovak players too. Remember Radoslav Illo? Or Maximiliam Pajpach?

Even Jakub Demek was a draft surprise.

Scouts see, what we don't see. There is chance, that also from this U-18 team are players in the scouts books, we don't expect to be drafted. Masinica, Pisoja... Who knows? Maybe also some players from Sweden...

Our U20 team played good in last tournament. Also U 18 team. That means, credit from Slovak hockey is going up. And after years, when the NHL teams drafted unknown German, Swiss, USA, Canadian players, maybe they will take Slovak players now.

yes, it happens sometimes, although Illo and Pajpach didn't amount to anything. Are they even playing hockey any more?

Demek is yet to be seen, he has done well in the WHL. Should end up better.

 

[10robinho10]

Hero of Slovak U18 national team Samuel Urban speaks about WJC-18, tough start of his carrer, discussions with NHL teams

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

World Selects Invitational '11

www.worldhockeygroup.com

The Czechs and Slovaks dominated WSI U12 although I have my doubts that the Swedes and Finns fielded their best teams. Regarding the Canadian selection (Pro Hockey), I know that they bring a very good group but that it is not necessarily a list with all the best.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

10 WSI ELITE Schedule & Results

www.worldhockeygroup.com

Same with U13.

I really feel that Czechia and Slovakia will line up with Sweden and Finland in the next decade.

 

[mirec04]

10 WSI ELITE Schedule & Results

www.worldhockeygroup.com

Same with U13.

I really feel that Czechia and Slovakia will line up with Sweden and Finland in the next decade.

I hope you are right but I think that Swedes, Finns and also other top nations like Swiss, Germans don't have their best players on these tournaments.
Let's see in few years

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

I hope you are right but I think that Swedes, Finns and also other top nations like Swiss, Germans don't have their best players on these tournaments.
Let's see in few years

I imagine this with caution because some performances seem questionable to me. But I have the feeling that on the Slovak and Czech side, there is a continuity behind the work done to produce Nemec, Slafkovksy, Jiricek, Kulich, Dvorsky, Sale, Honzek or Hrabal.

Having the same demographic pool and the same hockey culture, Czechia and Slovakia, working with the same efficiency as Sweden and Finland, can reach them.

 

[Pazucha]

Kids are in a better hands nowadays compared to 10 - 15 years ago. Its not coincidence that there is so many promising prospects.

Youth hockey was so bad when i used to play i cant believe those people were payed to train and manage youth clubs. Thankfully they were fired or retired.

 

[Faterson]

Having the same demographic pool and the same hockey culture, Czechia and Slovakia, working with the same efficiency as Sweden and Finland, can reach them.

But the brains... (I could expound, but free speech is prohibited here, so I'll just shut up.)

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

But the brains... (I could expound, but free speech is prohibited here, so I'll just shut up.)

I don't see where you're coming from anyway

 

[Antiillafire]

2024 shaping up to be a week year, reflecting back on this past season of development for that class. Personally I see it maybe just a little better than 2021 draft.

I am interested in seeing development of ondrej Maruna, could follow a similar path as Juraj Pekarcik.

Still I see draft including maybe 3 slovaks at the most.

Watching those four past u17 games, it’s clearly they 2007 age group is much much better. Radivojevic was the best player as a u16 player on the team by a significant margin.

 

[pgfan66]

This U18 team is really fun to watch. Really the whole first 3 offensive lines could be drafted (Slafkovsky, Repcik, Mesar, Zlnka, Petrovsky, Sykora, Molnar, Dvorsky, Ciernik). And I would add Gabriel to them, who unfortunately (we all know why) didn't make team. And from them even Slafkovsky, Mesar, Dvorsky, Molnar in the first round and maybe also Ciernik who knows. A really unbelievable generation and it's a pity that on WC U18, we are in a lower division.

I'm already looking to the next season and in this topic the current draft + the following two are discussed, so I would write the 10 best Slovak names for draft 2024 for now, which are worth watching next season, even though only Jakub Chromiak currently has real chance for draft for now.

1.Jakub Chromiak
2.Andrej Tomasec
3.Andrej Fabian Licko
4.Jozef Silhar
5.Tobias Faith
6.Theo Kiss
7.Markus Saxa
8.Peter Kovac
9.Dominik Drapak
10.Michal Liscinsky

Apologies if you've already posted it and I missed it, but do you have an updated ranking of these guys already? I didn't think Chromiak was great at the U18s and his OHL season probably wasn't quite what we expected either. Is he still a first-round candidate for you? What about guys like Tomasec or Licko?

 

[Egresch]

Apologies if you've already posted it and I missed it, but do you have an updated ranking of these guys already? I didn't think Chromiak was great at the U18s and his OHL season probably wasn't quite what we expected either. Is he still a first-round candidate for you? What about guys like Tomasec or Licko?

Realistically, I would only see Chromiak and Maruna as draft candidates. No first round for Chromiak, I would expect him to be a 3rd rounder.

 

[hellwar9]

Apologies if you've already posted it and I missed it, but do you have an updated ranking of these guys already? I didn't think Chromiak was great at the U18s and his OHL season probably wasn't quite what we expected either. Is he still a first-round candidate for you? What about guys like Tomasec or Licko?

Yes, I commented on this on the previous page. I will copy the exact words here.

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.

Even a month after this post, my opinion remains the same. Chromiak probably will be middle to late rounder. But as of today I have mixed feelings about him, his performance is poor. Tomasec huge stagnation, undraftable. Licko can be a late rounder with some progress, but I don't believe it very much, but there is a chance. Most of those guys from the old ranking are stagnating and slowly the taller guys who are taking longer to develop are getting ahead of them.

If I were to do a similar ranking, it would be something like this.

Draftable:
1.Jakub Chromiak - big question mark, the talent is there, but the performance is not, it's only on him where he can get, he needs a good summer preparation and an excellent draft season
2./3.Ondrej Maruna/Tobias Pitka - tall power forwards, both have a good work ethic, know how to sacrifice for the team, not the most talented guys but similar progression and typology as Jakub Demek can be expected, both have their pluses and minuses and I can't say which one is better today, but I think at least 1 of them will be considered a draft prospect on draft day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probably undraftable, but chance to rise
4.Michal Sobotka - this kid could be a next season riser, like Adam Sykora in 2022 and Juraj Pekarcik in 2023
5.Pavol Prokopovic - another similar type like Ondrej Maruna and Tobias Pitka, this guy is a bit of an unknown, but he can skyrocket if he can make it in the Slovak top tier man league, where he could realistically play
6.Richard Baran - for many people unknown, but the boy is already a regular member of the Slovak national team in his age category and regularly performs well, at the last U18 World Championship he played even better than Jakub Chromiak, he has a bit of a questionable upside, but next season he should play in the USHL, we'll see
7.Theo Kiss - if we don't mention the late born Tomas Pobezal, it is Theo Kiss, who is the most talented Slovak forward born in 2006, but it looks like he is going to follow the next lower forward Samuel Sisik, maybe I'm wrong, but I think he can't transfer his talent to a higher level, there are already signs of stagnation there
8.Fabian Licko
9.David Pohanka
10.,Stanislav Gron
HM: Miroslav Satan jr.

 

[pgfan66]

Yes, I commented on this on the previous page. I will copy the exact words here.



Even a month after this post, my opinion remains the same. Chromiak probably will be middle to late rounder. But as of today I have mixed feelings about him, his performance is poor. Tomasec huge stagnation, undraftable. Licko can be a late rounder with some progress, but I don't believe it very much, but there is a chance. Most of those guys from the old ranking are stagnating and slowly the taller guys who are taking longer to develop are getting ahead of them.

If I were to do a similar ranking, it would be something like this.

Draftable:
1.Jakub Chromiak - big question mark, the talent is there, but the performance is not, it's only on him where he can get, he needs a good summer preparation and an excellent draft season
2./3.Ondrej Maruna/Tobias Pitka - tall power forwards, both have a good work ethic, know how to sacrifice for the team, not the most talented guys but similar progression and typology as Jakub Demek can be expected, both have their pluses and minuses and I can't say which one is better today, but I think at least 1 of them will be considered a draft prospect on draft day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probably undraftable, but chance to rise
4.Michal Sobotka - this kid could be a next season riser, like Adam Sykora in 2022 and Juraj Pekarcik in 2023
5.Pavol Prokopovic - another similar type like Ondrej Maruna and Tobias Pitka, this guy is a bit of an unknown, but he can skyrocket if he can make it in the Slovak top tier man league, where he could realistically play
6.Richard Baran - for many people unknown, but the boy is already a regular member of the Slovak national team in his age category and regularly performs well, at the last U18 World Championship he played even better than Jakub Chromiak, he has a bit of a questionable upside, but next season he should play in the USHL, we'll see
7.Theo Kiss - if we don't mention the late born Tomas Pobezal, it is Theo Kiss, who is the most talented Slovak forward born in 2006, but it looks like he is going to follow the next lower forward Samuel Sisik, maybe I'm wrong, but I think he can't transfer his talent to a higher level, there are already signs of stagnation there
8.Fabian Licko
9.David Pohanka
10.,Stanislav Gron
HM: Miroslav Satan jr.

Thank you, appreciate the detailed response!

 

[jcbio11]

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.

Good call with Koch.

 

[Antiillafire]

After the HGC and U17 tournament, this is how I would rank the 2004 and 2005 born players.
2004:
1. Juraj Slafkovsky
2. Simon Nemec
3. Filip Mesar
4. Rastislav Elias
5. Servac Petrovsky
6. Alex Ciernik
7. Peter Repcik
8. Adam Zlnka
9. Jozef Viliam Kmec
10. Patrik Gabriel

2005:
1. Dalibor Dvorsky
2. Ondrej Molnar
3. Maxim Strbak
4. Jakub Chromiak
5. Samuel Sisik
6. Daniel Jencko
7. Frantisek Ridzon
8. Alex Cajkovic
9. Samuel Urban
10. Peter Cisar

Wow a little more than 2 years ago. Large changes in this list if it is to be evaluated now. Here are the changes I would make/update:

1. Slaf
2. Nemec
3. Honzek
4. Sykora
5. Mesar
6. Gajan
7. Misiak
8. Ciernik
9. Petrovsky
10. Zlnka
HM: Kmec

1. Dvorsky
2. Strbak
3. Pekarcik
4. Molnar
5. Urban
6. Cedzo
7. Eperjesi
8. Chromiak
9. Jencko
10. Dej
HM: Kukumberg

 

[Elvs]

Unfortunately life got in the way of hockey for me this year, and I haven't been able to watch much at all. So take my rankings with even more grains of salt than usual, but just for fun (40 minutes before the draft) I updated the OP with a new top 10 ranking.

1. Dvorsky
2. Honzek
3. Ciernik
4. Strbak
5. Misiak
6. Molnar
7. Pekarcik
8. Urban
9. Dej
10. Barcik

Players 1-4 will be drafted, players 5-8 has a decent chance. I hope we'll see 7 Slovaks drafted for the first time since forever, but 5-6 players is more likely.

Nevermind the rankings for the future drafts in the OP. They haven't been updated in ages and are all over the place. I'll dive into them later.

 

[alko]

@Redwingsfan - Is it possible to make this as a sticky Thread?