alko
Registered User
Yeah, Studenic is on top of my list for a regular NHL spot. After that Fehervary and maybe surprisingly, Martin Pospisil.
Slovaks of the NHL (July 1st update)
- Thread starter Elvs
- Start date
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Yeah, Studenic is on top of my list for a regular NHL spot. After that Fehervary and maybe surprisingly, Martin Pospisil.
I think Fehervary is a way overhyped prospect. I saw him in a couple of preseason games last year and WCH games this year. Kakko went throught him like he was a thin air (same happened to Jaros though). His slap shot is below average and his decision making is still a bit slow for NHL. Also he doesn't strike me as a physical guy.
Kaners Bald Spot
Registered User
I thought Tomas Jurco had a chance to be a star when he was 18. I'm surprised he never amounted to much. Was it injuries or more than that?
Updated the OP with links to young players and prospects worth following this season.
alko
Registered User
Isnt Matej Tomek already a free player? Was drafted in 2015 and flyers didnt offered him a contract.
Outofbodyinhungary
Registered User
Outofbodyinhungary
Registered User
Fehervary will be to the capitals, what Erik cernak was to the lightning. I still think Adam liska gets to the nhl and so will Michal Ivan after a few years of seasoning in Europe. I wonder when we will see a Slovak make the jump straight to the nhl at 18.
alko
Registered User
The answer might not be a four-digit number, but a five-letter word.
Do you mean "never"?
These are the players who made the opening night roster:
W - Tomas Jurco (Edmonton)
W - Richard Panik (Washington)
W - Tomas Tatar (Montreal)
D - Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D - Zdeno Chara (Boston)
D - Martin Fehervary (Washington)
D - Martin Marincin (Toronto)
D - Andrej Sekera (Dallas)
G - Jaroslav Halak (Boston)
W - Tomas Jurco (Edmonton)
W - Richard Panik (Washington)
W - Tomas Tatar (Montreal)
D - Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D - Zdeno Chara (Boston)
D - Martin Fehervary (Washington)
D - Martin Marincin (Toronto)
D - Andrej Sekera (Dallas)
G - Jaroslav Halak (Boston)
tobu
Registered User
Congrats to Fehervary. He had the best odds of the prospects to make the team and he did, even-though I expect him to see AHL at some point in the season after Kempny recovers, unless he stars regularly.
He's even a teenager. Well, for 3 more days. Feels like we've known him for years.
Surprising, to me, that Marinčin also made it, but good for him. He played great at the Worlds, despite a crucial mistake. He seems to be extremely unpopular among Leafs fans, hopefully that will improve this season.
Surprising, to me, that Marinčin also made it, but good for him. He played great at the Worlds, despite a crucial mistake. He seems to be extremely unpopular among Leafs fans, hopefully that will improve this season.
alko
Registered User
It seems, he also is in a waiting position. Until Dermott recovery.
Common, that was here so many times discussed...
JabbaJabba
Registered User
At the moment Tatar has 21 points, Chara has 11 and the next guys Jurco and Sekera have 2 points each. Halak has been solid but outside of him Tatar and Chara the Slovaks aren't doing so great. I admit that I am stat scouting these guys mostly, but I doubt people are happy with the performance of most of these players. Any signs of a turnaround for some of these players?
alko
Registered User
Cernak, and also Sekera at this point in his career, are guys who u can't really judge on points. They are the kind of defensemen who can have one point in twenty games, and in the next twenty they can have seven points. Both are playing top 4 minutes which is good at least. Sekera was a + player even early on when the Stars sucked, and him just being healthy and able to play is a success in itself.
But overall I don't think anyone can claim this is a good start for the slovak players, aside from the trio you mentioned. Panik has to be the biggest disappointment. He has a good shot, great hands, is a great skater and owns pretty good size too. There's no reason for him to produce this poorly.
JabbaJabba
Registered User
I think you have a point with Sekera. He just used to be good offensive defenceman but in Stars he's behind Klingberg and Heiskanen who get the most ice time on even strength and on powerplay and Sekera isn't relied on producing that much anymore. However, I would expect more points from Cernak as last season he has 16 in 58 games and while Tampa hasn't been as great as it was last season, they are still scoring and doing well. Maybe he's having a bit of sophmore slump, but I rate his performance thus far as disappointing.
I wouldn't call it disappointing. With the addition of Shattenkirk we now have 3 more offensively minded D in Hedman, Shattenkirk and Sergachev. Cernak excels in the shutdown/defensive part and will be used there. I wouldn't bet on him scoring too much since it isn't his playstyle.
My point is defensive defensemen can't be relied on to score points consistantly. They tend to be very streaky, especially if they aren't playing any PP minutes which is the case with Cernak.
Hampus Lindholm had 9 points in 12 games to start the season. In his last 6 games he has 0. Last season he scored 7 points in a span of 5 games at one point. And at a later point in the season he scored 2 points in 15 games.
Lindholm is better than Cernak, and is at least playing on his team's second PP unit. Cernak's production so far isn't good, but it's not exactly worrysome either. He could just as well have 5 points in his next 10 games without really doing anything differently. It's just the way it goes sometimes with players of his type and usage.
I've made a complete overaul to the OP using tables. Currently eleven Slovaks are signed to NHL contracts, and the word seems to be that Chara wants to continue playing. With the 2022 Olympics on the Horizon, I can't see Sekera retiring either.
Cernak and Jaros will be re-signed for sure, while Dano's and Jurco's future are much uncertain. Since neither has signed in Europe, maybe they're considering stay in North America on 2-way deals.
Cehlarik has signed with Leksand and I'm guessing Boston won't tender him a qualifying offer. But I'm keeping him on the RFA list until they don't.
Cernak and Jaros will be re-signed for sure, while Dano's and Jurco's future are much uncertain. Since neither has signed in Europe, maybe they're considering stay in North America on 2-way deals.
Cehlarik has signed with Leksand and I'm guessing Boston won't tender him a qualifying offer. But I'm keeping him on the RFA list until they don't.
Added Andrej Sekera and Tomas Jurco to the list of signed players. With Erik Cernak and Christian Jaros surely signing new contracts in the NHL, there will be at least 15 Slovaks signed. In the last few years, the number has varied between 15-17, so the negative trend seems to have stagnated. Some young players were signed to ELC's in the last couple of years, now it remains to be seen who can make the next jump.
Furthermore, I've removed Peter Cehlarik from the thread. He was tendered a QO by the Bruins, but it's just about keeping his rights. He has a contract with Leksand and I think he'll play the entire season there. I've also removed Marko Dano. He wasn't tendered a QO and has signed a contract in the Slovak league. Both Ceharlik and Dano can now be tracked in this thread instead.
A few players have been loaned to the Slovak league due to the covid situation/postponed NHL season. Robert Lantosi is off to a good start with HK Nitra, where he has recoreded 5 points (1+4) in three games. Goaltender Roman Durny has also been hot, with a 93.2 svs% in three games despite his team Slovan Bratislava losing twice and allowing a ton of shots against.
Devils prospect Marian Studenic has started slow, with only one goal in the first three games. Loaned players Martin Pospisil and Adam Huska have yet to see game action.
Furthermore, I've removed Peter Cehlarik from the thread. He was tendered a QO by the Bruins, but it's just about keeping his rights. He has a contract with Leksand and I think he'll play the entire season there. I've also removed Marko Dano. He wasn't tendered a QO and has signed a contract in the Slovak league. Both Ceharlik and Dano can now be tracked in this thread instead.
A few players have been loaned to the Slovak league due to the covid situation/postponed NHL season. Robert Lantosi is off to a good start with HK Nitra, where he has recoreded 5 points (1+4) in three games. Goaltender Roman Durny has also been hot, with a 93.2 svs% in three games despite his team Slovan Bratislava losing twice and allowing a ton of shots against.
Devils prospect Marian Studenic has started slow, with only one goal in the first three games. Loaned players Martin Pospisil and Adam Huska have yet to see game action.
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ItWasJustified
Registered User
- Jan 1, 2015
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- 5,890
I believe that when Slavomir Lener was the director of Czech hockey, he took a lot of inspiration from how Sweden did it, since he was a coach here for 4 seasons. Like how junior players in Sweden trained and such. Something like that is probably needed in Slovakia too. Have someone open minded who runs the hockey there who takes inspiration from other countries that is having success in forming young hockey players.
613Leafer
Registered User
- May 26, 2008
- 13,020
- 3,953
Who's the best Slovakian player in the world now? Cernak? That's such a crazy drop off from where they were ~10 years ago with Hossa, Chara, Gaborik, etc.
Hopefully they turn it around, because international hockey tournaments aren't nearly competitive enough.
Hopefully they turn it around, because international hockey tournaments aren't nearly competitive enough.
