Goalie
Jakub Cech – the Havirov goalie broke into the senior Extraleague this season and his start made some people turn their heads. Cech plays with a suprising portion of maturity and poise for a 16-year old goalie in the league, where most goalies are around thirty. He plays a mix of butterfly and stand-up style which is highly effective. Cech has a very good control of first shots and is also succesfull against rebounds. Uses his blocker and glove well and is extremly tough to beat on the high side. He has a good size and covers the net and plays the angles well. Cech plays with lots of confidence and can keep the team in the game with key saves plus he doesn’t let a bad goal influence his performance. His drawback is his stickhandling, where he has to do some practices, and can be beaten down low. There are very good sign that Jakub Cech will develop into an excellent netminder.
Defensemen
Jiri Drtina – the Slavia Praha juniors standout is one of the purest 1985 born offensive defensemen in the world. Drtina loves to join the rush, score and pass. Tremendously talented, Drtina posesses enough hockey sense to know when to rush forward and when to stay back. He is a very good skater who is also quite fast backwards and can handle his stick like a finesse forward. Drtina likes to be the first man who leads the counterattack and his outlet passes are of high accuracy. His shots are also very good and he can be used as both pointman and quarterback on the powerplay. He excells on powerplay units, always willing to shoot the puck and positiones himself also in the slot where he looks for rebounds or deflections. Drtina needs to be paired with a stay-at-home defenseman because of his great offensive flair. He needs to improve his play in the defensive zone and could add some toughness to his style. Not overly big, but a rare knack for supporting the offense.
Lukas Pulpan – the smallish, feisty blueliner with a big heart. Pulpan is far from being 6’0” at least, but plays three inches taller. Always intense and determinated, Pulpan is willing to get his nose dirty and despite his size, he can throw hard hits and fight along the boards. The stocky Pulpan is a solid crease clearer and he also won’t hurt you offensively. Albeit his shot is just average, he distributes smart, crisp passes to help the offense a lot. Often used as a powerplay quarterback where his passing skills rule. He has a quite hard shot, but must learn how to keep it low and tippable. His skating skills are only average, that’s a thing for him to work on. Overall, he is a bright defensive prospect, who brings a smart two-way game to the table. No wonder that he is a regular already in the Under-18 team.
Lukas Bolf – a tough, reliable stay-at-home defenseman moved to the Sparta Praha juniors prior to the 2001-2002 season from Karlovy Vary. Bolf has the needed size and skill to be a dominating force on the back line. Lukas is a solid, but not a great skater with a good stability. He doesn’t rush forwards, more he stays back and concentrates on his defensive duties. Tries to keep the play simple and doesn’t make many mistakes. Lukas is a tenacious defenseman who is willing to throw his body around and punish the opponents. Also a determinated crease clearer who doesn’t allow any mess in front of his own goalie. On the offensive side Lukas Bolf is a bit limited as he isn’t a huge factor in supporting the offense. He has a huge slapshot, on the other side he doesn’t release it very often. His passes are quite accurate and he has a strong outlet pass, but he doesn’t make any risky plays. To sum up, a defensive fortress with a good reach and without glaring mistakes.
Forwards
Vojtech Polak – the sniper of the “great line”. Vojtech started his international career with an astonishing effort for the Under-16 team last season, scoring 8 goals in a game against Slovakia! Since then Polak has established himself as one of the cornerstones of the team. The flashy winger with great wheels is in his already second season in the senior Extraleague for Karlovy Vary, even if he sees only very limited playing time. But already scored his first goal among the “big guys”. Polak is an extremly talented player with a terrific hockey sense and vision. Has a nose for the net and likes to have the puck on his stick. Polak is a poised and confident player who stays calm in important game situations. A very good skater and puckhandler, Polak can make many elusive moves to fool the defense and score. A superb stickhandler has both his wrist and slap shot hard and accurate plus can make nice passes. A blue-chipper who needs to work just on the play off the puck and be more aware defensively.
Petr Vrana – not blessed with a respectfull size, but with hockey sense and smarts. Vrana is a flashy offensive sparkplug, a great skater who can make fast turns. Has a solid burst of speed and plays with lots of intensity and determination. Always willing to fight for the puck, Vrana gives 100% every shift. Petr is a slick puckhandler with soft hands and a terrific vision. He perfers passing to shooting and likes to combine with his teammates. His passing skills are really top-notch and very useful on the powerplay. Petr’s wrist shoot is quite solid, but needs to work on slapshots, which are soft and not accurate. Petr is willing to take a hit to make a play, but doesn’t like the rough style very much. A finesse center, Vrana has to further develop his defensive play and faceoff skills. Made his senior Extraleague debut recently and is hoping to stick with the Havirov’s senior team next season.
Ivo Kratena – Sparta Praha winger is the only of the “great line” without a game played in the senior Extraleague. Kratena is a two-way forward with soft hands and a huge portion of talent and skill. He is an above-average skater, but still needs improvement in this skill. His stickhandling is of a tremendous quality and Kratena is a perfect set-up player. Once on the puck, he looks for an open teammate as he has the necessary passing skills to do so. Kratena doesn’t hesitate to shoot the puck, too, but his passing skills are better. Simply a skilled player who likes to handle the puck and distribute it. He is also aware defensively and is willing to help the defense on many occasions. Kratena tries to play an all-round game, a bigger portion of toughness could be asked but it won’t prevent him from being a serious prospect.
Rostislav Olesz – the Vitkovice forward is another rare gem of Czech hockey. Even if Olesz is a late 1985-born, he is one of the better performers for the Under-18 team and plays his second year in the senior Extraleague. This season he skated even on the second line of Vitkovice and scored his first senior career goal. Olesz is a superb mix of size, excellent skill and feistiness. He skates really well and is very stabile. Once on the puck, Olesz explodes and shows his great creativity and skill. He can score and pass equally well and his offensive arsenal is nearly perfect. His tremendous vision and talent enables him to make excellent passes and his shots are very dangerous, too. Olesz likes to shoot and has all the needed tools. As a bonus to this package here comes a lot of intensity and determination. Rostislav fights for the pucks a lot and can deliver clean hits. He also helps the defense, even if he could improve here and upgrade his defensive awareness. He has the skills to challenge for the first overall pick in 2004, it remains to be seen if he can beat his opponents, mainly Russian sniper Alexander Ovechkin, Finnish forward Lauri Toukonen and Canadian defenseman Wes O’Neill.
Michal Borovansky – nearly the same type of player as Petr Vrana, Borovansky has tons of skill, but lacks size. Blessed with a tremendous talent to foresee the plays, Michal can control the play of the whole line with his smarts and vision. A very good skater with a fast acceleration, able to reach top speed in a few strides. Borovansky is a slick puckhandler who likes to have the puck on his tape and make plays. He is a smart passer and has also a knack for finding the net. Michal is very agile and he fights for the pucks a lot. He is very good in one-on-one situations and is able to handle traffic. On the other side Borovansky isn’t very defensively and his slap shots could be also improved. He is still quite raw, but after he puts the intangibles together, he can be a top prospect.
Lukas Kaspar – a player who made significant strides in his improvement from the last season. Lukas is an agile, hardworking forward who has the raw skills of a top prospect, just needs to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He is a solid skater with a nice fast acceleration and stability. His stickhandling skills are just average, but Kaspar still improves there. His shots and passes are both very good, especially his strong wrist shot. Lukas works hard every shift and plays with a big heart. He grinds in the corners and frequently positiones himself in front of the net. Lukas is willing to take a hit and also make a hit. He is very tenacious and can play defensively, too. His goal is to be an all-round forward and he works hard to fill this vision. Has a solid portion of natural talent, but could light the lamp more often. A wildcard prospect who can turn out to be a very solid player.
