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Czech 2005 prospects: an early look at 10
Written by: Robert Neuhauser on 10/15/2004 
Vladimir Sobotka, F
HC Slavia Praha Sr. 8GP 0G 1A 1P +1 4PIM
HC Slavia Praha Jr. 7GP 4G 6A 10P -1 12PIM
The opening month turned out to be successful for the industrious forward Vladimir Sobotka, who took the junior Extraleague by storm during the first three weeks of play. Sobotka is continuing his quick progress and has separated himself from the rest of his Slavia Praha junior teammates with his crafty offensive play and an ability to play bigger than his size and perform in traffic with regularity. Sobotka was sitting atop the Czech junior Extraleague scoring race after four games and now is still tied for the lead on the Slavia Praha junior team even though he doesn't travel to all the games. His efforts earned him a promotion to the deep Slavia Praha senior team, where his role is reduced to a fourth line duty thanks to the presence of several NHL players on the roster. He doesn't see much ice time on the senior team and no power play time, which does also reflect in his stats.
Jakub Vojta, D
HC Sparta Praha Jr. 13GP 0G 3A 3P even 10PIM
The Sparta Praha defenseman did not pick up where he left at the Under-18 Junior Cup and went through an uninspiring opening month of regular season competition. Vojta doesn't show the same intensity and determination and those drawbacks are putting him into coach Jaromir Sindel's doghouse. Consistency is obviously a issue with this promising defenseman, who needs to convince his coach that he will show up every night. Vojta displays a penchant to pull off a promising showing before going unnoticed in the next game. A skilled puck-moving defenseman, Vojta didn't register a noticeable progress in his physical play and aggressiveness. He is holding his own relatively well, but doesn't seem to be really involved in the games and give his best effort. More offensive contribution is asked from a prospect of his caliber, Vojta needs to upgrade on his overall play in the next months or his draft stock is going to see severe damage.
Tomas Kudelka, D
HC Hame Zlin Jr. 10GP 4G 2A 6P +1 10PIM
The swift-skating Zlin defenseman is challenging Jakub Vojta for the top Czech 2005 eligible defenseman and is slightly overtaking him at this set of things. Kudelka spent the summer practicing with the senior team and shows a remarkable composure on the ice for the Zlin junior team. Not a pure offensive-minded rearguard, Kudelka is creative with the puck and looks for openings to make a long outlet pass, but still is careless with the puck at times and turns the puck over. A player blessed with above-average physical tools, Kudelka isn't a major physical force and needs to work on developing a nasty edge in his play, but overall registered a solid opening month. He ranks fifth in scoring on his Zlin junior team and is leading the defensemen scoring chart at this point. He still can't avoid the odd off-games, though. The hope is here that the best is yet to come this season.
Martin Hanzal, F
HC Ceske Budejovice Jr. 11GP 9G 5A 14P even 22PIM
Martin Hanzal made a solid name for himself at the Under-18 Junior Cup and is asked to make use of all his previous experience to emerge as one of the leaders of his Ceske Budejovice team. At this point Martin Hanzal sits at the second place in the Ceske Budejovice juniors scoring race, where the top place is occupied by his older brother Jiri tied with Milan Gulas. Hanzal is showing progress in his in-close finishing skills and develops a better knack for scoring goals, which was his drawback during the previous seasons. A solid passer, Hanzal does show the defensive awareness he displayed during the previous season, but needs to put his commitment to the defensive play on display more often. He has the size to emerge as a solid physical presence and Hanzal gets involved in traffic, where he can be a solid force with an adequate mean streak. Hanzal is off to a promising start and his development curve is taking an upward path.
David Kuchejda, F
HC Ceske Budejovice Jr. 13GP 2G 8A 10P +1 18PIM
Just like his longtime linemate Martin Hanzal, David Kuchejda is coming off an above-average showing at the Under-18 Junior Cup. The Ceske Budejovice junior team is counting on him to provide a good part of the offensive punch and Kuchejda is only particularly meeting the expectations. He needs to find consistency as he can be a non-factor after an impressive game. Kuchejda is asked to fill a role of a set-up player on the Ceske Budejovice junior team and he leads the squad in assists by a decent margin. Kuchejda takes advantage of his solid vision and awareness of his linemates to create quality plays. As a player who has the size woes pointing against him, Kuchejda has still to prove that he is able to battle traffic effectively with regularity. With the Ceske Budejovice senior team setting its goal at winning the Div I senior league, Kuchejda isn't expected to see much playing time on the senior levels, but is along with Hanzal among the frontrunners for promotion should injuries strike the senior squad.
Lukas Klimek, F
HC Sareza Ostrava Jr. 10GP 4G 6A 10P -2 33PIM
Lukas Klimek registered a whooping start into the junior Extraleague regular season with a seven-point effort in two games, but cooled off dramatically in the next six games, where he was held scoreless and rather unimpressive in the games. After ten games played Klimek ranks third on his Sareza Ostrava junior team scoring chart, trailing the leaders Vojtech Klecka and Filip Mleko by one and six points respectively. The enigmatic Sareza Ostrava forward still suffers from a lack of muscle especially in the lower body and therefore a sub-par balance and strength. He isn't a steady force when it comes down to handle heavy traffic and his points have a tendency to come in streaks. Klimek possesses solid skating skills and is adept at finding the open man, but needs to show a willingness to upgrade on his aggressiveness and a constant effort to improve on his physical strength.
Tomas Pospisil, F
HC Ocelari Trinec Jr. 10GP 6G 3A 9P +2 12PIM
A pleasant surprise during the first four weeks of the Czech junior Extraleague's regular season was the upgraded play of slick Trinec right winger Tomas Pospisil. Pospisil seems to realize how important is this season for his future career and ranks among the hardest working players on the Trinec junior team. The added bulk has a positive influence on his composure and playing style as he added an adequate physical dimension to his game. Even if he isn't a significant physical force, he can't be labeled soft now and his quick skating skills along with a persistence around the goal area make from him a regular point contributor. Tomas Pospisil is leading his Trinec junior team in scoring at this point, the first time in his career he achieved this feat. If he can keep up his play and determination also in the upcoming months, watch for his stock to rise.
Martin Husicka, F
HC Vsetin Jr. 11GP 0G 2A 2P -1 6PIM
The diminutive Vsetin forward ranks among the biggest disappointments of the previous junior Extraleague action. Husicka already possesses plenty of experience from the elite junior level from the previous season, but he fails to take his game to another level and impress in games. Husicka isn't a significant contributor and is fitting the mold of a perimeter player. Even if he is blessed with above-average skating skills, his wheels can't make up for his severe size deficiency and Husicka isn't a factor when asked to handle traffic. He can be pushed out of scoring lanes and hasn’t found a way to score a goal so far. Average in his own end, Husicka is in a slump and has to convince people that he is able to contribute. His stock is falling down and don't expect him to be picked in the 2005 draft unless he is able to turn his game completely around.
Vaclav Lesak, D
HC Moeller Pardubice Jr. 12GP 1G 3A 4P even 10PIM
Relatively quietly Vaclav Lesak seems to find a way to emerge as one of the better 2005 eligible defensemen performing in the Czech junior Extraleague. A player blessed with solid size, Lesak fits the mold of a more conservative defensively-minded rearguard who isn't afraid of executing along the boards and throw the occasional hit. Lesak works hard down low and is a solid force in his own end. Even if his stats may indicate that he is developing an offensive side to his play, his style didn't change from the previous year. Lesak is far from a two-way defender and his offensive output is rather limited thanks to an average vision and awareness of his linemates. Still he is well underway to posting career number in points as his previous record set in 2003-04 with the Pardubice midgets is 9 points. Lesak isn't a top prospect as he is quite raw and inconsistent, but is a player who could be worth taking a look in the late rounds if he shows a steady progress in his play.
Ondrej Pavelec, G
HC Rabat Kladno Jr. 509 minutes 287 saves 2.71 GAA .925 SVP
The talented Kladno juniors netminder is enjoying a solid start into the junior Extraleague season after backstopping the Czech Under-18 team to a second-place finish at the Under-18 Junior Cup. Pavelec splits duties with sophomore junior netminder Vit Schwamberger and managed to get the starter's duties under his control after an inspiring performance in the summer exhibition games. Pavelec is playing behind a talented, but very young defensive corps and the team's success will highly depend from his performance in this season. The quick and athletic Pavelec is performing up to par so far, being ranked sixth overall among junior Extraleague goaltenders in save percentage, but all the netminders at the spots in front of him are more seasoned players. Pavelec performed only at the 9th grade level two seasons ago and is a fast-progressing netminder who has a chance to be picked in the draft if he avoids significant slumps.
Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.
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