Petr Placek

History

2007-08: Petr Placek scored 10 goals with 13 assists in 49 games (including playoffs) for Rytiri Kladno's U-18 team in the Czech Republic.

2008-09: Placek left Kladno to play prep school hockey at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. His play in his first season was a bit uneven as he adjusted to the physical nature of North American hockey and he scored 7 goals with 8 assists in 21 games.

2009-10: Placek had a breakout season in his second year at Hotchkiss, scoring 16 goals with 16 assists in 24 games. He also competed for the Connecticut Junior Bobcats midget club during the fall.

2010-11: Placek suffered knee and ankle injuries which limited him to eight games with Hotchkiss. He scored 7 goals with 6 assists and had 10 PMs. Placek also competed for the Junior Bobcats midget major team and committed to playing college hockey at Harvard in 2011-12. Placek was ranked 54th amongst North American skaters by Central Scouting in their mid-term rankings but was not among the 210 players in the final rankings. He was selected by the Flyers in the 6th round (176th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft.

2011-12: Placek skated in 16 games for Harvard as a freshman; making the jump directly from prep school to college hockey as a 19-year-old. He had 1 assist and was minus-three with 6 penalty minutes. The Crimson finished third in ECAC Hockey with an unheard of 11 ties during the year. After an overtime loss to Yale in the first game of their ECAC quarterfinal series, Harvard won three straight to reach the league championship game — falling to eventual Frozen Four participant Union College.

 

Talent Analysis

Placek is a big forward with significant offensive skills and a willingness to use his size in small areas. Limited by knee and ankle injuries in his draft year, but a dominant player at the prep school level due primarily to his size, skating ability, stick handling and shooting skills, Placek has not yet developed his defensive game but should become more responsible in his defensive play and add physical strength during his college career.

 

Future

Placek is in his second year at Harvard in the 2012-13 season. While still fairly early in the development process, Placek's skill set, intelligence, and size all suggest he can one day be an effective, two-way forward and potential second or third line forward at the NHL level . He will more than likely complete his college degree before attempting to break into pro hockey.