Ondrej Balaz

Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, June 2021: Balaz is a worker. He might not get many points, but he defends well and limits opportunities in his end. His gaps are tight without being overly risky and he understands how to work with his partner on a hinge or quick outlet behind his net. As the weakside defender he does a great job of keeping his head on a swivel an not getting sucked into scrums. He keeps it very simple offensively by just moving the puck quickly without the added stress of stickhandling. Although he has a nice strong base, Balaz will need to continue working on his overall strength and quickness to earn an opportunity in the National League.

Neutral Zone’s Ed Besinger, June 2021: Ondrej is a Czech defender standing at 6’0’’ and 176 pounds. The left-shot played this past season for HC Litvinov in the Czech U20 League as well as HC Stadion Litomerice in the Czech 2 League. He scored seven points (one goal) in 33 combined games. He also played three games for the U20 team. He is a heady defender that plays a controlled and balanced game. He has a wide base and a strong stride which helps him close on forwards. He is never off balance and does a good job staying in front of forwards. Strong, active stick that strips pucks from opponents and breaks up passing plays. He is aggressive at the offensive blueline and takes calculated chances to pinch. He is a skilled passer and has some touch on the puck through traffic. He plays a direct game in his own zone by retrieving pucks and quickly getting them to the open teammate. Positionally sound in his end and is very rarely out of position. At this time does not contribute a ton offensively but relies on playing a simple, safe shut-down style against the other teams’ top unit.