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Slovakia U20: Patryk Zubek

Patryk Zubek (D, L, 6’3″, 210, Barani Banska Bystrica U20, 04/18/2007)

Patryk Zubek is a physically imposing, two-way left shot defenseman with National League size, strong positional play, and the game awareness to impact the game on both ends of the ice. His ability to maintain poise under pressure, distribute pucks efficiently, and leverage his size in defensive situations make him a promising prospect. However, his development of explosiveness, consistency in offensive decision-making, and overall physical engagement require further development to ensure he maximizes his NHL potential.

Strengths

Physical Tools and Defensive Presence:
At 6’3″ and 205 pounds, Zubek already has the physical stature of an NHL defenseman.
He effectively uses his size to win battles, maintain net-side positioning, and eliminate opponents in defensive-zone cycles.
His physical presence forces opposing forwards to remain aware of his location on the ice, especially in the defensive zone.

Puck Management and Passing Ability:
Zubek completes 85% of his passes (which we would like to see higher), with 0.91 of those directly leading to grade “A” scoring chances.
He shows poise and composure with the puck, making high-percentage plays and rarely forcing low-probability passes.
His ability to push pucks into soft areas for teammates demonstrates an advanced understanding of puck support and gaining momentum.

Situational Versatility and Heavy Minutes:
He averaged 24:10 of ice time during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, playing in all critical situations and looked to be the defender that coaches were looking to get back on the ice as quickly as possible.
His calm demeanor under pressure shows leadership and makes him an asset when protecting leads or transitioning out of the defensive zone.

Shot-Blocking and Defensive IQ:
Zubek’s willingness to sacrifice his body is a trait that NHL coaches will drool over.
He demonstrates excellent defensive anticipation, consistently taking away time and space and intercepting passes in the neutral zone or passes to an opposing defenseman crashing the backdoor.

Poise on the Power Play:
As a power-play quarterback, Zubek displays vision and creativity, delaying shots to avoid traffic and threading passes through penalty-killing formations to generate scoring chances.

Areas for Improvement

Skating Explosiveness and Mobility:
While Zubek’s overall skating posture and stride are a solid foundation, his first-step explosiveness and lateral agility are areas requiring improvement.

Physicality and Aggression:
Despite his size, Zubek’s physical game lacks the necessary aggression and forcefulness to dominate opponents consistently.
He should aim to play with more “controlled anger,” using his body more assertively to intimidate and neutralize attackers.

Offensive Efficiency and Shot Selection:
Zubek’s 1.42 blocked shot attempts per game is too high, and tells us that he needs to improve his lateral mobility with the puck on his stick as well as adding overall deception.
Increasing his ability to generate grade “A” scoring opportunities for his forwards in the low slot would elevate his overall offensive value.

Key Development Goals
Skating Mechanics: Focus on improving first-step explosiveness, lateral mobility (with and without the puck), and acceleration to improve his transition game and gap control.
Increase Physical Engagement: Play with more assertiveness in battles, use his size to dominate in the defensive zone, and make opposing forwards hesitant to challenge him.
Offensive Contributions: He does not have to be a goal scoring threat from the offensive blueline, but getting the puck to the net more consistently to create net front chaos will add to his overall value to a team’s line-up.
Playmaking consistency to ensure his offensive zone play complements his defensive strengths.
Improve Turnover Management: Develop quicker decision-making under pressure to minimize giveaways and maximize his effectiveness in tight situations along the offensive blueline.

Projection
Zubek projects as a middle-pairing, two-way defenseman with the potential to be an NHL shutdown defender due to his size, defensive reliability, and ability to contribute on both special teams. If his skating and physical engagement improve, he could develop into a top-four defender capable of logging heavy minutes and excelling in shutdown roles.

Draft Outlook
We currently projected him as a late first-round to early second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Zubek’s physical tools and defensive acumen make him an attractive prospect for teams valuing size and poise on the back end. His upside hinges on developing his skating and adding more consistency to his offensive contributions from the offensive blueline.

Player Comparison
Jackson LaCombe – A steady, physical, and defensively responsible blue-liner who can play in all situations without sacrificing stability.

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