Matej Prcik is an average sized defender who relies on his brain and hockey instincts to shut down line rushes or end a cycle quickly. It was easy to see his confidence and understanding of Team Czechia’s game plan while in defensive zone coverage as he was quick to call out switches and rolling picks. He is a bit of an inside edge skater, but he is very quick in five to ten foot quick sprints. Prcik showed an understanding of leverage while engaging in corner battles by consistently keeping his hips lower than the player he was battling with. His anticipation and smooth first touch allowed him to be a key component on the power play where he was tied for a game high of 6:07. We liked his ability to find shooting lanes and we feel he showed real body coordination in the 3rd when ripped a cross body one-timer through traffic.
Matyas Sapovaliv is 6’4″ center who demanded the puck in transition. After his defensemen generated a turnover, Sapovaliv would scan the ice quickly which allowed him to judge Team USA’s gap so he could present a passing target and attack with the proper speed. Even though he finished the game -3, there was a lot to like about his mindset in defensive zone coverage as he played in straight lines using his stick to take away time & space and we liked how he would accelerate through by playing stick on puck in contact. Along the walls he used his body to protect the puck and looked very confident initiating contact and then trying to roll off the defender to attack the net. We liked that Sapovaliv would shoot from poor angles looking to generate rebounds and he showed a quick stick on bouncing rebounds in the slot. He earned more TOI than any other Czechia forwards and won 15 of 24 faceoffs.
Jiri Kulich is an average sized forward who showed real quickness in 10′ sprints, the lateral agility to make defenders miss in tight quarters and hunted loose pucks in the slot with the sole intention of firing pucks on net and making the goalie make a save. He finished the game with a game high 7 seven grade “A” scoring opportunities and one goal that came on a penalty shot where he disguised his release and release point before firing a bullet 16″ off the ice to the glove side that went post & in. Kulich showed that he knows how to be dangerous without having to carry the puck by changing speeds and sprinting to open ice when there was an opportunity to score. He one-timed any type of pass with authority and he not only hit the net, he made the goaltender move to make the save. Kulich is a very intriguing player.
Tomas Hamara is smooth skating and quick thinking two-way defender who our opinion has real National League potential. He not only has good edges, he is a very efficient skater who has the ability to maintain his speed while gliding and he can explode laterally without the need to cross-over. During defensive transition he confidently maintained gaps while keeping his stick in passing lanes. We noted that his stick placement consistently forced awkward sauce passes and poor passes in general. On the defensive side of the puck Hamara’s quick processing led him to having 9 takeaways compared to only 2 giveaways. He has a very clean first touch which allowed him to play with his eyes up. We liked his fluid movement along the offensive blueline and his snapshots hit the net to generate rebounds.
Adam Bares is a quick footed right shot forward who played primarily left wing on Team Czechia’s top line. He was a key component of their top power play unit where he was positioned as the bumper who would slide into one-time position, showed the awareness to put his stick blade in spots for a downhill tip and would crash the slot looking for rebounds. From the bumper we liked how he would draw Team USA’s weakside penalty killer to him so his weakside teammate could receive the pass with more time and space. He showed the 1 on 1 skills to make people miss, but we do not feel he was reckless while doing this. We liked his ability to shoot the puck while in stride and he showed a very quick forehand-backhand quick release through the defender’s legs while in the scoring area. Bares is a player who is not on Central Scouting’s list, but we feel his ability to play both wings with pace and awareness will lead to NHL teams paying attention to him.
Rutger McGroarty finished the game with 2 goals on 4 shots. McGroarty was a force below the tops of the circles and quite frankly was at his best when a Czechia defender was in his pants. He protected the puck while his eyes were up and it is obvious that he expects to make plays and produce. Early in the first he received a pass in transition along the offensive blueline and showed a quick first step that allowed him to gain body position to attack the net with confidence. There is little doubt that he is emotional and winning matters to him.
Cutter Gauthier led Team USA in ice time and 2 secondary helpers, but what stood out to us was that he led the forward group with 4:01 in shorthanded TOI as well as leading Team USA in power play TOI with 2:05. Gauthier is a high end NHL prospect who will impact the professional game from anywhere in the line-up.
Logan Cooley finished with 1 goal and 1 assist. The goal is of special note because it came off of a power play face-off where Cooley beat his man to the loose puck and showed ice water in his veins as he fired it 5 hole.
Tyler Duke is a quick footed average size defender who made hard quick outlet passes that hit his forwards in stride when they wanted the puck, but what stood out to us was his ability to capitalize on turnovers by starting transition in an instant. While on his way to loose puck or 50/50 opportunity, Duke scanned the ice before he got there so he knew his options well ahead of time.
Jimmy Snuggerud played a hard nosed game finishing with 1 goal on 4 grade “A” scoring opportunities. He showed a quick release in traffic and the awareness to shoot for rebounds and downhill tips. A true NHL prospect.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images