Martin Necas hasn’t grown into his body yet, but displays a keen hockey sense and patience beyond his years.
With soft hands and excellent vision he lists Patrick Kane and Evgeny Kuznetsov as players he aims to emulate, though since he’s a right-handed shot two additional comparisons could be Claude Giroux and Nathan MacKinnon.
Here is some more on Necas.
Age on June 23: 18
Current Team: HC Kometo Brno, Extraliga
Position: Centre
Shoots: Right
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 167 pounds
From: Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic
NHL Central Scouting Rank (Europe): 5
Jeff Marek’s Take: “A slick and shifty skater who still needs to fill out his frame. When he does, watch out.”
He has a wealth of international experience
Necas has been a mainstay in the Czech national program for years and is a proven performer for his country. Scouts took notice of him at the 2015 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.
“In every game he was very visible on the ice,” Czech manager Petr Studnicka told Sportsnet in 2015. “He’s a playmaker and a goal-scorer. He’s a great kid who loves to play hockey.”
He represented them at the most recent world juniors and captained the Czechs at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka tournament, leading his team with six points in four games en route to a gold medal.
His development was aided by an NHL veteran
There was a learning curve for Necas in his first full season playing with grown men in the Czech Extraliga and he produced at less than a point-per-game pace for the first time in his career, registering just 15 points in 41 games with HC Kometa Brno.
Necas said it was a different style of hockey than he had been used to and for the first month of the season he was quiet in the locker room. Eventually he became more comfortable. Former NHLer Martin Erat was a linemate of Necas’s and took the youngster under his wing.
“He’s a really great guy and really great player,” Necas told Edmonton Oilers TV at the 2017 Scouting Combine in Buffalo. “He showed me so much things on video, on the ice, off the ice.”
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