There will be plenty to say about Sweden in the 48 hours running up to the WJC final, so I’m going to dwell for this brief time on Slovakia, slayer of the U.S. and almost the same to Victor Hedman and the crew.
The Swedes are just loaded with high draft choices, like Oscar Moller (L.A) and Mikael Backlund (Calgary), and those who will be certain first-rounds, like Hedman and Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi. The Slovaks have a bunch of guys named Jozef who passed through a NHL draft or two. It’s easy to say the Slovaks over-achieved in beating the Americans and testing the Swedes … but I have to think that something else is in play, namely that their talent has been somewhat under-appreciated.
I did a quick study of NHL drafts since 2000 and it was darker than I imagined. Two Slovaks went in the first round of the 2005 draft, the first post-lockout draft: Buffalo scooped centre Marek Zagrapan out of Chicoutimi with the 13th overall pick and Tampa Bay took a d-man Vladimir Mihalik out of the Slovak second division at the end of the first round. Since then no Slovak has been selected in the first two rounds of the NHL entry draft. I would have assumed that a kid who had come over to play in the CHL would have caught someone’s attention. Nix. There was a bit of activity in the five drafts from 2000 to 2004, seven Slovaks going in the first or second round, including Marian Gaborik, third overall in 2000. Since then 180 picks at the top of the draft and nary a Slovak.
Scouts say it’s cyclical and that Slovakia is in a down cycle. I dunno. Looked like there was some pretty decent talent out there vs the U.S. and Sweden.
“I think there are players in the Slovak league who would get drafted but maybe they’re not seen by the NHL so much,” Slovak goaltender and cult hero Jaroslav Janus said after the game.
That might be true but only to extent. You have to imagine that someone would have spotted six-foot-seven d-man Juraj Valach, who has done a passable impersonation of Zdeno Chara in the QF and SF. And it wasn’t like he was tucked away in the Slovak second division. No, across two Dub seasons he managed to play for four teams. Still undrafted and now back in the homeland with HKm Zvolen. I just picking Valach’s name out–there’s a few in the same boat.
When the Slovaks knocked off the Americans Friday night a lot of people suggested that it was an upset of epic proporations. I remember working to 1999 WJC and Slovakia, with a lot of players possessing CHL experience, tied Canada zilch-zilch in Brandon and could well have knocked off the hosts. When the Slovaks bounced the Swedes in the bronze medal game I really believed that a new power was emerging in hockey–at that time Marian Hossa was breaking in with the Senators. Back then I expected that Slovaks would be a medal contender in every tournament. Not the way it has worked out. It hasn’t been a battle for medals so much as a battle to avoid relegation. They finished fifth in Halifax but the rest of the time it seems like their destiny is a showdown in the seventh-place game.
The Slovaks will do fourth or better this trip and there will be at least one player who goes in the first two rounds, forward Richard Panik. A scout I spoke to after the SF had mostly positive reviews of Panik: “You have to give him points just for being out there as a draft-eligible and they went to him on the PP,” the scout said. “You can tell more by what he does at the under-18s.” Maybe. Another who might get a look but not at the U18 is Tomas Tatar, a late 90-birthday and a pluck forward who picked up a goal against the Swedes. (Good game sense but average, at best skating.)
- Quick reviews of top Swedish draft-eligibles. Victor Hedman: good but not great. “What you saw is what he is,” one scout said. “I don’t know if he’s ever going to have an offensive game at the next level. He did jump up and look to make something happen when they were down a goal.” Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi: “Right now he’s a top-five. Maybe the best skater in the draft. Has been better as the tournament has gone on.”