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Slovak hockey players Juraj Slafkovský and Šimon Nemec are among the most watched young players who will be available to the overseas NHL club at this year’s rookie draft.
Both were part of the bronze team at the Olympic Games in Beijing, in the season 2021/2022 they became vice-champions in the highest men’s competitions and currently represent Slovakia at the World Cup 2022 in Finland.
While Slafkovsky could be the draft unit, the German is considered the highest drafted defender this year. The entry draft for newcomers to the NHL will take place on July 7 and 8 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada.
“Slafkovský is a junior player in the male body with exceptional talent. He has a robust figure, speed, balance and the right approach to hockey. He is fantastic at attacking an opponent with a puck and his attacking in the defensive zone is incredible. He’s the dominant player. “ described an 18-year-old striker Goran Stubb, Director of European Scouting in the NHL in an interview for the official profiligy website.
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He compared the most useful player and the best scorer of the Olympic hockey tournament in Beijing with the Finn Joakim Kemell, who finished second behind the Košice team in the final preddraft ranking of players operating in Europe: “Slafkovský is more robust and advanced, Kimmel is more agile and he is not afraid of tough games. He is very good in the game in front of the opponent’s goal and can score goals. “
Slafkovsky, who played in the Finnish Liiga play-off final with TPS Turku last year, could be the overall number two of this year’s NHL draft in the summer. The winning club in the draft lottery, the Montreal Canadiens, is expected to select Shane Wright’s Canadian center from the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, the leader in the North America’s figure skater. The highest drafted Slovak so far is Marián Gáborík, whom the Minnesota Wild club chose from third place in 2000.
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The fight for the highest drafted defender in 2022 is fought by Nemec and David Jiříček, who plays for the Czech Republic at the World Championships in Finland. “The German is more robust and has a more professional style of play. He is more of a game creator and a recorder. Sometimes, however, he passes unnecessarily often and instead of shooting, he wants to send a teammate a perfect pass. Jiříček likes to engage in attacks, creates an offensive and shoots at the goal as often as possible. They are both very explosive and very skilled players, and it’s good for both of them to be playing in the World Cup at the age of 18, ” evaluated Stubb.
In the season 2021/2022, the German shone in the Slovak extra league in the jersey of the vice-champion HK Nitra. The 18-year-old native of Liptovský Mikuláš set a junior record for the defender in the highest competition in Slovakia with 26 points (1 + 25) in 39 doubles in the basic part.
Only the attackers Marián Hossa and Marián Gáborík collected more than the juniors. He also became historically the most productive junior in the playoffs with 17 points (5 + 12) in 19 matches. His average of 0.9 points per match is the second highest in history after Gáborík.
Bronze over gold. The French almost demolished the Piešťany stadium with joy:
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