10 Czechs drafted

Perhaps it's a positive trend in the development of Czech hockey players. For the past decade, the number of Czechs drafted has steadily decreased, from 31 in 2001 to only five in 2010. However, this past weekend in Minnesota, 10 Czech players were drafted by NHL teams, the highest number since 2005. After having no domestic players picked last year for the first time since the fall of the Iron Curtain, three were picked this year, which was last accomplished in 2007.

David Musil was taken 31st overall by Edmonton. Photo: Bruce
Bennett, Getty Images.

Although there were none taken in the first round, the Edmonton Oilers led off round two by choosing David Musil, a native son of sorts. Musil was born in Edmonton while his father, František, was playing in the NHL. "I remember, a little bit, growing up there when my dad played there," he said after being drafted. "I've got a lot of good memories from there."

After his family returned to the Czech Republic, Musil played youth hockey in Jihlava, but has spent the past two seasons playing for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. On his chances of cracking the Oilers lineup this season, Musil said, "I'm getting ready this summer and I'm going to try my best to be in the NHL as soon as possible." Although the Oilers are a young team and not the deepest in talent, Musil will more than likely return for another season in Vancouver.

Dmitrij Jaškin was taken 41st overall by St. Louis.
Photo: Bruce Bennett, Getty Images.

Ten picks later, the St. Louis Blues selected Dmitrij Jaškin of Slavia Praha. There's almost no question where Jaškin will play next season. Last season, he was second in voting for the Extraliga's rookie-of-the-year award, but he is still not a dominant player in the league, and therefore not likely to crack an NHL lineup for the upcoming season.

The lone Czech taken in the third round was goaltender David Honzík of the Victoriaville Tigres, by the Vancouver Canucks. Honzík, who hails from Karlovy Vary, was ranked below Matěj Machovský on the list of North American goaltenders, but he was the only Czech goalie taken in this year's draft.

The other seven draftees were taken between picks 144 and 177. Dominik Uher was taken late in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then six Czechs were taken in the sixth. In addition to Uher, the Penguins also picked Lukáš Sedlák of České Budějovice. Sedlak was a standout in the Junior Extraliga, as was Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha, who was taken by the Montreal Canadiens. Both players are expected to play full-time in the professional Extraliga in 2011-12.

Three teams went off the board and picked un-ranked Czech players. Detroit picked Richard Nedomlel and Tampa Bay took Ondřej Palát, who both play in the CHL. The most interesting pick may have been by the Philadelphia Flyers when they chose Petr Plaček, who plays high-school hockey in Connecticut. Plaček was born in Rakovník and grew up in the Kladno system, but has played the past two seasons in the US. He is committed to Harvard University for next season.

Below are the 10 Czechs who were taken in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft:

 31. David Musil      D    Edmonton      Vancouver (WHL)
 41. Dmitrij Jaškin   RW   St. Louis     Slavia Praha
 71. David Honzík     G    Vancouver     Victoriaville (QMJHL)
144. Dominik Uher     C    Pittsburgh    Spokane (WHL)
158. Lukáš Sedlák     C    Pittsburgh    České Budějovice
165. Matěj Stránský   RW   Dallas        Saskatoon (WHL)
168. Daniel Přibyl    C    Montreal      Sparta Praha
175. Richard Nedomlel D    Detroit       Swift Current (WHL)
176. Petr Plaček      RW   Philadelphia  Hotchkiss Sch.(HIGH-CT)
177. Ondřej Palát     LW   Tampa Bay     Drummondville (QMJHL)

Jaškin and Musil lead list of Czech draft hopefuls

This weekend, the NHL stages its annual Entry Draft. It is the time when the top hockey prospects 18 years of age or older from around the world hold their collective breaths and find out who, if anybody, will hold their NHL rights.

Dmitrij Jaškin. Photo: hokej.cz.

Czechs have had some success in the draft before, most notably 1992 and 1999, when Roman Hamrlík and Patrik Štefan were taken first overall, respectively, by the Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers. In 2011, when the Edmonton Oilers make their first selection, it won't be a Czech name, barring a miracle. However, there are two Czech players, Dmitrij Jaškin and David Musil, that are expected to be taken in the first two rounds, which would be an improvement over recent years. Jaškin is a right winger who currently plays for Slavia Praha in the Czech Extraliga and Musil is a defenceman who currently plays for the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants. Both players have taken interesting paths to get to this point in their careers, which is explored in greater detail here.

David Musil. Photo: Gerry Kahrmann, theprovince.com.

The NHL divides its draft-eligible prospects into skaters and goaltenders, and further into players on North American clubs and those playing in Europe, with Musil and Jaškin easily leading all Czechs on those lists. In 2010, only five Czechs were drafted and none of them played domestically. This was a particularly embarrassing total for a country that, at one time, was one of the top producers of top hockey players in the world. As recently as 2001, 31 Czechs were drafted, with 21 of them coming from domestic clubs. This downward trend is examined here.

While the 2011 crop of Czechs won't approach 2001 numbers, it is reasonably safe to say there won't be another shutout of domestic players, as many forecasters have predicted that Jaškin will be taken late in the first round. Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha, who was taken by Cherepovets in last month's KHL draft, is pegged to go somewhere in the middle rounds, with Mladá Boleslav's Tomáš Hyka being seen as a possible late-round pick.

Below are the European-based, draft-eligible Czechs, according to their rankings. Of the listed players, only Jaškin and Plzeň's Jakub Jeřábek played full-time in the Extraliga in 2010-11.


  5. Dmitrij Jaškin       right wing   Slavia Praha
 46. Daniel Přibyl        centre       Sparta Praha
 47. Tomáš Hyka           right wing   Mladá Boleslav
 56. Štěpán Jeník         defence      Slavia Praha
 57. Lukáš Sedlák         centre       České Budějovice
 77. Jakub Jeřábek        defence      Plzeň
 79. Lukáš Králík         centre       Olomouc
 86. Tomáš Pavelka        defence      Vítkovice
 88. Václav Tomek         right wing   Slavia Praha
 95. Petr Holík           centre       Zlín
 96. Adam Řehák           right wing   Vítkovice
100. Michael Švihálek     left wing    České Budějovice
101. Dušan Žovinec        defence      Sparta Praha
125. Vojtěch Zadražil     defence      Jihlava
129. Tomáš Rousek         útočník      České Budějovice

Of the Czech players in North America, Musil is currently projected to be taken somewhere in the second round. Matěj Stránský could also be a mid-round pick, while Dominik Uher and Bohumil Jank could be taken late.


 38. David Musil         defence       Vancouver (WHL)
136. Matěj Stránský      right wing    Saskatoon (WHL)
162. Dominik Uher        centre        Spokane (WHL)
181. Bohumil Jank        defence       Victoriaville (QMJHL)

The International Scouting Services ranks goaltenders separately. Among European goalkeepers, Jarolsav Pavelka is ranked third, and has an outside chance at being drafted. He played last season at the starší dorost level, and was impressive at the Five Nations Tournament in his hometown of Hradec Králové. In Dresden at the U18 World Championships, Pavelka backed up Matěj Machovský, who is ranked 10th among eligible netminders in North America.

Ranked Czech goaltenders in Europe:

 3. Jaroslav Pavelka      Hradec Králové
10. Marek Mazanec         Plzeň

Ranked Czech goaltenders in North America:

11. Matěj Machovský      Brampton (OHL)
13. David Honzík         Victoriaville (QMJHL)
15. Tadeáš Galanský      Saginaw (OHL)

Rankings were compiled by International Scouting Services, and were acquired via hockeysfuture.com, nhl.com, and hokej.cz.

Jeřábek and Přibyl taken in KHL draft

The KHL held its third annual junior draft on Saturday. Two Czechs were among the 135 players selected: Jakub Jeřábek of Plzeň 1929 and Daniel Přibyl of Sparta Praha.

Jakub Jeřábek could play for the KHL's Lev
Poprad next season. Photo: Photo: Rick
Stewart, Getty Images North America.

Jeřábek was taken 109th overal by Lev Poprad, the expansion club that will begin play in Northern Slovakia this season. He was Lev's fourth selection. Jeřábek, who just turned 20 in May, was a mainstay on the Plzeň pro club's defence this past season, and played well enough to earn a spot in the LG Games in Sweden, playing for the Czech national team. He proved his value in the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, where he was the Czech team's captain and best player.

Přibyl was taken 17 spots later, at 126, by Severstal Cherepovets. The 18-year-old played 3 games in the Tipsport Extraliga this past season, but spent the majority of the year in the Junior Extraliga, where he recorded 58 points in 41 games, leading Sparta to first place in the standings. The junior Sparta team was knocked out in the semifinal by Karlovy Vary, but that wasn't due to a lack of production from Přibyl, who recorded 5 points in 4 games. He scored the tying goal late and assisted on the overtime winner in the quarterfinal clincher against Litvínov.  He is projected to be a middle-round pick at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and considered a top candidate to be on next year's Czech World Junior team.

Considering his age, the higher level of competition he played this past season, and due to the fact he was chosen by the Poprad club, which is by far the closest team to home, distance-wise, Jeřábek seems like a much safer bet to make the jump straight to the KHL this upcoming season.

That sentiment was shared by the team's head coach, Czech Radim Rulík, who stated, "(Slovak Marek) Tvrdoň and Jeřábek very much want to play in the KHL, therefore there is a chance that they could appear on our team as early as next year. I think that Jeřábek could turn out to be the discovery of the year."